SABIIA - Sistema Aberto e Integrado de Informação em Agricultura (Sabiia)

Argiles, Josep M.; Brown, Nestor Duch.

While conventional farming systems face serious problems of sustainability, organic agriculture is seen as a more environmentally friendly system since it favours renewable resources, recycles nutrients, uses the environment’s own systems for controlling pests and diseases, sustains ecosystems, protects soils, and reduces pollution. At the same time organic farming promotes animal welfare, the use of natural foodstuffs, product diversity and the avoidance of waste, among other practices. However, the future of organic agriculture will depend on its economic viability and on the determination shown by governments to protect these practices. This paper performs panel regressions with a sample of Catalan farms (Spain) to test the influence of organic farming...

Tipo: Article

Palavras-chave: Organic farming; Conventional farming; Social/environmental/financial performance; Social and environmental accounting; Agribusiness; Environmental Economics and Policy; Farm Management; Q01; Q12; Q51; M41.

Ano: 2011

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/118577

A Participatory Approach to Assess the Effectiveness of Responses to Cope with Flood Risk

Ceccato, Lucia; Giannini, Valentina; Giupponi, Carlo.

This work illustrates the preliminary findings of a participatory research process aimed at identifying responses for sustainable water management in a climate change perspective, in two river basins in Europe and Asia. The paper describes the methodology implemented through local workshops, aimed at eliciting and evaluating possible responses to flood risk. Participatory workshops allowed for the identification of four categories of possible responses and a set of nine evaluation criteria, three for each of the three pillars of sustainable development. The main outcome of such activities consists in the ranking of broad response categories instrumental to the objective of the Brahmatwinn research project, i.e. the identification of Integrated Water...

Agriculture’s Multifunctionality, Sustainability, and Social Responsibility

Palavras-chave: Participatory Process; Climate Change; Flood Risk; Decision Support System; Multi Criteria Analysis; MCA; Eliciting Responses; Evaluating Responses; Integrated Water Resources Management; IWRM; Mulino Decision Support System; MDSS; Environmental Economics and Policy; C61; Q01; Q54; Q56; Q58.

Ano: 2010

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/60662

Hediger, Werner.

We investigate the question whether the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) could be used to replace or complement those of multifunctionality and sustainability in the agri-food sector. It shows that the double role of citizens as tax payers and customers requests and allows us to directly link the problems of governance and stakeholder society in an intertemporal framework of total value maximisation and sustainable development. Thus, the concept of CSR provides a link between the views on agriculture’s multifunctionality and sustainability. Moreover, the fact that some actors in a vertical market, such as the agri-food chain, can exercise market power and absorb tax money and resource rents enforces the need of a broader perspective which...

Air Pollution Control Policy Options for Metro Manila

Palavras-chave: Agricultural policy; Multifunctionality; Sustainability; Social responsibility; Market power.; D62; D63; Q01; Q18.

Ano: 2008

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/36854

Krupnick, Alan J.; Morgenstern, Richard D.; Fischer, Carolyn; Rolfe, Kevin; Logarta, Jose; Rufo, Bing.

The Asian Development Bank has sponsored research on market-based instruments for managing pollution in Metro Manila, Philippines, where air quality is seriously degraded. This report offers three policy options for reducing particulate emissions and their precursors. For stationary sources, we recommend an emissions fee that creates efficient financial incentives to reduce emissions while raising revenues for monitoring and enforcement activities. For mobile sources, we propose a pilot diesel retrofit program using a low-cost technology that is effective at existing 2,000 ppm sulfur content. Second, we recommend a charge on the sulfur content of diesel fuel to encourage meeting and surpassing the 500 ppm standard to allow for more advanced particulate...

Analysing Regional Sustainability Through a Systemic Approach: The Lombardy Case Study

Palavras-chave: Air pollution; Emissions tax; Philippines; Particulates; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q25; Q01.

Ano: 2003

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10612

Caratti, Pietro; Ferraguto, Ludovico.

The intrinsic complexity of the sustainability concept challenges research towards more sophisticated ways to model and assess the dimensions underlying it. However, currently adopted modelling techniques and indicators frameworks are not able to give an integrated assessment through the different components of sustainability, providing incomplete visuals of the reality that they aim to catch. This paper tries to assess how the INSURE methodology can provide a contribution in the analysis of sustainability through indicator frameworks, describing its application to the Lombardy region (Italy). Developed on the course of a 6th European Framework Program – financed project to measure sustainability in the European regions, the methodology provides two...

