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Global environmental change (GEC) represents an immediate and
unprecedented threat to the food security of hundreds of millions
of people, especially those who depend on small-scale agriculture
for their livelihoods. As this book shows, at the same time,
agriculture and related activities also contribute to GEC by, for
example, intensifying greenhouse gas emissions and altering the
land surface. Responses aimed at adapting to GEC may have negative
consequences for food security, just as measures taken to increase
food security may exacerbate GEC. The authors show that this
complex and dynamic relationship between GEC and food security is
also influenced by additional factors; food systems are heavily
influenced by socioeconomic conditions, which in turn are affected
by multiple processes such as macro-level economic policies,
political conflicts and other important drivers. The book provides
a major, accessible synthesis of the current state of knowledge and
thinking on the relationships between GEC and food security. Most
other books addressing the subject concentrate on the links between
climate change and agricultural production, and do not extend to an
analysis of the wider food system which underpins food security;
this book addresses the broader issues, based on a novel food
system concept and stressing the need for actions at a regional,
rather than just an international or local, level. It reviews new
thinking which has emerged over the last decade, analyses research
methods for stakeholder engagement and for undertaking studies at
the regional level, and looks forward by reviewing a number of
emerging 'hot topics' in the food security-GEC debate which help
set new agendas for the research community at large. Published with
Earth System Science Partnership, GECAFS and SCOPE
Global environmental change (GEC) represents an immediate and
unprecedented threat to the food security of hundreds of millions
of people, especially those who depend on small-scale agriculture
for their livelihoods. As this book shows, at the same time,
agriculture and related activities also contribute to GEC by, for
example, intensifying greenhouse gas emissions and altering the
land surface. Responses aimed at adapting to GEC may have negative
consequences for food security, just as measures taken to increase
food security may exacerbate GEC. The authors show that this
complex and dynamic relationship between GEC and food security is
also influenced by additional factors; food systems are heavily
influenced by socioeconomic conditions, which in turn are affected
by multiple processes such as macro-level economic policies,
political conflicts and other important drivers. The book provides
a major, accessible synthesis of the current state of knowledge and
thinking on the relationships between GEC and food security. Most
other books addressing the subject concentrate on the links between
climate change and agricultural production, and do not extend to an
analysis of the wider food system which underpins food security;
this book addresses the broader issues, based on a novel food
system concept and stressing the need for actions at a regional,
rather than just an international or local, level. It reviews new
thinking which has emerged over the last decade, analyses research
methods for stakeholder engagement and for undertaking studies at
the regional level, and looks forward by reviewing a number of
emerging 'hot topics' in the food security-GEC debate which help
set new agendas for the research community at large. Published with
Earth System Science Partnership, GECAFS and SCOPE
Every year about 130,000 km2 of humid tropical rain forest is
destroyed. Caused in part by the slash-and-burn practices of both
large- and small-scale farmers in Brazil, Cameroon, Indonesia, and
elsewhere, the environmental implications of tropical deforestation
and its threat to biodiversity and carbon emissions remain a
worldwide concern. Yet the small-scale farmers who use
slash-and-burn agriculture depend on it to produce food and make a
living for their families. Balancing the legitimate interests of
rural households and global concerns about tropical deforestation
is one of the major challenges of the coming decades. The
Alternatives to Slash and Burn (ASB) consortium was formed in 1992
by a group of concerned national and international research
institutions to address the global and local issues associated with
this form of agriculture. With contributions from agronomists,
foresters, economists, ecologists, and anthropologists, this book
synthesizes the first decade of ASB's work. It assesses the
environmental, economic, and social impact of deforestation and
identifies the costs and benefits of alternative uses of forests
and cleared land. Throughout the volume, the contributors present
new conceptual tools and a rich compendium of empirical analyses
needed to formulate viable alternatives to slash-and-burn
agriculture.
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