The global spread of transnational mining investment, which has been taking place since the 1990s, has led to often volatile conflicts with local communities. This book examines the regulation of these conflicts through national, transnational and local legal processes. In doing so, it examines how legal authority is being redistributed among public and private actors, as well as national and transnational actors, as a result of globalizing forces. The book presents a case study concerning the negotiation of land transfer and resettlement between a transnational mining enterprise and indigenous peasants in the Andes of Peru. The case study is used to explore the intensely local dynamics involved in negotiations between corporate and community representatives and the role played by legal ordering in these relations. In particular, the book examines the operation of a transnational legal regime managed by the World Bank to remedy the social and environmental impacts of projects which receive Bank assistance. The book explores the nature and character of the World Bank regime and the multiple consequences of this projection of transnational law into a local dispute.

Denton Marks uses economic analysis, in plain and simple language, to demystify the wine world and to enrich our understanding of it. This remarkable book could well serve as an introduction to the wine industry for economists or as an introduction to economics for the wine industry. Up to date and thorough, Marks has undertaken a prodigious task.' - Orley Ashenfelter, Princeton University, and Co-Founder and President, American Association of Wine Economists, US'What is welcome with Denton Marks's book is its exploration beyond the narrow focus of wine pricing. The outline of how wine fits into key economic processes is illuminating, and the understanding of the political economy of wine is especially helpful. Crucially, the examination of how wine functions as a cultural good is a real expansion of our understanding of its social and economic context, underlining that value is not merely a financial construct but includes intangible, symbolic meaning as well.' - Steve Charters MW, School of Wine and Spirits Business, Burgundy School of Business, France 'Denton Marks's book fills a void in both the economics and the wine-related literature. It offers the economics student insights into the wine world and the wine professionals insights into economic thinking. Certainly, this is the first 'wine economics' textbook.' - Karl Storchmann, New York University, US and Managing Editor, Journal of Wine Economics 'Marks harvests wine's potential as a lens through which to view human economic behavior- and economic misbehavior - taking readers on a sophisticated but accessible and comprehensive tour of the fascinating nooks and crannies of the wine market. Perhaps the crowning achievement is the original and thought-provoking treatment of some of the thorniest philosophical and scientific dilemmas unique to wine, including price signals, asymmetric information, and sensory intersubjectivity. This is a much-needed book from an economist who knows the subject.' - Robin Goldstein, Author of The Wine Trials, Blind Taste, and blindtaste.com/ 'Most professions show a professional interest in wine, and economics is no exception: it can help us understand how wine markets work. But since economics is considered by many as a rather 'dry' subject, wine can boost student enthusiasm for economics. This book exploits those two interests by helping non-economists understand wine producer and consumer behavior and helping college students understand economics.' - Kym Anderson, Wine Economics Research Centre, University of Adelaide and Australian National University, Australia Wine and the wine trade are steeped in culture and history; few products have consistently enjoyed both cultural importance and such wide distribution over time even seen by some as 'an elixir of life'. While wine has been produced and consumed for centuries, what is distinctive about the economics of wine? Professor Marks's book is an accessible exploration of the economics of wine, using both basic principles and specialized topics and emphasizing microeconomics and related research. Drawing upon economic themes such as International Trade and Public Choice, Wine and Economics also relates economic reasoning to management issues in wine markets. The discussion ranges from economic fundamentals and wine and government, to the challenge of knowing what is in the bottle and the importance of wine as a cultural good. This novel and comprehensive introduction to the subject is an invaluable resource for students, scholars and anyone interested in wine and the wine industry.

Herbs and spices are among the most versatile and widely used ingredients in food processing. As well as their traditional role in flavouring and colouring foods, they have been increasingly used as natural preservatives and for their potential health-promoting properties, for example as antioxidants. Edited by a leading authority in the field, and with a distinguished international team of contributors, the Handbook of herbs and spices provides an essential reference for manufacturers wishing to make the most of these important ingredients.
The first group of chapters looks at general issues including quality indices for conventional and organically produced herbs, spices and their essential oils.
The main body of the handbook consists of over twenty chapters covering key spices and herbs from aniseed, bay leaves and black pepper to saffron, tamarind and turmeric. Each chapter covers key issues from definition and classification including: chemical structurecultivationpost-harvest processinguses in food processingfunctional propertiesquality indicesmethods of analysisThe Handbook of herbs and spices is a standard reference for all manufacturers using herbs and spices in their products.

