Ecosystems in multi-functional landscapes of sub-Saharan Africa are impacted in numerous ways but most importantly through habitat conversions by man in the quest to meet increasing food, water, fuel and fiber demands. Over the past 50 years, this has resulted in considerable and often irreversible loss of protective vegetation cover, biodiversity and productive top soil and nutrients yet the poorest populations are particularly hard hit which reduces their adaptive capacity. Simulation modeling allows for detailed examination of the complex interactions and feedback between local resources users, decision makers and long-term natural resources dynamics within these multi-functional landscapes. Information obtained through such simulation scenarios leads to better targeting of poverty alleviation programs and offers a broader array of strategies that play off of the complex interactions between socio-economic and biophysical dynamics. The associated trade-off analyses in turn improve our understanding of the full ramifications of management choices in order to maintain resilient ecosystems and the essential services they provide while meeting human food needs. This session will highlight that ecosystem services within multi-functional landscapes have complex connections, which can cause one management decision to have unintentional and unexpected consequences on another. It will provide options for actors within landscapes to use tools to evaluate the consequences of a given decision and assess the trade-offs that various choices might entail. (Texte integral)