Social-ecological resilience in remote mountain communities: toward a novel framework for an interdisciplinary investigation

Abstract

Globally, mountain areas are facing numerous social, economic, and ecological challenges. The interplay of natural and social factors makes them complex social-ecological systems. To investigate a mountain setting in the Austrian Alps, we developed the resilient livelihood framework (RLF), relying on the sustainable livelihood framework and integrating the community resilience and ecosystem services concepts. This novel RLF highlights the basic function of natural capital for economic, social, cultural, and political capital and displays the social valorization and demand of single-ecosystem services. The RLF serves to examine the social-ecological complexities with a set of drivers, capitals, livelihood strategies, and outcomes of two remote mountain villages, Obergurgl and Vent in the Upper Ötztal Valley (Tyrol, Austria). Here, qualitative and quantitative descriptions enable comprehensive insights into the complex interplay of the social and ecological spheres of both communities. Its output has been densified and calculated with a modified Shannon-Wiener Index that revealed a higher social-ecological resilience for the village of Vent than Obergurgl. The study bridges various disciplines and contributes to the theoretical and practical advancement of a resilience framework through the application to a case study site by combining ecological and sociological approaches. The application study can serve as a pilot for similar applications in remote mountain areas to support the decision making of local managers and stakeholders.

Keywords

• community resilience
• ecosystem services
• forms of capital
• shannon-wiener index
• sustainable rural livelihood framework