Wetland socio-ecological systems: Diversifying livelihoods and building capacity to learn increases resilience in India

Globally, livelihood resilience is critical to social-ecological system (SES) sustainability. Wetlands in Uttar Pradesh (UP), India, support livelihoods of subsistence farmers through fishing, rice cultivation and harvesting wetland resources. However, climate change and other environmental and social stressors threaten their resilience. Efforts are needed to support wetland SES. Currently there are limited tools to measure and empirically test theories and actionable solutions that reduce stressors and support the environment and dependent communities. To address this gap, we took a novel approach by integrating two frameworks (SES and livelihood resilience) to create a single analytical framework. We applied this framework to examine key stressors affecting livelihood resilience, assess communities’ adaptive capacities through three key attributes (capacity to learn, buffer and self-organise), and identify pathways to strengthen resilience. We used mixed methods approach to collect data from 459 farmers within two wetlands, analysed using qualitative and quantitative statistics. Results indicated that declining biodiversity, poor soils, limited water supplies and land use change are significant environmental stressors. Weak community access to external resources and erosion of local institutions and knowledge are key social stressors. Communities demonstrate an ability to increase their buffer capacity and self-organise to improve resilience, but capacity to learn is weak. Actions, including diversification and intensified farming alongside access to local support networks, can increase resilience. Enhancing co-produced adaptive knowledge and institutional support can build more robust resilience through increasing capacity to learn, buffer and self-organise. These findings offer insights for strengthening resilience in wetland SES in India and other climate-vulnerable regions.