至2050年中国生态高值农业体系建设特征与目标

2010年6月7日,国家主席胡锦涛在两院（中国科学院、中国工程院）院士大会上针对农业科技明确指出：构建我国生态高值农业和生物产业体系,建成农业高值转化的产业体系。本文对＂生态高值农业＂进行论述。所谓生态,就是要体现农业既能为社会提供安全优质的农产品又能实现农业资源的永续利用,将农业纳入可持续发展的道路;所谓高值,就是要体现农业有很高的土地产出率、投入产出率、劳动生产率。因此,＂生态高值农业＂是集约化经营与生态化生产有机结合的现代农业。它以健康消费需求为导向,以提高农业市场竞争力和可持续发展能力为核心,兼有高投入、高产出、高效益与可持续发展的双重特性,是转变农业增长方式、提高农业综合生产能力的集中体现。     

Identification of agricultural factors for improving sustainable land resource management in northern Thailand: A case study in Chiang Mai Province

This paper aims to identify the land-use factors benefiting sustainable land management in terms of environmental conservation. For evaluating the impacts of land use on the environment, the following parameters were used: chemical fertiliser and pesticide use, land-use structure and diversity. The farmers' income, land tenure and farming scale were selected for their influence on agricultural sustainability. The analysis shows a rapid increase in use of chemical fertiliser and pesticide in the past 40 years, and an observable increase in land-use diversity. The amount of chemical fertiliser used per unit area in large-scale farming was lower than that at small scales, but large-scale farming consumes more pesticide than small-scale farming. A significant negative correlation was observed between the proportions of the holdings possessing land and the holdings using the chemical fertiliser. In order to achieve sustainable agriculture, it is necessary to manage crop systems and land use towards selecting new strains and varieties of crops and fruits with a lower demand for chemical fertiliser and a higher resistance to disease and pests, balancing large- and small-scale farming, and ensuring land tenure and economic incentives.     

Contrasting visions of food and farming sustainability: NGOs versus the UK Labour government

In a previous issue of the International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology I described how competing visions of sustainable agriculture are currently battling for hegemonic status (Johnson 2006). One vision seeks to break the hegemony of productionism and the other seeks to continue down its path with a greater emphasis on biotechnology. In this paper, I wish to explore these visions further as they apply to actual existing strategies for sustainable farming and food in the UK. This paper uses discourse analysis to compare the UK government's vision for sustainable farming and food sectors with that of two NGOs: Friends of the Earth and Corporate Watch. The language and discourse in the government's and NGOs' strategy documents is examined for evidence indicating their ideological conception of agricultural sustainability. The paper concludes that, whilst the NGOs are pursuing a strong vision of sustainability, seeking to break productionism's hegemony, the UK government is pursuing an ideologically weak-tomoderate conceptualisation of sustainability, pursuing the high-technology modified version of agricultural productionism.     

Comparative study of Chinese ecological agriculture and sustainable agriculture

Although sustainable development has already been promulgated as one of its fundamental strategies by the national government since 1993, sustainable development, as an exotic new paradigm characteristic of profound philosophical and ethical thinking initiated in developed countries, is still not familiar to the Chinese people. Fortunately, in parallel to the evolution of sustainable agriculture, mainly in developed countries, since the beginning of the 1980s, Chinese agricultural scientists and technicians have already innovated their own unique form of Chinese Ecological Agriculture (CEA), on the basis of traditional agriculture that has been sustained for more than 4000 years. The basic principle of CEA emphasizes the obeying of both ecological rules and economic rules, as well as the approach of systematics and ecological engineering exactly corresponding to those adopted by sustainable development. The major difference between the two is that CEA has already been executed on a very large scale and has served as an effective and popularized way to implement sustainable agriculture in most parts of China. Also, as an active way of intensifying agriculture in terms of more inputs of skills, knowledge and labour, CEA is contributing much to all-round rural development throughout China.     

A sustainability assessment of a high-yield agroecosystem in Huantai County,China

Sustainable agricultural development is a perennial issue for agricultural researchers, government managers, and policy makers worldwide, but especially in developing countries. In China, farms in Shandong Province epitomize modern agriculture and play a vital role in providing food for the burgeoning population. However, Chinese agriculture is being challenged by declining resources and environmental deterioration resulting from modern farming practices. China must establish an efficient agricultural sustainability index (ASI) to evaluate agricultural conditions and offer recommendations for sustainable development. Here, we use Huantai County, Shandong Province to test a regionalscale ASI from social, economic and ecological factors that includes 11 sustainability indicators. To further evaluate the complex agroecosystem, we employed the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and AMOEBA methods to assess agricultural sustainability from 1982 to 2003. The results show that environmental problems, especially groundwater depletion, are limiting regional sustainable development.     

