This study addresses the complex challenge encountered by natural resource producers striving to fulfill humanity’s growing demand for resources while simultaneously reducing the environmental impacts of production. Here, we approached this sustainability challenge from the perspective of resource producers. We used a large survey data of farmers, foresters, and growers in New Zealand to investigate their property-level resilience and to identify factors (e.g. economic assets, social networks, agroecosystem charactertics of the property) that correlate with farm / forest property – level outcomes that are desirable from the perspective of resilient and sustainable natural resource production.
Based on the “three pillars” of sustainability, the desirable outcomes were defined as strong environmental performance, good financial situation, and personal well-being. The findings reveal that the three positive outcomes are associated with various factors. Moreover, a variable that has a positive connection with one outcome might have a negative association with another. For example, a factor (e.g. large property area) that promotes environmental performance may lower well-being. Thus, achieving positive results in all three aspects (environmental, economic, and well-being) is challenging at property- level; only about one fifth of NZ land-based resource procuders had achieved good or very good outcomes in all three outcomes.
Top-down natural resource governance needs to carefully consider how environmental, financial, and well-being outcomes are interconnected at the property level to help resource producers meet society’s demands for sustainable natural resource production.
Yletyinen J., Kuhmonen I., Stahlmann-Brown P. 2024. Resilient and sustainable natural resource production: how are farmers and foresters coping? Ecology and Society.
Human-Environment Complexity Lab 