scholarly journals Agricultural sustainability: concepts, principles and evidence

2007 ◽  
Vol 363 (1491) ◽  
pp. 447-465 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jules Pretty
Keyword(s):  
Natural Capital ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Agricultural Sustainability ◽  
Agricultural Systems ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Environmental Goods ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Energy Flows ◽  
Food Productivity ◽  
Livestock Productivity

Concerns about sustainability in agricultural systems centre on the need to develop technologies and practices that do not have adverse effects on environmental goods and services, are accessible to and effective for farmers, and lead to improvements in food productivity. Despite great progress in agricultural productivity in the past half-century, with crop and livestock productivity strongly driven by increased use of fertilizers, irrigation water, agricultural machinery, pesticides and land, it would be over-optimistic to assume that these relationships will remain linear in the future. New approaches are needed that will integrate biological and ecological processes into food production, minimize the use of those non-renewable inputs that cause harm to the environment or to the health of farmers and consumers, make productive use of the knowledge and skills of farmers, so substituting human capital for costly external inputs, and make productive use of people's collective capacities to work together to solve common agricultural and natural resource problems, such as for pest, watershed, irrigation, forest and credit management. These principles help to build important capital assets for agricultural systems: natural; social; human; physical; and financial capital. Improving natural capital is a central aim, and dividends can come from making the best use of the genotypes of crops and animals and the ecological conditions under which they are grown or raised. Agricultural sustainability suggests a focus on both genotype improvements through the full range of modern biological approaches and improved understanding of the benefits of ecological and agronomic management, manipulation and redesign. The ecological management of agroecosystems that addresses energy flows, nutrient cycling, population-regulating mechanisms and system resilience can lead to the redesign of agriculture at a landscape scale. Sustainable agriculture outcomes can be positive for food productivity, reduced pesticide use and carbon balances. Significant challenges, however, remain to develop national and international policies to support the wider emergence of more sustainable forms of agricultural production across both industrialized and developing countries.

scholarly journals The value of the Ecological Station of Jataí's ecosystem services and natural capital

2001 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. E. SANTOS ◽  
F. NOGUEIRA ◽  
J. S. R. PIRES ◽  
A. T. OBARA ◽  
A. M. Z. C. R. PIRES
Keyword(s):  
Natural Capital ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Economic Importance ◽  
Natural Ecosystem ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Human Needs ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Monetary Value ◽  
Environmental Functions

The capacity of a given natural ecosystem to provide certain goods and services that satisfy human needs depends on its environmental characteristics (natural processes and components). It was described the availability of these goods and services (environmental functions) controlled and sustained by ecological processes operating in Ecological Station of Jataí (Luiz Antônio, SP). The environmental functions identified were grouped in four main categories. To make environmental values an integrated factor in planning and decision making it was assessed their socio-economic importance in qualitative terms and, if possible their monetary value. The combined potential annual return from identified functions of Ecological Station of Jataí is at least US$ 708.83/ha/year. In comparison to calculations made for other natural ecosystems this is a rather moderate estimate. The Ecological Station of Jataí is poorly protected and managed, it too is still threatened by human activity (agriculture) and many development plans. Although present day market economics do not recognize the monetary value of most environmental functions, such calculations do provide a revealing insight into the great socio-economic importance of Ecological Station of Jataí. More awareness of these values may provide an important incentive for their preservation and sustainable use.

Towards evolutionary agroecology

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (14) ◽  
pp. 51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin L. Mercer
Keyword(s):  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Agricultural Systems ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Genetic Analyses ◽  
Holistic Perspective ◽  
Evolutionary Study ◽  
Quantitative Genetic ◽  
Field Evolution

Agroecology derives much of its strength from interactions between disciplines that produce a holistic perspective on agricultural systems and issues.  Although ongoing integration of social dynamics into agroecology has strengthened the field, evolution and genetics have not been embraced to the same degree, despite the fact that they have been are discussed in some common agroecology texts.  I argue that the field of agroecology could extend its reach and depth by embracing the evolutionary study of agroecosystems.  Areas of evolutionary inquiry with relevance to agriculture focus on long or short term processes, encompass a range of scales, incorporate molecular or quantitative genetic analyses, and explore ecological processes to differing degrees.

scholarly journals 6.F. Round table: What is the evidence for and against price transparency in pharmaceutical pricing and procurement?