Assessing Domestic Demand for Organic and ‘Locally Grown' Produce on An ‘Organic Island': Dominica's Dilemma

Palavras-chave: Sustainable Development; Regional Economics; Econometric and Input Output Models; Development Planning and Policy; Regional Analyses; Q01; R; R15; O2; O18.

Ano: 2008

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/37670

Boys, Kathryn A.; Willis, David B.; George, Seraphine; Hammig, Michael D..

The economy of Dominica faces a unique set of challenges. As with many other Caribbean nations, Dominica has historically been dependent upon agriculture. Over the past several hundred years, the island's economy has been largely supported through the concentrated mono-cropping of a variety of export-oriented crops including coffee, limes, vanilla, and bananas (FAVACA, 2008). Today, approximately 45% of Dominica's labor force is employed in the agricultural sector (FAVACA, 2008). While neighboring countries have economically benefited from tourism, due to its lack of white sand beaches, Dominica is not a typical tourist destination. Taking advantage of its landscape, rainforests, and diversity of natural wildlife, in an effort to diversify its economy...

Assessing the Technical and Allocative Efficiency of Marketing Decisions by U.S. Organic Producers

Palavras-chave: Contingent valuation; Willingness to pay; Caribbean; Organic; Locally grown; Food; Agricultural and Food Policy; International Development; Marketing; O13; O54; Q01; Q13; Q18.

Ano: 2011

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/103903

Lohr, Luanne; Park, Timothy A..

We develop measures of technical and allocative efficiency of producers in marketing certified organic products. A stochastic output distance frontier and the associated revenue share equations are estimated using comprehensive U.S. data on certified organic producers. Farm-level measures of technical efficiency are calculated and factors which enhance performance are identified. Factors that systematically influence allocative efficiency are assessed. The revenue mix of organic producers is systematically inefficient as both male and female producers rely too heavily on revenue from organic markets relative to conventional outlets.

Assessing the Technical and Allocative Efficiency of U.S. Organic Producers

Palavras-chave: Organic farming; Stochastic frontier; Technical efficiency; Allocative efficiency; Farm Management; Marketing; D21; C31; Q01.

Ano: 2011

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/103365

Park, Timothy A.; Lohr, Luanne.

We develop measures of technical and allocative efficiency of producers in marketing certified organic products. A stochastic output distance frontier and the associated revenue share equations are estimated using comprehensive U.S. data on certified organic producers. Farm-level measures of technical efficiency are calculated and factors that enhance performance are identified. Factors that systematically influence allocative efficiency are assessed. The revenue mix of organic producers is systematically inefficient as both male and female producers rely too heavily on revenue from organic markets relative to conventional outlets.

Tipo: Journal Article

Palavras-chave: Organic farming; Stochastic frontier; Technical and allocative efficiency; Agribusiness; Farm Management; Marketing; Production Economics; Productivity Analysis; Public Economics; D21; C31; Q01.

Ano: 2010

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/90678

Beyond Copenhagen: A Realistic Climate Policy in a Fragmented World

Carraro, Carlo; Massetti, Emanuele.

We propose a realistic approach to climate policy based on the Copenhagen Agreement to reduce Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) emissions. We assess by how much the non-binding, although official, commitments to reduce emissions made in Copenhagen will affect the level of world GHGs emissions in 2020. Our estimates are based on official communications to the UNFCCC, on historic data and on the Business-as-Usual scenario of the WITCH model. We are not interested in estimating the gap between the expected level of emissions and what would be needed to achieve the 2°C target. Nor do we attempt to calculate the 2100 temperature level implied by the Copenhagen pledges. We believe these two exercises are subject to high uncertainty and would not improve the current state...

Biodiversity Valuation in Developing Countries: A Focus on Small Island Developing States (SIDS)

Palavras-chave: Kyoto Protocol; International Climate Agreements; Climate Policy; Clean Development Mechanism; Environmental Economics and Policy; F5; Q01; Q54; Q58.

