Socioeconomic outcomes of agricultural land use change in Southeast Asia

Agricultural land use is transforming rapidly in Southeast Asia, often supported by development policies aiming primarily at economic growth. However, the socioeconomic outcomes of these changes for smallholder farmers remain unclear. Here, we systematically review cases of agricultural land use change in Southeast Asia to assess their socioeconomic outcomes and potential trade-off and synergies in these outcomes. Of the 126 reviewed cases, we find mostly positive outcomes for income (SDG 1, 100 cases) and employment (SDG 8, 11 cases), while outcomes on health (SDG 3, 9 cases) were mixed, and outcomes for food security (SDG 2, 44 cases), gender equality (SDG 5, 13 cases), and economic equality (SDG 10, 14 cases) were mostly negative. Studies describing multiple outcomes show indications of synergies between income and food security, and between income and employment, but also potential trade-offs between income and economic equality. In addition, we find that economic land concessions result in multiple negative outcomes more often than other types of land governance regimes. The results provide evidence that economic gains from agricultural land use change often come at a cost of other dimensions of sustainable development.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13280-022-01712-4.     

Participatory integrated assessment of adaptation to climate change in Alpine tourism and mountain agriculture

Winter tourism and mountain agriculture are the most important economic sectors in a major part of the Swiss Alps. Both are highly sensitive to changing climatic conditions. In the framework of the CLEAR project, results from climate impact research in the field of tourism and agricultural production were used to investigate the perception of climatic change by stakeholders and to assess possible adaptations. We used a participatory integrated assessment (PIA) to involve the knowledge, values and experiences of the various social actors in tourism and agriculture (e.g., skiers, tourism managers, farmers) in the research process. Whereas climate change may have various severe direct impacts on the tourism industry, depending on the region, agricultural production may generally benefit from changed climatic conditions. But because of the dependence of farmers on “off-farm” income, the loss due to declining winter tourism in specific areas may cause more important indirect effects. However, the two sectors may adapt actively by choosing from a variety of strategies, and the loss of income from the tourism industry may support the re-evaluation of the various functions agriculture plays in mountain regions, beyond the production of food. The study demonstrates the suitability of the PIA approach to elucidate the interactions between different stakeholders and their perception of the climate change phenomena. A similar participatory approach could be a useful tool to transfer research results and expert knowledge to the political process addressing adaptations to climate change. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

替代面法和推算法在淅川库区氨氮干沉降评估中的适用性分析

农业源氨氮沉降是水库型水源地水体收到的重要的外源氮之一,其沉降量评估与来源识别是水体氮污染防控的重要依据 .替代面法和推算法是大气氮素干沉降监测的两种常用方法 .采用替代面法和推算法,于 2019年 9月—2020年 8月对淅川库区周边设置的 5个大气监测点进行干沉降样品采集,测定了样品中氨氮浓度及其氮同位素,探讨了 2 种监测方法在氨氮干沉降通量估算及氨氮来源解析中的适用性 .结果表明：替代面法获得的氨氮干沉降通量为推算法的1.4～2.1倍,2种监测方法获得的氨氮干沉降通量在时空变化趋势上具有一致性;推算法获得的δ¹⁵N-NH₄⁺较替代面法偏负,季均相差为11.1‰,时空差异显著.替代面法在获得淅川库区氨氮干沉降通量方面具有优势,受氨氮分馏影响,直接获得的 δ¹⁵N-NH₄⁺值较初始源 δ¹⁵N-NH₃值存在较大偏差,影响溯源结果的准确性;推算法能够分别获得不同氨氮形态干沉降中的 δ¹⁵N...     

