Box 6.1 Local Adaptations of MA Conceptual Framework
"(SG.SDM) The MA framework was applied in a wide range of assessments at multiple scales. Particularly for the more local assessments, the framework needed to be adapted to better reflect the needs and concerns of local communities. In the case of an assessment conducted by and for indigenous communities in the Vilcanota region of Peru, the framework had to be recreated from a base with the Quechua understanding of ecological and social relationships. (See Figure.) Within the Quechua vision of the cosmos, concepts such as reciprocity (Ayni), the inseparability of space and time, and the cyclical nature of all processes (Pachakuti) are important components of the Inca definition of ecosystems. Love (Munay) and working (Llankay) bring humans to a higher state of knowledge (Yachay) about their surroundings and are therefore key concepts linking Quechua communities to the natural world. Ayllu represents the governing institutions that regulate interactions between all living beings.
The resulting framework has similarities with the MA Conceptual Framework, but the divergent features are considered to be important to the Quechua people conducting the assessment. The Vilcanota conceptual framework also includes multiple scales (Kaypacha, Hananpacha, Ukupacha); however, these represent both spatial scales and the cyclical relationship between the past, present, and future. Inherent in this concept of space and time is theadaptive capacity of the Quechua people, who welcome change and have become resilient to it through an adaptive learning process. (It is recognized that current rates of change may prove challenging to the adaptive capacities of the communities). The cross shape of the Vilcanota framework diagram represents the "Chakana," the most recognized and sacred shape to Quechua people, and orders the world through deliberative and collective decision-making that emphasizes reciprocity (Ayni). Pachamama is similar to a combination of the "ecosystem goods and services" and "human well-being" components of the MA framework. Pachakuti is similar to the MA "drivers" (both direct and indirect). Ayllu (and Munay, Yachay, and Llankay) may be seen as responses and are more organically integrated into the cyclic process of change and adaptation.
In the Vilcanota assessment, the Quechua communities directed their work process to assess the conditions and trends of certain aspects of the Pachamama (focusing on water, soil, and agrobiodiversity), how these goods and services are changing, the reasons behind the changes, the effects on the other elements of the Pachamama, how the communities have adapted and are adapting to the changes, and the state of resilience of the Quechua principles and institutions for dealing with these changes in the future. Developing the local conceptual framework from a base of local concepts and principles, as opposed to simply translating the MA framework into local terms, has allowed local communities to take ownership of their assessment process and given them the power both to assess the local environment and human populations using their own knowledge and principles of well-being and to seek responses to problems within their own cultural and spiritual institutions."
Source & ©
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
 Synthesis Report (2005),
Chapter 6, p.87
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