Multi-causal and integrated assessment of sustainability: the case of agriculturization in the Argentine Pampas |
| |
Authors: | David Manuel-Navarrete Gilberto C. Gallopín Mariela Blanco Martín Díaz-Zorita Diego O. Ferraro Hilda Herzer Pedro Laterra María R. Murmis Guillermo P. Podestá Jorge Rabinovich Emilio H. Satorre Filemón Torres Ernesto F. Viglizzo |
| |
Affiliation: | 1. Department of Geography, King′s College London, Strand, London, WC2R 2LS, UK 2. Tte. Gral J.D. Perón, Piso 5, Buenos Aires, 1040, Argentina 3. Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones Laborales (CEIL-PIETTE) CONICET, Saavedra 15 piso 4°, Capital Federal, CP: 1083, Argentina 4. CONICET and Department of Plant Production, Faculty of Agronomy, University of Buenos Aires, (1417) Av. San Martín 4457, Buenos Aires, Argentina 5. IFEVA, Cátedra de Cerealicultura, Departamento de Producción Vegetal, Facultad de Agronomía, UBA/CONICET, Av. San Martín, 4453, C1417DSE, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina 6. CENTRO estudios sociales y ambientales, Av. Pte. Roque Saenz Pe?a 1142, 5°, 1035, Buenos Aires, Argentina 7. Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, National University of Mar del Plata-INTA Balcarce, CC 276, 7620, Balcarce, Argentina 8. Apoyo al Programa de Medianas Donaciones del GEF en Argentina, GEF/PNUD, Piedras 482, 2 “G”, Buenos Aires, C1070AAJ, Argentina 9. University of Miami, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL, 33149-1098, USA 10. Center for the Study of Parasites and Vectors (CEPAVE), National University of La Plata, Calle 2 No. 584, 1900, La Plata, Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina 11. Cátedra de Cerealicultura, Facultad de Agronomía, University of Buenos Aires, Av. San Martín 4453, P. O. Box C1417DSE, Buenos Aires, Argentina 12. CEO Group (Consultants on Economy and Organization), Hipólito Yrigoyen 785-5 M, 1086, Buenos Aires, Argentina 13. Environmental Management Program, National Institute for Agricultural Technology (INTA La Pampa), Av. Spinetto 785, 6300, Santa Rosa, La Pampa, Argentina
|
| |
Abstract: | Assessing the sustainability of complex development processes requires multi-causal and integrated analyses. We develop a system-based methodology, rooted in interdisciplinary discussion and consensus building between 15 experts, to construct a multi-causal diagram which examines the sustainability of the Argentine Pampas′ process of agriculturization. The resulting diagram includes 25 factors and provides a big-picture of the multiple dimensions and interrelations affecting sustainability. According to this examination, the increasing concentration of production and the incorporation of technological innovations, triggered by economic and institutional factors, are the cause of environmental distresses and social changes, whose consequences for sustainability are still highly disputed. Nevertheless, the symptoms of both environmental and social unsustainability are more evident in the case of the extra-Pampean regions than in the Pampas. This suggests that the Pampean agriculture model should not be transferred to these regions without substantial modifications. The experts did not reach consensus on whether the agriculturization process is overall sustainable or unsustainable. Lack of consensus revolved mainly around opposing perspectives regarding the significance of the threats to environmental sustainability. The magnitude of socio-distributive unbalance and loss of rural jobs were also contentious. Yet, the paper shows how the exercise of building a joint causal diagram was undoubtedly helpful for linking piece-meal disciplinary facts, brought in from all fronts, into a comprehensive and coherent picture. Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue. |
| |
Keywords: | Agriculturization Sustainability Pampas Multi-causal diagrams Integrated assessment Syndromes of global change |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|