This report is an accompaniment to the main report that describes a Resilience, Adaptation and Transformation Assessment (RATA) Framework (O’Connell et al., 2015). The case studies tested and contributed to the development of assessment methods and indicators proposed in the RATA Framework Report by applying them to assess the resilience of two contrasting agroecosystems. One is the intensive production of irrigated rice in tropical Thailand, the other an extensive semi-arid agro-pastoral system in Niger. These contrasting systems were selected so as to span a range across three critical dimensions of agroecosystems: soil moisture, which depends on rainfall; naturally occurring soil nutrients, and level of external fertilizer and agrochemical inputs. These characteristics can be described for any agroecosystem. Interactions among these variables are relevant to the Rio conventions on desertification and degradation, climate change, and biodiversity, and so hold the potential to inform indicators relevant to all three conventions.
