Abstract:
Humanity is a driving force in creating change, including within social-ecological
systems. Resilience thinking has emerged as a means of analyzing and influencing these
changes and has the potential to be particularly useful to Indigenous Peoples. However,
Indigenous perspectives are largely lacking on social-ecological system resilience. Our
study provides insight into Indigenous perspectives on social-ecological system resilience
through the case study of the Maijuna and Kichwa Indigenous Peoples and their ancestral
lands in the Maijuna-Kichwa Regional Conservation Area ecosystem. Our study is
centered on the proposed Bellavista – Mazán – Salvador – El Estrecho megadevelopment
road project, a disturbance presenting the capacity to generate profound social-ecological
system change. Our findings highlight the interconnections between the Maijuna-Kichwa
Regional Conservation Area social-ecological system and the Maijuna and Kichwa
cultures, including the impact of culture on system resilience. Additionally, we
demonstrate the present vulnerability of the system and provide priority objectives for
maintaining and building resilience. By integrating Indigenous perspectives, our study
bridges diverse knowledge systems and facilitates the discovery of solutions to the
complex social-ecological challenges faced by Indigenous Peoples and other stakeholders
working to build resilience in Indigenous social-ecological systems.