Spatial Relations Between Floodplain Environments and Land Use – Land Cover of a Large Lowland Tropical River Valley: Pánuco Basin, México

Large lowland river valleys include a variety of floodplain environments that represent opportunities and constraints for human activities. This study integrates extensive field observations and geomorphic data with analysis of satellite remote sensing data to examine spatial relations between land use/land cover (LULC) and floodplain environments in the lower Pánuco basin of eastern Mexico. The floodplain of the lower Pánuco basin was delineated by combining a digital elevation model with a satellite image of a large flood event. The LULC was classified by combining a hybrid classification strategy with image stratification, applied to 15-m-resolution ASTER data. A geomorphic classification of floodplain environments was performed using a dry-stage image (ASTER data) and a 1993 Landsat image acquired during a large flood event. Accuracy assessment was based on aerial photographs (1:38,000), global positioning satellite ground-truthing, and a Landsat 7ETM⁺ image from 2000, which resulted in an overall accuracy of 82.9% and a KHAT of 79.8% for the LULC classification. The geomorphic classification yielded 83.5% overall accuracy, whereas the KHAT was 81.5%. LULC analysis was performed for the entire floodplain and individually within four valley segments. The analysis indicates that the study area is primarily utilized for grazing and farming. Agriculture is primarily associated with coarse-grained (sandy/silty) natural levee and point bar units close to the river channel, whereas cattle grazing occurs in distal and lower-lying reaches dominated by cohesive fine-grained (clayey) deposits, such as backswamps. In the Pánuco valley, wetlands and lakes occur within backswamp environments, whereas in the Moctezuma segments, wetlands and lakes are associated with relict channels. This study reveals considerable variation in LULC related to spatial differences in floodplain environments and illustrates the importance of considering older anthropogenic influences on the landscape. The research design should be applicable for other large lowland coastal plain river valleys where agriculture is a major component of the floodplain landscape.     

Does The World Need U.S. Farmers Even If Americans Don’t?

We consider the implications of trends in the number of U.S. farmers and food imports on the question of what role U.S. farmers have in an increasingly global agrifood system. Our discussion stems from the argument some scholars have made that American consumers can import their food more cheaply from other countries than it can produce it. We consider the distinction between U.S. farmers and agriculture and the effect of the U.S. food footprint on developing nations to argue there might be an important role for U.S. farmers, even if it appears Americans don’t need them. For instance, we may need to protect U.S. farmland and, by implication, U.S. farmers, for future food security needs both domestic and international. We also explore the role of U.S. farmers by considering the question of whether food is a privilege or a right. Although Americans seem to accept that food is a privilege, many scholars and commentators argue that, at least on a global scale, food is a right, particularly for the world’s poor and hungry. If this is the case, then U.S. farmers might have a role in meeting the associated obligation to ensure that the poor of the world have enough food to eat. We look at the consequences of determining that food is a right versus a privilege and the implications of that decision for agricultural subsidies as well as U.S. agriculture and nutrition policies.     

Harvesting of rainwater and brooklets water to increase mountain agricultural productivity: A case study from a dry valley of southwestern China

In semi-arid valleys of southwestern China, seasonal shortage of water is the major contributing factor to low and unstable crop yield. Harvesting of both rainwater and brooklets water in the semi-arid valleys of Ningnan county of Sichuan Province has brought about considerable economic and environmental change. Brooklet water is collected throughout the year but mainly during the rainy season in a series of ponds while rainwater is harvested in underground tanks constructed on road side or land boundaries with only a small opening above ground to save limited cropland. Increased water availability has promoted cultivation of sugarcane, tobacco, and mulberry, and increased per unit area yield of food crops. Sericulture, sugarcane and tobacco have become three important sources of farmers' income. The water harvesting has contributed considerably to increased rural income, poverty reduction, reduced soil erosion and improvement in overall environment. Government has played a key role in planning and implementation of water harvesting programmes. Financial support of government and clear ownership of water harvesting facilities are critical for the success of the programme. Application of similar water harvesting techniques in other areas with similar biophysical conditions would contribute to enhancing the rural economy and alleviating poverty.     