Efforts to commercialize agriculture in peasant societies through investments in technology and various pricing strategies have failed to create the food surpluses needed to forestall famine and support industrialization in East Africa. Seavoy explores this problem, basing his study on the case of Tanzania, a country that experiences recurrent peacetime famines associated with failures in subsistence agriculture. Providing an analysis of East African subsistence culture, he investigates the failures of national agricultural policies and defines strategies for inducing subsistence farmers to shift to commercial production. Seavoy looks at various development initiatives involving technological inputs, political pressure, taxation, and land tenure provisions and their effects on the political economy of subsistence agriculture. He presents a detailed survey of subsistence culture, its agricultural and pastoral practices, and such variables as labor, topography, rainfall, and population density. The shaping of the East African political economy under colonial rule is discussed, together with the economic, social, and political legacy that has persisted to the present day. Seavoy examines Tanzanian agricultural policy, which has aimed at facilitating the transition to commercial agriculture. He finds that the country is a long way from achieving the assured food surpluses that would enable the nation to support an urban industrial workforce. Among the underlying causes he notes the continuing population explosion, the farmers' objections to commercialized agriculture, and deficiencies in the physical infrastructure, trained personnel, and political institutions. He argues that surpluses will not be created until political leaders use the power of national government to enforce the shift to commercial production. A noteworthy and original contribution to development literature, this work is relevant to studies in modern political economy, Third World development, agricultural economy, and related disciplines.

Wood and wood products are essential to large areas of the world economy and yet there has until now been no single definitive reference source to which those new to or requiring a strategic overview of the industry could turn for a comprehensive picture of the market chain from forest to consumer. The international timber trade provides a detailed overview of the entire timber and timber products business.
It is arranged in three sections: Chapters 1 to 3 provide a background starting with an historical perspective, an overview of the worldwide forest resource and going to examine the properties of wood, types of products, trends in production and consumption and uses.Chapters 4,5 and 6 examine the role of wood industries and wood products in the global economy and provide an overview of world trade both by commodity groups and by country, as well as a detailed analysis of the main trading patterns and the trends, both at the inter-continental and inter-regional levels.The third section, chapters 7 to 10, looks at the structure of trade, market and market-related features, environmental factors such as forestry management, sustainability and certification, waste and recycling and energy and climate change, as well as offering an outlook for the industry in the 21st century.Written by one of the leading international authorities on the timber trade, The international timber trade is essential reading for a wide range of interested groups including managers in the timber industry and trade, the financial community with interests in the sector, academics and students in forestry management and related studies, government agencies and their advisers in helping to develop policies for the sector and international trade, and finally those working in international development organisations and in national and international non-governmental bodies.

In recent years, development policy has responded to an increasing concern about natural resource degradation by setting up innovative payment for environmental services (PES) programs in developing countries. PES programs use market and institutional incentives in order to meet both environmental and poverty alleviation objectives. However, their optimal design, implications for the rural poor, and how these initiatives integrate into international treaties on global warming and biodiversity loss are still being discussed. This book addresses these issues by scrutinizing analytical tools, providing policy insights and stimulating debate on linkages between poverty alleviation and environmental protection. In particular, it turns attention towards the role of environmental services in agricultural landscapes as they provide a living for many poor in developing countries. It serves as a valuable reference for academics and students in various disciplines, as well as for policy makers and advisors. This book is a co-publication between Springer and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Presenting the first book to focus on the importance of silicon for plant health and soil productivity and on our current understanding of this element as it relates to agriculture.

Long considered by plant physiologists as a non-essential element, or plant nutrient, silicon was the center of attention at the first international conference on Silicon in Agriculture, held in Florida in 1999.

Ninety scientists, growers, and producers of silicon fertilizer from 19 countries pondered a paradox in plant biology and crop science. They considered the element Si, second only to oxygen in quantity in soils, and absorbed by many plants in amounts roughly equivalent to those of such nutrients as sulfur or magnesium. Some species, including such staples as rice, may contain this element in amounts as great as or even greater than any other inorganic constituent. Compilations of the mineral composition of plants, however, and much of the plant physiological literature largely ignore this element. The participants in Silicon in Agriculture explored that extraordinary discrepancy between the silicon content of plants and that of the plant research enterprise.