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Full Range ◽  
Round Table ◽  
World Health ◽  
Pharmaceutical Pricing ◽  
Price Inflation ◽  
Price Transparency ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Pharmaceutical Procurement ◽  
Lower Ability ◽  
Pharmaceutical Prices

Abstract Although the potential for price transparency in pharmaceutical systems has been widely debated, there has been less discussion of the empirical basis to inform policymaking in this area. The lack of price transparency is viewed as one of the biggest barriers to joint pharmaceutical procurement, an initiative that has the potential to drive down pharmaceutical prices by pooling the purchasing power of smaller populations and thus improve the affordability of medicines. However, critics of the call for increased transparency in pharmaceutical pricing argue that such policies would lead to price inflation, particularly for countries with lower ability to pay or limited negotiating power. Given the widespread use of negotiated confidential discounts granted to different payers by manufacturers and the pervasiveness of international reference pricing as a policy mechanism for determining pharmaceutical prices, transparency policies would not only affect countries directly implementing them. As a result, policy-makers are often reluctant and unsure about how to proceed; this became readily apparent in the discussions around the Transparency Resolution at the World Health Assembly in May 2019. A concise overview of the evidence on the consequences of transparency policies is lacking. This panel draws on a wide-ranging literature review that sought to answer the following key research questions: Is there empirical evidence that examines the effect of price transparency on price development (within countries implementing the policy as well as other countries) In the area of pharmaceuticals? Regarding other types of healthcare goods and services? Regarding products from other industries? What insights can we learn from the available evidence and how transferrable is evidence from other healthcare dimensions or other industries to the issue of price transparency for pharmaceuticals? In this workshop we will bring together researchers to discuss the type of evidence available the extent to which it is empirically grounded. The workshop aims to address this issue and highlight evidence gaps for and against price transparency policies. Each panellist will talk for a maximum of 10 minutes presenting insights from their work; audience members will be actively invited to share their insights and reflections. Key messages The debate on price transparency in pharmaceutical systems needs to advance by looking at the full range of evidence available. Highlighting evidence gaps can endorse real world experiments to test theoretical arguments.

scholarly journals Substitutability and the Valuation of Natural Capital

Conservation ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 159-181
Author(s):  
Charles Perrings
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Natural Capital ◽  
Utility Functions ◽  
Elasticity Of Substitution ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Capital Assets ◽  
Relative Value

Chapter 7 considers the substitutability between produced and natural capital—assets used in the production of goods and services, and between environmental and other goods and services. It shows the ways in which the limits of substitutability are captured in both production and utility functions, and what this means for conservation. The chapter also discusses the relation between substitutability and the value of environmental inputs, using concepts of gross substitutability and complementarity, and the elasticity of substitution. The authors also note that the relative value of environmental inputs is frequently dependent on the environmental conditions under which production takes place.

scholarly journals Análisis de la influencia de los atributos ambientales en el valor de los predios de la vereda el salto / Analysis of the Influence of Environmental Attributes in the Property Value of El Salto Path

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 365-380
Author(s):  
Jhon Fredy Velandia Castillo ◽  
Diego Fernando Trujillo Gonzalez ◽  
Daniel Esteban Saénz Restrepo
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Variables ◽  
Economic Assessment ◽  
Spatial Prediction ◽  
Environmental Liabilities ◽  
Environmental Goods ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Calidad De Vida ◽  
Environmental Attributes ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Goods Market

ABSTRACTThe absence of a goods market for tradable environmental goods and services, causes not having a value within of the marketable dynamic to such goods; looking for explaining how environmental variables affect the property’svalueon the El Salto’s path, Lenguazaquetownship – Cundinamarca, it was used: The Vestermatrix, the matrix of evaluation of economic assessment and spatial prediction tools. With the obtained results, it is expected modifythe knowledge about the environmental variables of the community, to confront the environmental liabilities caused for the mining activity that degrade the life´s quality of the path’s people and their surrounding environment .RESUMENLa falta de un mercado de bienes transables para los bienes y servicios ambientales, ocasiona que no posean un valor dentro de las dinámicas mercadeables para dichos bienes; Buscando explicar cómo las variables ambientales, afectan el valor de los predios en la vereda El salto, municipio de Lenguazaque – Cundinamarca, se usó: la matriz de Vester, la matriz de evaluación de métodos de valoración económica y herramientas de predicción espacial. Con los resultados obtenidos, se espera modificar el conocimiento frente a las variables ambientales de la comunidad,  para enfrentar los pasivos ocasionados por la actividad minera que degradan la calidad de vida de los pobladores de la vereda y de su entorno.