Ano: 2010

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/98094

Teelucksingh, Sonja S.; Nunes, Paulo A.L.D..

The Millennium Development Goals explicitly recognise “sustainable development” as a target. A step towards this is a greater understanding of the significant role of biodiversity in rural communities of developing countries who depend most on the ecosystem goods and services and who as a result may suffer most from its continued degradation. Understanding the input of biodiversity in developing countries to the provision of the ecosystem goods and services (EGS) that are essential to their human well-being is seen as a significant first step in sustainable development, and environmental valuation is a necessary tool for achieving this objective. However, valuing biodiversity in a developing country context can be an intricate affair. While economic...

Bringing Growth Theory "Down to Earth"

Palavras-chave: Biodiversity; Developing Countries; Small Island Developing States; Land Economics/Use; Q01; Q57.

Ano: 2010

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/94842

Lopez, Ramon E.; Stocking, Andrew.

Explicitly accounting for certain basic physical laws governing the “earth” sector dramatically enriches our ability to explain a high degree of diversity in observed patterns of economic growth. We provide a theoretical explanation of why some countries have been able to sustain a more or less constant and positive rate of economic growth for many decades while so many others have failed to do so. The analysis predicts that countries that have an over abundance of physical capital (a concept that is precisely defined in the text) may be unable to sustain a positive rate of economic growth over the long run. Too much physical capital may affect the dynamics of the economy ultimately leading to stagnation. The plausibility of the growth model introduced...

Cambio climático en Uruguay, posibles impactos y medidas de adaptación en el sector agropecuario.

Palavras-chave: Endogenous growth theory; Unbalanced growth; Structural change; Stagnation; Environmental Economics and Policy; International Development; Labor and Human Capital; Political Economy; E22; Q01; O41.

Ano: 2009

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/48944

Gimenez, Agustin; Castano, Jose Pedro; Baethgen, Walter E.; Lanfranco, Bruno A..

El presente trabajo presenta un resumen de información sobre cambio climático observado en Uruguay y la región y posibles escenarios futuros. Dicha información se basa fundamentalmente en estudios conducidos y finalizados recientemente (2005-2009) en el país, en el marco del programa “Assessment of Impacts and Adaptation to Climate Change” (AIACC-START, TWAS, GEF) ( AIACC, 2006), en el “Análisis de la Estadística Climática y Desarrollo y Evaluación de Escenarios Climáticos e Hidrológicos de las principales Cuencas Hidrográficas del Uruguay y la Zona Costera” (Unidad de Cambio Climático de la DINAMA del MVOTMA de Uruguay, PNUD, GEF, 2005), en el estudio de “Identificación de Posibles Impactos del Cambio Climático en la Producción de Pasturas Naturales y de...

Tipo: Book

Palavras-chave: Global warming; Agriculture and livestock production; Public policy; Extreme climate events.; Agricultural and Food Policy; Risk and Uncertainty; Q01; Q54; Q55; Q58.

Ano: 2009

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/121759

Can Co-Management Improve the Governance of A Common- Pool Resource? Lessons From A Framed Field Experiment in A Marine Protected Area in the Colombian Caribbean

Moreno-Sanchez, Rocio del Pilar; Maldonado, Jorge Higinio.

Complexities associated with the management of common pool resources (CPR) threaten governance at some marine protected areas (MPA). In this paper, using economic experimental games (EEG), we investigate the effects of both external regulation and the complementarities between internal regulation and non-coercive authority intervention—what we call co-management—on fishermen’s extraction decisions. We perform EEG with fishermen inhabiting the influence zone of an MPA in the Colombian Caribbean. The results show that co- management exhibits the best results, both in terms of resource sustainability and reduction in extraction, highlighting the importance of strategies that recognize communities as key actors in the decision-making process for the...

Can Genetically Engineered and Organic Crops Coexist?

Palavras-chave: Common-pool resources; Governance; Co-management; Experimental economic games; Fisheries; Latin America.; Environmental Economics and Policy; C93; C72; D02; D70; Q01; Q22; Q28; C23; C25.

Ano: 2009

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/60731

Greene, Catherine R.; Smith, Katherine R..

Tipo: Journal Article

Palavras-chave: Crop Production/Industries; Q01; Q13; Q57.