The participants, all of whom are active in agricultural science, with an emphasis on crop production, presented, and were presented with, a wealth of evidence that silicon plays a multitude of functions in the real world of plant life. Many soils in the humid tropics are low in plant available silicon, and the same condition holds in warm to hot humid areas elsewhere. Field experience, and experimentation even with nutrient solutions, reveals a multitude of functions of silicon in plant life. Resistance to disease is one, toleration of toxic metals such as aluminum, another. Silicon applications often minimize lodging of cereals (leaning over or even becoming prostrate), and often cause leaves to assume orientations more favorable for light interception. For some crops, rice and sugarcane in particular, spectacular yield responses to silicon application have been obtained. More recently, other crop species including orchids, daisies and yucca were reported to respond to silicon accumulation and plant growth/disease control. The culture solutions used for the hydroponic production of high-priced crops such as cucumbers and roses in many areas (The Netherlands for example) routinely included silicon, mainly for disease control. The biochemistry of silicon in plant cell walls, where most of it is located, is coming increasingly under scrutiny; the element may act as a crosslinking element between carbohydrate polymers.

There is an increased conviction among scientists that the time is at hand to stop treating silicon as a plant biological nonentity. The element exists, and it matters.

This book presents a foundation for studying the micro-behavioral economics of global warming. The author develops an empirical model, named the Geographically-scaled Micro econometric model of Adapting Portfolios (G-MAP) in response to climatic changes and risks. The G-MAP model is applied to observed decisions of agricultural and natural resource enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa and South America. The author describes the five applications of the model: the G-MAP animal species, the G-MAP agricultural systems, the G-MAP natural resource enterprises, the G-MAP climate risk, and the G-MAP public adaptations. The micro-behavioral economics of global warming and the G-MAP models are evaluated against the three alternative modeling traditions: The first is the Agro-Economic Models (AEM) based on crop simulations of selected crops under elevated CO2 conditions; The second is a family of econometric studies of grain yield changes caused by yearly weather fluctuations; The third is the Agro-Ecological Zone (AEZ) method hinged crucially on the AEZ classifications of ecosystems. The author offers a refreshing look at the traditional economics of global warming, unraveling a broad array of adaptation strategies adopted by managers of agricultural and natural resource enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa and South America. The book demonstrates that the micro-behavioral economics dynamically integrates multiple disciplines in a cohesive way - including economics, psychology, climate science, ecosystem studies, agronomy and animal science - into the decision-making framework of an individual agent. The G-MAP models provide a guide map of adaptation strategies for the humanity's enduring journey of battling global climatic changes in this century and beyond.

This book will be a valuable source of information for those concerned with rural and farm tourism, sustainable tourism and the marketing of "Calibri">local gastronomy. It presents cases with an international and interdisciplinary approach in order to provideideas for strategic perspectives in tourism studies. Furthermore, for the first time the complex fields of rural and food tourism are examined from an international (Italy and Germany) viewpoint. This book explores ways in which gastronomical heritage (i.e., regional food, organic food) can be incorporated in rural tourism (above all farm tourism) and development policies as well as in new avenues of research e.g., sensory marketing, online marketing) in order to enhance sustainable practices both in the tourism and in the agri-food sector. Overall, the book presents an overview of benchmark practices for professionals (associations of rural tourism, farmers, etc.), while offering scholars a well-founded source to refer to in order to gain up-to-date insights into the state of the art of studies on rural and food tourism.

Amsterdamse Bos, Bois de Boulogne, Epping Forest, Grunewald, Zonienwoud; throughout history, cities in Europe and elsewhere have developed close relationships with nearby woodland areas. In some cases, cities have even developed - and in some cases are promoting - a distinct 'forest identity'. This book introduces the rich heritage of these city forests as cultural landscapes, and shows that cities and forests can be mutually beneficial. Essential reading for students and researchers interested in urban sustainability and urban forestry, this book also has much wider appeal. For with city forests playing an increasingly important role in local government sustainability programs, it provides an important reference for those involved in urban planning and decision making, public affairs and administration, and even public health. From providers of livelihoods to healthy recreational environments, and from places of inspiration and learning to a source of conflict, the book presents examples of city forests from around the world. These cases clearly illustrate how the social and cultural development of towns and forests has often gone hand in hand. They also reveal how better understanding of city forests as distinct cultural and social phenomena can help to strengthen synergies both between cities and forests, and between urban society and nature.

