Synopses & Reviews
Issues In Agroecology approaches this complex panorama of interrelated topics by presenting authoritative, comprehensive, and analytical reviews by leading scientists in all areas of agroecology worldwide. Authors for each review are invited and represent a collaborative mix sufficient to provide strong summaries and scholarly advances that serve as foundations for discussion leading to novel routes of research activity, application of management methodologies, and education and outreach programs. Each review represents concise and up-to-date syntheses of the rapidly growing quantity of scientific information in each chosen topic within this highly interdisciplinary field. The authors for each review assess the present status of this knowledge as to whether or not it is effectively moving toward or contributing to increased sustainability. As a part of this assessment, the authors identify inadequacies, errors, and gaps in knowledge that may be hindering or opposing sustainability objectives. For each review, the authors ultimately discuss what might be needed to bring work and programs onto a better track towards achieving sustainability. Such informed assessments of the routes to realize future potential make the series an essential part of the scientific method and a necessity for researchers, teachers, students, and field professionals when dealing with increasing global environmental and socioeconomic change. This format will make Issues in Ecology a highly citable series that is guaranteed to enlighten research teams, technology users, educators, students, and the general public on the status and advances of agroecology around the world.
Synopsis
Agroecology not only encompasses aspects of ecology, but the ecology of sustainable food production systems, and related societal and cultural values. To provide effective communication regarding status and advances in this field, connections must be established with many disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, environmental sciences, ethics, agriculture, economics, ecology, rural development, sustainability, policy and education, or integrations of these general themes so as to provide integrated points of view that will help lead to a more sustainable construction of values than conventional economics alone. Such designs are inherently complex and dynamic, and go beyond the individual farm to include landscapes, communities, and biogeographic regions by emphasizing their unique agricultural and ecological values, and their biological, societal, and cultural components and processes.
Table of Contents
Foreword; Acknowledgements List of Contributors and Biosketches of Editors and Authors Future Visions for Experiential Education in the Agroecology Learning Landscape, (Francis et al.) Abstract, 1. Introduction: Current Perspectives in Agroecology Education, 2. Historical Precedents for Experiential Learning, 3. Theoretical Foundation for Systems Action Education, 4. Building Components into Integrated Systems, 5. Potentials for Experiential Distance Learning, 6. Capacity-Building through Experiential Learning, 7. Experiential Learning in Collaboration with Non-University Stakeholders, 8. Successful Models of Experiential Systems Learning, 9. Challenges and Opportunities for Experiential Learning in Universities and Colleges, 10. Experiential Learning in Agroecology Learning Landscapes: Back to the Future, Acknowledgements, References International Shifts in Agricultural Debates and Practice: An Historical View of Analyses of Global Agriculture (Feldman and Biggs) Abstract, 1. Introduction: Drawing on the Past, Imagining the Future, 2. The Red and Green Revolutions, 3. The 1980s Turn: Toward a More Holistic Approach, 4. The Changing Rural and Discursive Landscape of the 1990s and Moving Forward, 5. Global Assessments, 6. Food Policies and the Food System, 7. Food Security and Food Sovereignty, 8. Concluding Reflections, Acknowledgements, References Sustainability Standards and Their Implications for Agroecology (Flora et al.)Abstract, 1. Introduction: Historical Evolution of Sustainability Standards, 2. Comparison of Different Types of Sustainability Standards, 3. Values and Norms: What Criteria are Used for Sustainability Standards and Indicators? 4. How Successful Are Sustainability Standards in Promoting Sustainability? 5. What is the Result of Competing Sustainability Standards? Does Competition Lead to More Stringent Standards or to Lowest Common Denominator Requirements? 6. Eco-Labeling and the Impact of Sustainability Standards on Consumers - What Happens When Proliferation of Sustainability Standards Occurs? Do They Lose Market Utility? 7. Conclusions, Acknowledgements, References Water Sustainability and Politics - Examples from Latin America and Implications for Agroecology (Navarrete et al.) Abstract, 1. Introduction: Agroecology, Water and Sustainability, 2. Moving the Agenda Forward: The Political Ecology of Water Sustainability, 3. The Political Ecology of Water: A Case Study Analysis of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, 4. Conclusions, References