Localising the global food system

Agricultural systems have become increasingly industrialized and mechanized, relying on machinery and chemical inputs, rather than people and natural processes, to increase yields of food. The trend towards an increasingly globalised food system encourages unsustainable transportation of food around the world. Agricultural intensification and the globalisation of the agrofood chain has resulted in adverse environmental, social and economic consequences impeding moves towards sustainability. Organic farming can overcome many of the environmental problems associated with agricultural intensification. However, it does not have the potential to fully address the social and economic problems caused by the globalisation of the food system. Organic farming must be combined with local and regional sourcing of food products, for instance through forms of direct marketing of organic produce. Direct marketing schemes such as farmers' markets, food box delivery schemes and community-supported agriculture are all projects which, if managed with sustainability as the prime objective, have the potential to move towards a more socially, environmentally and economically sustainable agrofood system.     

微生物资源的开发利用与农业可持续发展

对微生物资源在农业可持续发展中的作用及其合理开发利用进行了阐述和总结。认为微生物作为一种宝贵的资源,它与农业可持续发展的关系十分密切,它在土壤肥力的提高与保持、营养元素的转化、环境净化与生态系统的平衡等方面起着极其重要的作用。因此,加强以微生物肥料、微生物农药、微生物食品、微生物饲料、环境激素和环境工程微生物等为核心的农业清洁生产技术的研究与开发利用将具有广阔的应用前景。微生物农业即所谓的"白色农业"将成为未来农业可持续发展的重要方向之一。     

Evaluation for sustainable land use in coastal areas: A landscape ecological prospect

Evaluation of sustainability is the core of research on sustainable land use. To a certain extent, traditional social, economic and ecological evaluation for sustainable land use can be regarded as an appraisal on the temporal scale without evaluation of spatial patterns. Landscape ecology can help to realize spatial evaluation for sustainable land use. In this paper, we construct landscape ecological indicators for evaluating sustainable coastal land use from the aspects of landscape productivity, threats and stability, to realize a synthetic temporal-spatial evaluation. These cover the five pillars of sustainable land use, i.e. productivity, security, protection, viability and acceptability. The results of applying landscape ecological evaluation to a case study in Wudi County in China show that land use sustainability is somewhat low and there are great regional differences between its 11 villages. We classified the 11 villages into 5 grades: strong sustainable land use, sustainable land use, weak sustainable land use, weak unsustainable land use, and strong unsustainable land use. Each grade has different land use characteristics and differs in the counter-measures required. But the core countermeasures in all the grades are to improve landscape productivity, to reduce human threats and to optimize landscape patterns.     

Rural well-being: the push and pull and the diversity in-between

This article proposes an analytical framework for developing indicators of agriculture and rural community sustainability, including the symbiotic relationship between sustainable agriculture and rural well-being. Rural well-being offers a sustainable approach to healthy lifestyles that are based on a balance of many complex components including social, economic, and environmental issues. The United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK) have taken positions on these issues. The United States Department of Agriculture is ‘committed to helping improve the economy and quality of life in rural America’ through loans and subsidies (USDA 2015). The USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program vision is to sustain ‘an enduring American agriculture of the highest quality that is profitable, protects the nation’s land and water and is a force, providing a healthy and rewarding way of life for farmers and ranchers whose quality products and operations sustain their communities and society’ (SARE 2016; Smart, Sandt and Chris Zdorovtsov 2016). UK government and non-government agencies have taken a more holistic approach to rural well-being in their efforts to achieve a more balanced social–economic–environmental state of rural well-being. The UK interpretation of Community Supported Agriculture is a tested example of this sustainable approach to fostering rural well-being (Saltmarsh et al. 2011).     