Emerging from decades of intensive research into alpine timberlines, Trees at their Upper Limit presents a complete modern synthesis of current knowledge on the ecophysiology of tree growth and survival on high mountains in Europe. Including chapters on soil properties and the role of mycorrhiza, carbon assimilation and allocation, phytopathogens, and the impact of global change on photooxidative stress, the book builds on Tranquillini's landmark 1979 publication, Physiological Ecology of the Alpine Timberline. By combining new techniques and insights with existing core knowledge, the authors explore a range of current hypotheses on tree life limitation to promote a greater understanding of the underlying mechanisms determining the upper timberline. A mid growing realization that high elevation forests have a crucial role to play in protection against natural hazards, this book represents a timely contribution to the current literature on timberline research. Drawing together more than 25 years of work, it sets a new standard on the ecophysiology of trees growing at the alpine timberline.

The book covers various biotechnological research efforts and their applications in fisheries and aquaculture, especially in the area of fish breeding, health management, nutrition and culture. Application of the recent biotechnological tools, like Transcriptomics, Transgenesis, Nanotechnology, Metabolomics, RNAi and CRISPRi Technologies in the field of fisheries research are included in the book. Topics like conservation genetics for management of fishery resources are also covered in the book. It aims at addressing the growing need of the biotechnology in advancing the cause of aquaculture with a view to provide food and nutritional security to the world. This book will be of immense use to teachers, researchers, academicians, development officials and policymakers, involved in R&D of fisheries and aquaculture sectors. Also, the book serves as an additional reading material for undergraduate and graduate students of fisheries, marine sciences, ecology, aquaculture, and environmental sciences. The research in aquaculture biotechnology is likely to have significant impact on aquaculture and fisheries by way of supporting nutritional food security to the growing population.

Advances in Legume-based Agroecoystem for Sustainable Intensification explores current research and future strategies for ensuring capacity growth and socioeconomic improvement through the utilization of legume crop cultivation and production in the achievement of sustainability development goals (SDGs). Sections cover the role of legumes in addressing issues of food security, improving nitrogen in the environment, environmental sustainability, economic-environmentally optimized systems, the importance and impact of nitrogen, organic production, and biomass potential, legume production, biology, breeding improvement, cropping systems, and the use of legumes for eco-friendly weed management. This book is an important resource for scientists, researchers and advanced students interested in championing the effective utilization of legumes for agronomic and ecological benefit.

The agriculture sector around the world has experienced profound changes in recent years. This unique and path-breaking Handbook draws together the best current research in the area of entrepreneurship in agriculture, food production and rural development.Agriculture policy reforms have impacted farm incomes, while demand side changes have required the development of sophisticated market driven strategies. Farmers have demonstrated uneven abilities to adapt and adjust to these ongoing changes. The ability and propensity of farmers to engage in entrepreneurial behaviors is a key explanation of the different patterns of responses within the sector. This book examines these issues through three main themes. The first theme focuses on the firm and the individual entrepreneurs, exploring entrepreneurship within the farm sector. The second takes a sector and industry perspective, exploring new developments in food production and distribution systems. The third theme explores the inter-relationship between agricultural entrepreneurship and its spatial context. Contributions are drawn from international research settings (Scandinavia, Europe, Asia, North America, Australasia) and offer an interdisciplinary approach to the subject.This astute Handbook, which will challenge and enrich the current literature, will appeal to academics in entrepreneurship, small business studies, agriculture, rural studies, rural sociology and agricultural economics, as well as food industry economists, policymakers and all those interested in supporting agricultural and rural businesses.

'Wolfe has combined a detailed examination of international regimes and agricultural trade, an interesting application of the concept of embedded liberalism as developed by Ruggie on the basis of Polanyi, and a thorough analysis of the Uruguay Round negotiations. In doing so, he has made a notable contribution to the IPE literature generally and the work on multilateral negotiations in the context of the GATT/WTO in particular' - Andrew F. Cooper, University of Waterloo, Canada The Farm War of the early 1980s was rooted in the political economy of agriculture, but it was a crisis for the international trading system. The war was evident in disruptions on the farm and in world markets, in conflicts among major governments, and in disagreements in international organizations. Wolfe shows how and why battles over agricultural protectionism were largely resolved through the Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations, demonstrating that the global economy is not self-regulating: it needs institutions if it is to be stable.

