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1 – 10 of 60Emili Bassols Isamat, Bernat Perramon Ramos, Josep M. Mallarach Carrera and Jordi Falgarona Bosch
This paper aims to describe the situation of the agrobiodiversity in La Garrotxa Volcanic Zone Natural Park, a protected area in which the agricultural and animal husbandry…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to describe the situation of the agrobiodiversity in La Garrotxa Volcanic Zone Natural Park, a protected area in which the agricultural and animal husbandry sectors play a significant role. It also aims to discuss the activities promoted by the park and by other institutions aimed at conserving and promoting local agrobiodiversity.
Design/methodology/approach
One of the three lines of work in the Natural Park in the field of agriculture is the recuperation, conservation and divulgation of notable and/or endangered agricultural species and varieties. This paper describes some of the work carried out in this field.
Findings
The institutions are vital in the recovery of interesting species and varieties, and in order to ensure their conservation it is essential to promote projects in which the agrarian sector can participate.
Research limitations/implications
Collaboration between the institutions and the agrarian sector is essential for the conservation of the agrobiodiversity, although the interests of farmers and the use of certain species and varieties do not always coincide.
Practical implications
The commercial interest and the knowledge of the use and management of some of the conserved species and varieties may have been lost over time, which makes their implantation difficult. Thus, it is important to restore popular knowledge associated with all species and varieties.
Originality/value
In light of increasingly homogeneous agricultural and stock‐raising practices, activities such as those implemented by the La Garrotxa Volcanic Zone Natural Park have a vital part to play in the conservation of agrobiodiversity.
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Riccardo Torelli and Federica Balluchi
Amid the current global crisis, biodiversity remains a topic that is often relegated to a few disciplines. Many issues related to the relationship between organizations and the…
Abstract
Purpose
Amid the current global crisis, biodiversity remains a topic that is often relegated to a few disciplines. Many issues related to the relationship between organizations and the ecosystem remain unexplored. This study aims to fill this gap by examining the characteristics of the interrelationship between these two complex and dynamic systems.
Design/methodology/approach
This research is conducted using a constructivist approach, with an interpretivist perspective and a case study methodology. Through this research perspective and an exploratory multiple case study (holistic), the authors assess the implications related to the concept of biodiversity and the impacts that organizational choices could have on the consideration and management of this complex concept.
Findings
The desire of these entrepreneurs to change their ways of doing things and try to produce in a way that respects the ecosystem and enhances natural genetic diversity, while simultaneously drawing value from it in a healthy and sustainable manner, is evident. The orientation toward a sustainable and ecologically innovative business brings the concept of profit into the background on several occasions, leading these bakery entrepreneurs to be visionary green entrepreneurs (or ecopreneurs). The desire to be sustainable and to change the ways of “business as usual” makes these companies and their entrepreneurs an example of “sustainability-as-flourishing.”
Originality/value
By adopting the systems thinking approach and multiple case studies, this study examines the interrelation between some innovative small companies (bakeries) and biodiversity, their motivations to actively engage in biodiversity protection and their roles in protecting agrobiodiversity as well as the natural wealth of the ecosystem.
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Erick Pajares Garay and Jaime Llosa Larrabure
This paper aims to explore how Andean knowledge and culture have shaped mountain ecosystems by building cultural landscapes where agrobiodiversity is created and recreated, water…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore how Andean knowledge and culture have shaped mountain ecosystems by building cultural landscapes where agrobiodiversity is created and recreated, water is domesticated (seeded and harvested), and where a harmonious relationship with the Earth and the Universe is kept.
Design/methodology/approach
Through the use of primary and secondary sources, the information is then organized detailing a synthesis of thoughts and joint research studies conducted by various authors regarding the valuable contributions made by the Andean culture.
Findings
This paper finds that strategies for facing the ecological crisis affecting planet Earth are being developed: the Pleiades and the Andean Cross continue to be observed in order to predict the weather and climate and make decisions related to traditional agricultural systems; cultural landscapes are being created and maintained; and water continues to be domesticated.
Originality/value
The tropical Andes of Peru would be in the third country most affected by global climate change worldwide. The severe impacts of the global phenomenon on mountain ecosystems and cultural landscapes are many, all of which are affecting food security of large human groups and traditional lifestyles of communities and farmers.
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Shi Min, Jikun Huang and Hermann Waibel
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of farmers’ risk perceptions regarding rubber farming on their land use choices, including rubber specialization and crop…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of farmers’ risk perceptions regarding rubber farming on their land use choices, including rubber specialization and crop diversification.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional survey data of some 600 smallholder rubber farmers in Xishuangbanna in Southwest China is employed. This paper develops a general conceptual framework that incorporates a subjective risk item into a model of farmers’ land use choices, thereby developing four econometric models to estimate the role of risk perceptions, and applies instrumental variables to control for the endogeneity of risk perceptions.