The systems approach for sustainable development at catchment and parish group levels

SUMMARY

Sustainable development considers the development of urban and rural areas, and agriculture is an important element in reaching that aim. After decades of using synthetic pesticides, fertilisers and growth hormones in agriculture, farmers as well as the public, policy and decision makers require options to minimise the negative impacts of agricultural practices on the environment and humans consistent with so called sustainable development. Such options are possible, but require time and a range of approaches. Agricultural production systems in Kent belong to a system and so the systems approach becomes useful to solve their problems. Agricultural activities are interrelated, considering their hierarchical levels and their interactions. Hence, agroecology as a discipline using a systems approach suggests the catchment level as an appropriate unit for the analysis, design, development and evaluation of the ecological and socioeconomic interactions that take place within it. This kind of analysis ideally requires a multidisciplinary team, using disciplinary tools such as GIs and many sources of data. The combination of such a wide range of types of data in a systems approach to sustainability is described as a way to support the public, researchers, policy and decision makers.     

Methodology for an urban ecological footprint to evaluate sustainable development in China

The ecological footprint (EF) is a method for measuring sustainable development through ecological impact. A methodology is presented for predicting urban ecological footprints. Urban energy use and natural resource consumption were analyzed to calculate an EF based on land type (arable, pasture, forest, fossil energy land, built-up area and water area) and consumption (food, housing, transportation, goods, services and waste). The result was then compared with the local ecological carrying capacity to develop criteria for sustainable ecological footprints. Case studies of four cities in China (Guangzhou, Ningbo, Suzhou and Yangzhou) illustrate the urban EF approach. The time series of EF in a case study of Guangzhou for 1991–2001 was analyzed and the consumption–land-use matrix of urban EF was established. The results show that the cities are ecologically unsustainable, with average ecological conflicts per capita of more than 2 ha. The urban EF method is useful to measure urban sustainable development and provides policy proposals for decision-making. However, the EF method still has limitations and weaknesses.     

Social network effects on the adoption of sustainable natural resource management practices in Ethiopia

Soil loss, nutrient depletion and land degradation contribute to the skimpy performance of smallholder agriculture and pose serious policy challenges in developing countries. Surprisingly, natural resource management practices that enhance sustainability while improving productivity have not been fully adopted despite continuous efforts of promotion. Using data collected from 2901 farm households in the Farmers Innovation Fund (FIF) of the World Bank, this study examines factors delaying adoption of resource management and farming practices from the perspective of social learning and network size. Specifically, the study aims at identifying the extent to which differences in network structure matter in providing opportunities to learn about new ways of sustainable resource management practices using regression analysis. The result confirms that social network size plays a significant role in enhancing adoption of natural resource management practices. Moreover, external sources of information such as extension provision play a crucial role in enhancing adoption of resource management practices. Thus, future endeavours should link extension services to informal networks to enhance adoption of sustainable natural resource management practices.     

Beyond strong sustainability

Since the Brundtland Commission's delineation of the term sustainable development in 1987, virtually every country has incorporated the terms sustainability and sustainable development into their planning vocabulary and criteria for decision-making. However, many issues remain unresolved. Broad and sweeping references to sustainability and sustainable development do not necessarily translate into implementable policies to achieve these goals. In particular, unresolved issues include developing an understanding of how one sector of the economy can contribute to the sustainable development of the economy as a whole and the role of ecological resources in sustainable development. Our paper provides an initial conceptual examination of these questions by folding mining and ecological quality into the sustainability discussion. We use the Brazilian Amazon as an application of our sustainable development model.     

Ecological restoration,social-economic changes and sustainable development in the Three Gorges Reservoir area: A case study in Yunyang,Chongqing Municipality

The Three Gorges Reservoir area contains high mountains and deep valleys. The fragile mountainous ecosystems are facing problems such as overpopulation, less available farmland, ecological degradation and poverty. The construction of the Three Gorges Project and a series of ecological restoration activities and social-economic changes have influenced the present and future viability of this area. The measures which have been taken indicate that restoring and renewing the degraded ecosystems and improving the economy is a prerequisite and is possible. Yunyang, a typical county, both in terms of poverty and ecological degradation in the Three Gorges Reservoir area of Chongqing Municipality, was chosen for the case study. This paper discusses the impacts of the Grain-for-Green project, ecological agriculture, urban and infrastructure building and ecological immigrants on the regional sustainable development through detailed field investigation and a questionnaire survey.     

Nachhaltigkeit in der Pflanzenproduktion

Part I gives an overview on the origin and the development of the term “sustainability” in general and for agriculture in particular. This overview shows that the term “sustainability” is used widely in discussing ecological, social and economic aspects; however, there is no generally accepted definition for this term neither for the different aspects, nor for a concept including all the discussed aspects of “sustainability”. This makes a determination and practical implementation of the term “sustainability” difficult. Therefore a definition for a sustainable crop production from the ecological point of view is elaborated based on the discussion of the development of the term and on the identification of the most important applied aspects. This definition forms the basis for a methodological approach to the practical implementation of a sustainable crop production (»part II).     

