Description
Book SynopsisNature and agriculture both shape the European countryside and one of the main challenges for the years to come will be to strengthen their interaction for the future development of rural areas. In this valuable and highly topical book, the authors demonstrate how economics and ecology can play a critical role in maintaining and sustaining this relationship.
The book identifies the dilemmas facing European agriculture and explores their economic and ecological consequences. The authors believe a better understanding of these problems will be crucial in recognising the potential options for the future role of agriculture and nature policy and will guide the identification of suitable policy instruments. They highlight current threats to the relationship between agriculture and nature - such as abandonment and intensification - and demonstrate how these problems can be resolved by a rational policy mix. The book also provides extensive empirical evidence from four case studies and concludes by scrutinising the major changes in market conditions and the Common Agricultural Policy which could upset this important but fragile balance between agriculture and nature.
Providing a state-of-the-art overview of current thinking on the relationship between agriculture and nature in the context of EU policy, this book will be welcomed by policymakers and those studying and working in the fields of agricultural and resource economics, geography, and agri-business.
Table of ContentsFull Contents: Preface 1. Agriculture and Nature in Conflict? Part I: Methodology 2. Economics and the Interface between Agriculture and Nature 3. Ecology and the Interface between Agriculture and Nature 4. Agri-environmental Policy Development in the European Union 5. Environmental Valuation Methods in Rural Resource Management Part II: Cases on the Interaction between Agriculture and Nature 6. Water Availability in the Mediterranean Region 7. Agricultural Policy and Nature Conservation in the UK 8. The Pivotal Role of the Agricultural Land Market in the Netherlands 9. Broadening the Sectoral Perspective on Agricultural Policy in Greece Part III: Mitigation and Regulation 10. Marketing Public Goods and Externalities Provided by Agriculture and Forestry 11. Co-operative Agreements to Improve Efficiency and Effectiveness of Policy Targets 12. Integrated Rural Development Part IV: Outlook 13. Agriculture and Nature: Retrospect and Prospect Index
