Presentation short abstract

This paper examines how rural communities in Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam navigate climate precarity and agrarian transformations by developing adaptive agroecological pathways that sustain livelihoods and social well-being amid shifting environmental and political conditions.

Presentation long abstract

Agroecology in Southeast Asia finds its practical expression in agroforestry systems that integrate trees with crops and livestock, remaining crucial to livelihoods on up to 70% of farms in upland and island areas. Yet agroforestry viability is increasingly threatened by climate variability and accelerating agrarian-forest transformations driven by expanding state and corporate control, infrastructure development, and market integration. Drawing on case studies in Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam, this paper investigates how rural communities navigate the intersecting challenges of climate precarity and political-economic transformation as they strive to create sustainable agroecological futures. We focus on climate precarity and social reproduction in our analysis of Southeast Asia's small-scale, resource-poor, and vulnerable farming communities. Critically, we examine how gender, generation, and geography shape differential access to, and engagement with, agroecological pathways and knowledge politics. What do rural youth envision for their futures within agroforestry systems? How do gendered relations, encompassing land access, labor responsibilities, and market participation, constrain or enable participation in agroecological innovation? How do territorial factors influence whether agroecology remains fragmented 'islands' of innovation or evolves into a robust 'archipelago' of sustainable practices? In examining these questions, we interrogate the current agroecological turn in development policy by exploring the adaptive agroecological pathways that can enable rural communities to navigate climate precarity while sustaining livelihoods. This analysis keeps in sight how these practices may (or may not) contribute to social well-being and help mitigate the challenges posed by an increasingly unstable climate.