Is current agronomy ready to promote sustainable agriculture? Identifying key skills and competencies needed

The quest for agricultural sustainability generates the need to develop functional support schemes aimed at supplying farmers with knowledge, information and appropriate solutions, thus smoothing the transition towards sustainable agriculture (SA). In this vein, it is expected that agronomists have to play a key role, plotting the course for a sustainable farming future. Nevertheless, a critical question is whether agronomists possess the skills and competencies needed to motivate and guide this transition process. Two studies were designed to examine which clusters of agronomists’ skills and competencies determine their ability to promote SA. Study 1, using data from a sample of farmers, revealed that agronomists’ level of knowledge on issues pertaining to SA, their networking capacities, facilitation competencies, and communication skills affect their ability to guide the transition towards sustainable farm production. Study 2, drawing on data from a sample of agronomists, confirmed the pivotal role of sustainability knowledge, facilitation skills and networking competencies on the aptitude to promote SA. Both studies uncovered that agronomists display low to moderate levels of these skills. Taken together, these results point out the need to reorganize agronomic (formal and lifelong) education in order to equip agronomists with new competencies and to enable them to effectively promote SA.     

Assessing the capacity of three Bolivian food systems to provide farm-based agroecosystem services

ABSTRACT

Food system activities have modified 40% of the Earth’s terrestrial surface. These activities affect the sustainability of food systems – and their ability to provide agroecosystem services. Here, we compare three food systems in Bolivia. One is agro-industrial (soybean), one is indigenous to a Guarani community (maize and beans), and one is an agroecological, horticulture-based food system. We use the Agroecosystem Service Capacity (ASC) approach, which is based on a list of 23 agroecosystem services that allow the ASC index of farm-based agroecosystems to be estimated. Our findings show that agroecological (ASC = 2.57) and indigenous (ASC = 2.43) farm-based agroecosystems have a higher capacity to provide farm-based agroecosystem services than the agro-industrial (ASC = 0.82). This capacity differs because farmers in the agroecological and indigenous farm-based agroecosystems achieve a higher structural diversity and know how to use more agroecosystem services. These results could promote more sustainable food systems by fostering agricultural landscapes that provide a diversity of farm-based agroecosystem services.     

生态农业系统综合效益评价研究动态与展望

总结了国内外生态农业发展和生态农业系统生态经济评价体系及评价的方法，阐述了生态农业综合效益评价的特点及国内外研究的最新动态。提出土壤健康在农业持续发展评价中的重要性。最后指出了生态-经济系统整合模型在建立生态农业最优化模式中的应用前景。     

Facilitating resilient rural-to-urban sustainable agriculture and rural communities

ABSTRACT

This article contributes to efforts to validate a common set of parameters and principles of sustainable agriculture. Comparisons between alternative forms of sustainable agriculture and rural-to-urban community resilience are investigated. Conclusions are drawn between multiple sustainable/alternative agriculture systems and evaluated. A set of common baseline parameters and principles is proposed as a method of evolving a common structural framework for strengthening sustainability of agriculture and rural contexts. Concepts of rural-to-urban community sustainability are proposed, supporting sustainable agriculture contexts as rural and urban. In the twenty-first century, agriculture is becoming more diversified and less typified as a rural occupation. Urban agriculture is expanding as the need for fresh, affordable, accessible agriculture produce increases in urban areas. Evidence supports symbiotic relationships between sustainable agriculture and rural/urban communities, although some claim this relationship has not been clearly defined.

This article investigates sustainable agriculture from two perspectives. We ask ‘what are common parameters and principles of the various forms of sustainable agriculture,’ and ‘why urban-to-rural context.’ Organic agriculture parameters and principles are proposed as a conceptual framework toward establishing baseline parameters and principles for sustainable agriculture. Best management parameters of urban and rural sustainable agriculture in the United States and the United Kingdom are examined for their potential to develop a strengthening framework of parameters and principles of agriculture and rural-to-urban sustainability. These results are compared and evaluated for their effectiveness in redefining current sustainable agriculture practices, and their value in strengthening sustainable agriculture symbiosis with rural-to-urban community systems.