Social-Ecological Resilience as Practice: A Household Perspective from Agua Blanca (Ecuador)

Within a social-ecological system (SES), households develop specific practices, the logics of which are not derived directly or exclusively from higher levels (community, social-ecological system). This article advocates paying closer attention to this micro level of social-ecological analysis in order to gain a better understanding of the SES dynamic and its resilience. It explores the links between the functioning of the SES and human agency by means of a household approach (economic strategies, collective participation). To illustrate this proposal, an ethnographic case study was conducted in Agua Blanca, a community in Ecuador. The evolution and current situation of the SES, its desirability and the factors that support its resilience, as well as the practices of the most recently formed households, are analysed. This analytical proposal affords a more consistent understanding of the heterogeneous social-ecological interactions within an SES (plasticity), showing how resilience is inherently linked to practices. For this purpose, ethnographic methodology offers an outstanding tool.