The Circular Economy and The Green Jobs Creation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Sulich ◽  
Letycja Sołoducho-Pelc
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Linear Regression Method ◽  
Green Jobs ◽  
Environmental Goods ◽  
Services Sector ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Development Goals

Abstract The Circular Economy (CE) is a proposal for new, more sustainable and durable economy model. As consequence, of this pro-environmental economic model induces visible changes on the labor market which are Green Jobs (GJ). This paper is focused on the creation of Green Jobs in the CE. The GJ are most visible in the Environmental Goods and Services Sector (EGSS). This study aims to investigate EGSS among 28 European Union countries in years 2009–2019. The adopted method was literature research complemented by the statistical analysis of secondary data from Eurostat in the linear regression method. Then, some Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their measure were used as main indicators reflecting changes on the labor market. Results are presented as a model indicating which of the SDGs can support CE and enhance number of the ‘Green Jobs’. Presented results contribute to the science, because combine factors influencing GJ creation in EGSS, in CE perspective. This study underlines a lack of uniform methods for measuring and forecasting the effects of green jobs creation and indicate future research directions.

Sustainable Development in the 2001 WTO Doha Round Debates and Beyond

2021 ◽  
pp. 145-158
Author(s):  
Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger
Keyword(s):  
World Trade ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Dispute Settlement Mechanism ◽  
Production Methods ◽  
Environmental Goods ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
The World ◽  
Environmental Considerations ◽  
Settlement Mechanism ◽  
Doha Declaration

In this chapter, it is argued that in the 2001 Doha Declaration launching the new trade negotiations and in subsequent dispute settlement decisions, the World Trade Organization (WTO) member States and dispute settlement mechanism (DSM) have made small steps to integrate social and environmental considerations into the work of the WTO, but progress is limited. In particular, certain exemptions have been expanded and clarified (more through subsequent disputes than through negotiations), States have agreed on frameworks for negotiations that could both liberalize trade in environmental goods and services and reduce subsidies that encourage over-fishing, and potentially also encourage greater cooperation on trade-related environment and social development challenges. Influential WTO disputes are canvassed, and concerns with regards to process and production methods (PPMs) and related technology transfer opportunities are discussed briefly. It is also demonstrated that these steps, as critiqued in legal scholarship, reveal real limits to the WTO’s progress.

scholarly journals Is there a need to audit CVM applications to the environment?

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 482-489
Author(s):  
S Hosking
Keyword(s):  
Willingness To Pay ◽  
Contingent Valuation ◽  
Contingent Valuation Method ◽  
Environmental Services ◽  
External Audit ◽  
Environmental Goods ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Valuation Method ◽  
Environmental Goods And Services

It is well known to economists that the contingent valuation method (CVM) fills an important gap in valuation technology with respect to managing public environmental goods and services.   Currently acceptable CVM practice requires many challenging steps to be followed.  One of these important steps is that of assessing the theoretical validity of the household willingness to pay (WTP) finding, but it is far from being a sufficient basis for reaching conclusions as to the credibility predicted community willingness to pay for environmental services.  This paper reviews the step of testing for theoretical validity and challenges its importance relative to other more fundamental assessments of the credibility of the predicted household and societal WTP.  This paper then deduces that an external ‘audit’ assessment may be necessary, in addition to an internal one, for these values to attain credibility in the determination of public choices.

From a Beacon of Hope to a Question Mark: Right to Clean Water and Sanitation across Europe in the Wake of the ECtHR Judgment Hudorovic and Others v. Slovenia

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 351-365
Author(s):  
Kleoniki Pouikli
Keyword(s):  
Clean Water ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Environmental Goods ◽  
Human Rights Protection ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
Ethnic Populations ◽  
Marginalised Groups ◽  
The Right

The aim of this paper is to unpack the latest developments on the right to clean water and sanitation through the lens of environmental injustice against Roma ethnic populations. Namely, the Hudorovic and Others v. Slovenia judgment by the ECtHR puts the spotlight on the dynamics of discrimination against Roma communities relating to the access to fundamental environmental goods and services such as adequate sanitation and potable water. More specifically, the main research focus revolves around the question of whether the human-rights protection regime provides for an effective toolbox for the realization of the water- and sanitation-related rights of minorities groups in a country where the right to water is constitutionally recognized. This case fueled a timely debate regarding the right to safe water and proper sanitation across EU, given that the new Drinking Water Directive raises the bar with respect to the obligations on Member States to take measures to ensure that all citizens -and in particular vulnerable and marginalised groups- are connected to the distribution network.

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