Ecological and economic dynamics of the Shunde agricultural system under China's small city development strategy

The agricultural and industrial development of small cities is the primary environmental management strategy employed to make full use of extra labor in the rural areas of China. The ecological and economic consequences of this development strategy will affect over 100 million people and change the organization of the Chinese landscape. In this study, we examined the agricultural development of Shunde, a small city in Guangdong Province, over the period 1978 until 2000. Our analysis of the ecological and economic dynamics of the agricultural system revealed the dominant role of labor in the intensification of agricultural production, even though the use of fuels, fertilizers and machines also increased during this time. The Shunde agricultural system was examined from both biophysical or donor-based and human utility or receiver-based perspectives, using emergy and economic methods, respectively. After 22 years of urbanization, the Shunde agricultural system was still able to fill 96% of the local demand for agricultural products using only 6% of its total yield compared to using 14% of the total yield in 1978. Aquaculture developed quickly during the study period as grain production decreased. In 2000, the production of fish, pork, and vegetables accounted for 92% of the total emergy output of the system; however, the emergy buying power of the money received in exchange was lower than the emergy contained in the products exported. The excess emergy exported is the basis for a high quality diet delivered to city dwellers at a relatively low price. In the 1980s, the productivity of both land and labor increased; but after 1992 the productivity of labor decreased, causing the efficiency of the whole agricultural system to decrease. We recommend that processing plants be established for the main agricultural products of Shunde to decrease the emergy loss in trading and to increase employment. The effect of including monetized ecosystem services in the balance between the emergy delivered to the markets in agricultural products and the emergy buying power of the money received was to decrease the emergy gained by the Shunde agricultural system.     

Adoption and adaptation of natural resource management innovations in smallholder agriculture: reflections on key lessons and best practices

Many smallholder farmers in vulnerable areas continue to face complex challenges in adoption and adaptation of resource management and conservation strategies. Although much has been learned from diverse experiences in sustainable resource management, there is still inadequate understanding of the market, policy and institutional failures that shape and structure farmer incentives and investment decisions. The policy and institutional failures exacerbate market failures, locking smallholder resource users into a low level equilibrium that perpetuates poverty and land degradation. Improved market access that raises the returns to land and labor is often the driving force for adoption of new practices in agriculture. Market linkages, access to credit and availability of pro-poor options for beneficial conservation are critical factors in stimulating livelihood and sustainability-enhancing investments. Future interventions need to promote joint innovations that ensure farmer experimentation and adaptation of new technologies and careful consideration of market, policy and institutional factors that stimulate widespread smallholder investments. Future projects should act as ‘toolboxes’, giving essential support to farmers to devise complementary solutions based on available options. Addressing the externalities and institutional failures that prevent private and joint investments for management of agricultural landscapes will require new kinds of institutional mechanisms for empowering communities through local collective action that would ensure broad participation and equitable distributions of the gains from joint conservation investments. Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.     

Study on the Circular Agriculture Development in Beijing＇s Mountain Areas

Circular agriculture is an essential way to realize the positive recycling of ecology and harmonious development of the country construction. The sustainable development of Beijing＇s mountain areas depends on the background and orientation of ecological economy. Beijing＇s mountain areas bear the responsibility of protecting the ecological safety of the whole Beijing district and also the exploration of circular agriculture in mountain areas is very important to promote the sustainable use of agriculture resources. Beijing＇s mountain areas have possessed some practical experience in recycling agriculture development. Through summarizing the development mode and analyzing the development practice, the article puts forward three key segments of promoting Beijing circular agriculture development： strengthen propagate, develop superiority and built management mechanism.     

内蒙古农业灌区秋浇的盐分流失变化

在农业废水产生量较大的秋浇期,选取14条引水和排水渠中的灌溉引水和秋浇退水进行盐份含量及组分分析,并针对重点渠段进行了45d 的连续监测.结果发现,在各引水渠中盐分含量都较低,全盐量基本在300mg·L-1左右.排水渠中全盐量较引水渠中有大幅升高,其中第8灌域与第9灌域的排干渠中的全盐量达到 6000mg·L-1以上.水质综合分析表明,灌溉后退水都为盐碱水和重盐碱水.同时,排水渠中高含盐量是随着灌区的秋浇活动而持续发生的,并且与灌溉引水量成比例关系.研究表明,内蒙古农业灌区的秋浇活动是导致乌粱素海以及黄河中下游水中盐分含量过高的主要原因之一.