Ano: 2010

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/94772

CAP versus Rural Policy Challenges, Paradigm change

Halmai, Peter; Vasary, Viktoria.

Rural development in the European Union has to face several challenges. Negative effects of old and new challenges (if these challenges are not faced effectively) might enhance and accelerate those processes that are taking place slowly for the present but that are definitely irreversible. On the basis of sector-specific approach problems related to agriculture should be focused on. It has to be, however, highlighted that there is an ongoing paradigm change: there is a shift from the agricultural policy aiming at food self sufficiency and income parity towards a sustainable rural policy with spatial focus. The shift itself is considered a continuous challenge, too. The following questions as objectives of the paper arise: - Are there policy instruments...

Cellulosic Biofuels: Are They Economically Viable and Environmentally Sustainable?

Palavras-chave: Common agricultural policy; New rural paradigm; European added value; Agricultural and Food Policy; Community/Rural/Urban Development; Q01; Q18; Q28; Q57.

Ano: 2011

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/115547

Comments on Sustainable Coastal Development Through Community Support: Myth or Reality

Khanna, Madhu.

Tipo: Journal Article

Palavras-chave: Miscanthus; Corn Stover; Switchgrass; Cost of Production; Greenhouse Gas Intensity; Resource /Energy Economics and Policy; Q01; Q54; Q55.

Ano: 2008

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/94665

Comparative Costs and Conservation Policies for the Survival of the Oranutan and Other Species: Includes an Example

Bergstrom, John C..

Tipo: Journal Article

Palavras-chave: Sustainable agriculture; Community development; Community support; Natural resources; Community/Rural/Urban Development; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q01; Q27; Q28; Q32.

Ano: 2005

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/43767

Tisdell, Clement A.; Swarna Nantha, Hemanath.

The extent to which conservation is feasible is constrained by budgets and the financial sacrifice stakeholders are willing to bear. Therefore a possible objective for conserving a species is to minimise the cost of achieving that stated aim. For example, if a minimum viable population (MVP) of a species is to be conserved, the size and type of habitats reserved for this could be selected to minimise cost. This requires consideration of the comparative (relative) opportunity costs of reserving different land types for conservation. A general model is developed to demonstrate this and is applied to the case of the orangutan. In the ecological literature, recommendations for reserving different types of land for conservation have been based on comparisons of...

Palavras-chave: Comparative costs; Conservation in situ; Costs of conservation; Environmental policy; Minimum viable populations; Opportunity costs; Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus); Community/Rural/Urban Development; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q01; Q13; Q57; Q58..

Ano: 2010

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/90466

Conservation Value

Tisdell, Clement A..

This paper outlines the significance of the concept of conservation value and discusses ways in which it is determined paying attention to views stemming from utilitarian ethics and from deontological ethics. The importance of user costs in relation to economic decisions about the conservation and use of natural resources is emphasised. Particular attention is given to competing views about the importance of conserving natural resources in order to achieve economic sustainability. This then lends to a discussion of the value of conserving natural resources in order to meet the moral obligations of present generations to future generations. Anthropogenic views of the value of conserving natural resources (for example, derived from utilitarian ethics) are...

Consumer Perceptions of Sustainable Farming Practices: A Best-Worst Scenario

Palavras-chave: Anthropogenic values; Conservation value; Deontological ethics; Ecocentric values; Economic sustainability; Intergenerational equity; Natural resources; Neo-Malthusianism; Precautionary motive; Sustainability; Sustainable development; User costs; Utilitarian ethics; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q01; Q20; Q30; Q50; Q51.

Ano: 2010

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/90879

Sackett, Hillary M.; Shupp, Robert S.; Tonsor, Glynn T..

This paper uses data collected in the summer and fall of 2010 from a national, web-based survey of 1002 households to initiate the process of examining consumer inferences and valuations of food products making "sustainably produced” claims. A Best-Worst scaling framework was implemented to identify what consumers believe “sustainably produced” labels mean and their preferences for each of the individual sustainable farming practices. The best-worst survey method forces respondents to make trade-offs by simultaneously choosing the most and least preferred attributes. The measured level of concern is then applied to a ratio scale. The ability of a firm to differentiate their product hinges critically on an accurate understanding of the perceptions consumers...