Changing human-ecological relationships and drivers using the Quesungual Agroforestry System in western Honduras

The development of sustainable agricultural production systems in the tropics is challenging in part because the local and external conditions that affect sustainability are constantly in flux. The Quesungual Agroforestry System (QSMAS) was developed in response to these changing conditions. The history and potential future of the QSMAS provide an opportunity to consider the factors that are affecting small-scale agricultural production systems on marginal lands throughout the world. In this paper we report the results of an analysis of the sustainability of the QSMAS using the five principles of the Drylands Development Paradigm (DDP) for three periods: pre-QSMAS, QSMAS adoption and the future. The analysis from the first two periods provides lessons that can be extended to other regions. The system must continue to evolve, however, if the long-term benefits of the system are to be conserved. Finally, we concluded that while the DDP was a useful framework for systematically identifying the critical drivers and processes that determine the sustainability of QSMAS, it is ultimately no more able to predict the future than the collective knowledge of those who choose to apply it. It can, however, facilitate the integration and application of this knowledge.