This book provides a perspective into the past that few students and historians of the Civil War have considered: agriculture during the Civil War as a key element of power. The Civil War revolutionized the agricultural labor system in the South, and it had dramatic effects on farm labor in the North relating to technology. Agriculture also was an element of power for both sides during the Civil War—one that is often overlooked in traditional studies of the conflict. R. Douglas Hurt argues that Southerners viewed the agricultural productivity of their region as an element of power that would enable them to win the war, while Northern farmers considered their productivity not only an economic benefit to the Union and enhancement of their personal fortunes but also an advantage that would help bring the South back into the Union. This study examines the effects of the Civil War on agriculture for both the Union and the Confederacy from 1860 to 1865, emphasizing how agriculture directly related to the war effort in each region—for example, the efforts made to produce more food for military and civilian populations; attempts to limit cotton production; cotton as a diplomatic tool; the work of women in the fields; slavery as a key agricultural resource; livestock production; experiments to produce cotton, tobacco, and sugar in the North; and the adoption of new implements.

The countries of West Asia and North Africa (WANA) have long had the challenge of providing sustainable livelihoods for their populations in the fragile ecosystems of semi-arid and arid areas. Climate change is already a reality in WANA and it places additional constraints on the already fragile ecosystems of dry areas and limited natural resources in WANA. A comprehensive and integrated approach to planning and implementing the climate change adaptation strategies across the wide range of agro-ecosystems in different countries in WANA could help both the planners and the local communities to deal effectively with the projected impacts and also contribute to overall sustainability of agricultural production systems. This book addresses the important issue of climate change and food security in West Asia and North Africa and presents the appropriate strategies which could help in the development of new policies to better adapt agriculture production systems and enhance food security in WANA.

Comparative Evaluations of Innovative Fisheries Management begins with a look at four places outside the European Union known for innovative management: New Zealand, Nova Scotia, Alaska and Iceland. Then the focus shifts to the success criteria related to specific disciplines including biological and social robustness, economic efficiency and impacts on management costs. Hypotheses are tested using data capable of generating useful results. The main conclusions include a retrospective of how key concepts defined and represented the various perspectives, skills and backgrounds that made up the multidisciplinary CEVIS project.

This book investigates the Upper Silesian Coal Basin (USCB), one of the oldest and largest mining areas not only in Poland but also in Europe. Using uniform research methods for the whole study area, it also provides a summary of the landscape transformations. Intensive extraction of hard coal, zinc and lead ores, stowing sands and rock resources have caused such extensive transformations of landscape that it can be considered a model anthropogenic relief. The book has three main focuses: 1) Identifying anthropogenic forms of relief related to mining activity and presenting them from a spatial, genetic and age perspective; 2) Determining the changes in the morphometric characteristics of relief and the conditions for matter circulation in open systems (drainage basins) and closed systems (land-locked basins) caused by the extraction of mineral resources; and 3) Estimating the extent of anthropogenic denudation using two different methods based on raw-material output and morphometric analysis. In Poland, no other mining area has undergone such intensive mining activity as the Upper Silesian Coal Basin during the last half century. Its share in the total extraction of mineral resources was as high as 32%. The total extraction of hard coal in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin from the mid-18th century until 2009 was the sixth largest in the world, and the permanent, regional effects of mining anthropopressure on the relief are among the most severe in the world. The anthropogenic denudation rate in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin, as well as the Ruhr Coal Basin (Ruhr District) and the Ostrava-Karvina Coal Basin, ranges from several dozen up to several hundred times higher than the rate of natural denudation, irrespective of the calculation method used. It would take the natural denudation processes tens of thousands of years to remove the same amount of material from the substratum as that removed through human mining activity.

Nano-enabled Sustainable and Precision Agriculture is the first single-volume resource to cover this important field using a whole systems approach that considers both opportunities and challenges. The book provides a comprehensive understanding of the role of nanotechnology in agriculture from broad aspects, but also includes a comprehensive view of the interaction of nanomaterials with soil-plant systems. It highlights aspects not described in previous books, including the application of nanoinformatics and artificial intelligence in nano-enabled sustainable agriculture, the application of nanotechnology in alternative forms of agriculture such as hydroponics, and regulatory frameworks for this research field. The book addresses all these aspects by including sections on enhanced sustainability, reduced pollution and enhanced ecosystems' health, and the role of nanoinformatics and machine learning.