Findings
The results demonstrate that risk perceptions play an important role in smallholders’ decision-making regarding land use strategies to address potential risks in rubber farming. Smallholders with higher risk perceptions specialize in rubber farming less often and are more likely to diversify their land use, thereby contributing to local environmental conservation in terms of agrobiodiversity. The land use choices of smallholder rubber farmers are also associated with ethnicity, household wealth, off-farm employment, land tenure status, altitude and rubber farming experience.
Originality/value
This study contributes to a better understanding of the implications of farmers’ risk perceptions and shows entry points for improving the sustainability of rubber-based land use systems.
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Paola Migliorini, Alexander Wezel, Eve Veromann, Carola Strassner, Dominika Średnicka-Tober, Johannes Kahl, Susanne Bügel, Teresa Briz, Renata Kazimierczak, Hélène Brives, Angelika Ploeger, Ute Gilles, Vanessa Lüder, Olesa Schleicher-Deis, Natalia Rastorgueva, Fabio Tuccillo, Liina Talgre, Tanel Kaart, Diana Ismael and Ewa Rembiałkowska
To clarify needs and requests of the young generation to the contemporary and future education on food systems, this paper aims to examine the following issues: students’…
Abstract
Purpose
To clarify needs and requests of the young generation to the contemporary and future education on food systems, this paper aims to examine the following issues: students’ background knowledge, students’ behaviour as consumers and food citizenship, most interesting topics of SFS for students and students’ preferences and expectations in developing different skills, topics and preferences in teaching/learning methods.
Design/methodology/approach
This study was performed as an online-survey amongst eight European Universities in seven European Union (EU) countries to which 1,122 students responded. Data was analysed with descriptive and multivariate statistical analyses.
Findings
Taste and Health are the most important values and motives that influence students’ food buying and consumption decisions, but significant differences were found amongst students from different universities and countries. The most important topics for students for future teaching courses are “organic food”, “fair trade”, “organic agriculture” and most important skills to learn are “ability to make a judgement and justify decisions” and the “ability to create and innovate”. Excursions and field trips as teaching methods was given the highest ranks.
Research limitations/implications
Different study programmes and cultural backgrounds of the participating students in the different universities could be a limiting factor for the interpretation of some results.
Originality/value
These results provide a basis for improvement of higher education in the EU towards sustainable food systems based on experiential learning/teaching methods.
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Fighting the drought. Based on this idea, for almost two centuries now the Brazilian State has elaborated policies and programmes intended to stimulate rural development in the…
Abstract
Fighting the drought. Based on this idea, for almost two centuries now the Brazilian State has elaborated policies and programmes intended to stimulate rural development in the semiarid region of the country. It is this idea which has nourished the illusion that immense infrastructures need to be built to capture, store and transport large volumes of water in order to supply production activities in the region. Associated with this proposal is the attempt to reproduce the same pattern of development adopted in other Brazilian biomes, the main characteristic of which is the use of monoculture practices on large properties managed according to entrepreneurial modes of production. However the rich social experience promoted by rural worker organizations in the region has challenged this model by proposing living with the semiarid (Convivência com o Semiárido) as the guiding principle for alternative trajectories of development. Inspired by the experience of territorial development under way in the Agreste da Borborema region of Paraíba state, the chapter shows that the evolution of these new paths of development depends on revitalizing and mobilizing locally available resources, such as ecological potentials, social mechanisms for organizing labour and for producing and sharing knowledge, local forms of connecting food production to consumption and so on. The text concludes by emphasizing the need to design and implant institutional frameworks that enable a more balanced distribution of power between the State and civil society organizations, thereby allowing the latter to assume a more substantial role in identifying and managing endogenous resources that underpin self-centred development strategies.
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Jessica Brown and Ashish Kothari
This paper seeks to offer an overview on the theme of “Traditional agricultural landscapes and indigenous and community conserved areas.” It aims to explore questions related to…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to offer an overview on the theme of “Traditional agricultural landscapes and indigenous and community conserved areas.” It aims to explore questions related to the special values of these landscapes, the threats facing them and ways to sustain them in the future. It also aims to discuss recent developments in conservation, particularly related to governance of protected areas and the emerging recognition of “indigenous and community‐conserved areas” in diverse regions worldwide.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on a collection of conceptual papers and case‐studies presented at a workshop (Cusco, Peru, 2008) and compiled in the present issue of this journal, this overview paper explores key issues and challenges related to community stewardship of traditional agricultural landscapes. It synthesizes a few common themes emerging from these papers and the discussions in Cusco, and reviews these in the context of global developments in protected areas and conservation.
Findings
Across diverse settings, traditional agricultural landscapes, created by indigenous peoples and local communities, have been shaped by the dynamic interaction of people and nature over time. These landscapes, rich in agro‐biodiversity as well as inherent wild biodiversity and cultural and spiritual values, embody human ingenuity and are continually evolving. Key points emerging from this review include the role of traditional ecological knowledge systems, cultural practices and social institutions in creating these landscapes and ensuring their stewardship; the importance of securing customary governance; and need for dynamic socio‐ecological indicators to measure the resilience of different landscapes.
Originality/value
The paper shows that these “living landscapes” play a vital role in sustaining agro‐biodiversity as well as inherent wild biodiversity values, ensuring ecosystem function, and supporting livelihoods and food security. These landscapes and their associated management systems have much to teach us about sustainability and resilience in the face of global change.
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Frederik J.W. van Oudenhoven, Dunja Mijatović and Pablo B. Eyzaguirre
The purpose of this paper is to present an approach aimed at facilitating nature conservation that builds on the ecological and social synergies that exist in traditionally…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present an approach aimed at facilitating nature conservation that builds on the ecological and social synergies that exist in traditionally managed landscapes in and around protected areas and integrates conservation and social goals to achieve a reduction in the levels of marginalization of indigenous and local communities while preventing ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on literature research and insights from political and historical ecology and systems theory, a framework was developed to aid the understanding of human‐environment interactions taking place in traditionally managed ecosystems and landscapes and to monitor the role that these interactions play in the maintenance of such systems.
Findings
Virtually all ecosystems and landscapes must be seen as coupled social‐ecological systems whose ability to respond to stresses and change derives from ecological and social characteristics, as well as from the link between these natural and human components. A variety of mechanisms by which indigenous and rural communities help anchor biodiversity and contribute to social‐ecological resilience were identified.
Originality/value
This paper challenges the rationale behind exclusionary approaches to nature conservation. Indicators are developed to facilitate a shift towards the widespread adoption of “human‐centered” conservation practices, in which nature conservation benefits from the inclusion and empowerment of human communities instead of their exclusion and marginalization.
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In line with various scientific papers warning against an inconsistent use of this adjective for food qualification, the purpose of this paper is to point out the sweeping…
Abstract
Purpose
In line with various scientific papers warning against an inconsistent use of this adjective for food qualification, the purpose of this paper is to point out the sweeping assertion that “local” equates to “ecological”.
Design/methodology/approach
Looking beyond the measurement of carbon emissions to assess impacts on the environment, this paper addresses ecological issues in terms of interactions with the environment. To this end, it enhances an under-the-skin approach that goes through “local” fruit and vegetables to look into seed management and plant breeding practices.
Findings
This method, tested with 2 vegetative species – apple and potato – on 12 case studies in Europe, allows to build a typology that discriminates between: producing food without reproducing plants, grafting trees and storing tubers for maintaining landraces, and sowing seeds to restart the breeding process from the early beginning, trying in this way to enhance the capacity of plants to better fit with their environment. The typology matches a gradient that describes various degrees of intensity of environment–society relationships, from disconnection to adaptation – conceived on the one hand as already stabilized and on the other hand as still evolving.
Research limitations/implications
This analytical framework sheds light on contradictions that many local food networks have to face while yearning for a recognition by a geographical indication.
Originality/value
The paper argues that vegetal material might be a fruitful research object for tracking the controversies that unfold along the construction of local food products. It discusses social constructivist approaches of terroir while advocating for a materialist approach.
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Justus Wesseler, Sara Scatasta and El Hadji Fall
The widespread introduction of genetically modified (GM) crops may change the effect of agriculture on the environment. The magnitude and direction of expected effects are still…
Abstract
The widespread introduction of genetically modified (GM) crops may change the effect of agriculture on the environment. The magnitude and direction of expected effects are still being hotly debated, and the interests served in this discussion arena are often far from those of science and social welfare maximization. This chapter proposes that GM crops have net positive environmental effects, while regulatory responses focus mainly on environmental concerns, giving an unbalanced picture of the regulatory context. This unbalance supports the hypothesis that environmental concerns about GM crops have been politically instrumentalized and that more attention should be paid to regulatory responses considering the environmental benefits of this technology. It is also argued that a number of environmental effects have not yet been quantified and more research is needed in this direction.
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