Natural resources conservation management and strategies in agriculture

Bachev, Hrabrin (2013): Natural resources conservation management and strategies in agriculture.

Abstract

This paper suggests a holistic framework for assessment and improvement of management strategies for conservation of natural resources in agriculture. First, it incorporates an interdisciplinary approach (combining Economics, Organization, Law, Sociology, Ecology, Technology, Behavioral and Political Sciences) and presents a modern framework for assessing environmental management and strategies in agriculture including: specification of specific “managerial needs” and spectrum of feasible governance modes (institutional environment; private, collective, market, and public modes) of natural resources conservation at different level of decision-making (individual, farm, eco-system, local, regional, national, transnational, and global); specification of critical socio-economic, natural, technological, behavioral etc. factors of managerial choice, and feasible spectrum of (private, collective, public, international) managerial strategies; assessment of efficiency of diverse management strategies in terms of their potential to protect diverse eco-rights and investments, assure socially desirable level of environmental protection and improvement, minimize overall (implementing, third-party, transaction etc.) costs, coordinate and stimulate eco-activities, meet preferences and reconcile conflicts of individuals etc. Second, it presents evolution and assesses the efficiency of diverse management forms and strategies for conservation of natural resources in Bulgarian agriculture during post-communist transformation and EU integration (institutional, market, private, and public), and evaluates the impacts of EU CAP on environmental sustainability of farms of different juridical type, size, specialization and location. Finally, it suggests recommendations for improvement of public policies, strategies and modes of intervention, and private and collective strategies and actions for effective environmental protection.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: environmental and natural resources; governance and strategies; institutions; market; private; public and hybrid modes; agriculture
• Subjects: O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O13 - Agriculture ; Natural Resources ; Energy ; Environment ; Other Primary Products; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O17 - Formal and Informal Sectors ; Shadow Economy ; Institutional Arrangements; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O18 - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis ; Housing ; Infrastructure; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q1 - Agriculture > Q12 - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q1 - Agriculture > Q13 - Agricultural Markets and Marketing ; Cooperatives ; Agribusiness; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q1 - Agriculture > Q15 - Land Ownership and Tenure ; Land Reform ; Land Use ; Irrigation ; Agriculture and Environment; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q1 - Agriculture > Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q2 - Renewable Resources and Conservation > Q24 - Land; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q2 - Renewable Resources and Conservation > Q25 - Water; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q2 - Renewable Resources and Conservation > Q28 - Government Policy; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q3 - Nonrenewable Resources and Conservation > Q38 - Government Policy; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q5 - Environmental Economics; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q5 - Environmental Economics > Q50 - General; R - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics > R5 - Regional Government Analysis > R58 - Regional Development Planning and Policy

References

Alexandrov V. (2008). Adaptation of Irrigation under climate change in Bulgaria. www.adagioeu.org/documents/meeting_jois/21_V_Alexandrov_bulgarian_irrigation_adaptation.pdf

Baba A., G. Tayfur, O. Gunduz, K.Howard, M.Friedel, and A.Chambel (2011). Climate Change and its Effects on Water Resources, Issues of National and Global Security, Springer.

Bachev H. (2004). Efficiency of Agrarian Organizations, Farm Management and Rural Planning No 5, Fukuoka: Kyushu University Press, 135-150.

Bachev H. (2008). Management of Environmental Challenges and Sustainability of Bulgarian Agriculture, in Environmental Challenges and Human Security: Recognizing and Acting on Hazard Impacts, Editors P.H. Liotta et al., Springer, 2008, 117–142.

Bachev H. (2010a). Governance of Agrarian Sustainability. New York: Nova Science Publisher.

Bachev H. (2010b). Water Governance in Bulgarian Agriculture, in Climate Change and its Effect on Water Recourses – Issues of National and Global Security. Editors A.Baba, G.Tayfur and I.Sahin, Amsterdam: Springer.

Bachev H (2011a). Management of Agro-Ecosystem Services: Framework of Analysis, Case of Bulgaria, in Advances in Environmental Research. Vol. 17. Editor J. Daniels. New York: Nova Science, 119-164.

Bachev H. (2011b): Efficiency of Economic Organizations and Public Policy Interventions in Agriculture, in Agricultural Policies: New Developments, Editor L.Contreras, New York: Nova Science, 55-86.

Bachev, H. and Labonne, M. (2000). About Organization of Agrarian Innovations, Montpellier: INRA.

Coase, R. (1960). The Problem of Social Costs, Journal of Law and Economics 3, 1-44.

COST (2009). COST Foresight 2030. Benefiting from the Digital Revolution, COST Workshop on Food Security, June 30- July 2, 2009, Gent, Belgium.

Defrancesco E., P. Gatto, F. Runge, S. Trestini (2008). Factors Affecting Farmers’ Participation in Agri-environmental Measures, J. of Agricultural Economics, 59 (1), 114 -131.

Dobbs T. and J. Pretty (2008). Case study of agri-environmental payments: The United Kingdom, Ecological Economics, Vol. 65, 4, 765–775.

Ducos G. and P. Dupraz (2006). Private Provision of Environmental Services and Transaction Costs, Agri-environmental Contracts in France, paper presented at the 3d World Congress of Environmental and Resource Economics, 3-7 July, 2006, Kyoto.

Dupraz, P., Latouch, K. and Bonnieux F. (2004). Economic Implications of Scale and Threshold Effects in Agri-environmental Processes, paper presented at the 90 EAAE Seminar, 27-29 October 2004, Rennes.

EC (2005). Strategy on the Sustainable Use of Natural Resources, Brussels: European Commission.

EEA (2010). State of Environment Report, Sofia: Executive Environment Agency.

EEA (2011). National Inventory Report for Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Sofia: Executive Environment Agency.

EUROSTAT (2011). Organic Farming, Agricultural Statistics, Brussels: Eurostat.

Farmer M. (2007). The Possible Impacts of Cross Compliance on Farm Costs and Competitiveness, Institute for European Environmental Policy, KVL.

FAO (2010a). Pressure-State-Response Framework and Environmental Indicators, Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization.

FAO (2010b). AQUASTAT. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization.

Furuboth, E. and Richter, R. (1998). Institutions and Economic Theory. Contribution of New Institutional Economics, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

Hagedorn K.(editor) (2002). Environmental Co-оperation and Institutional Change: Theories and Policies for European Agriculture, Edward Elgar Publishing.

Hart R. and U. Latacz-Lohmann (2004). Combating moral hazard in agri-environmental schemes: a multiple-agent approach, European Review of Agricultural Economics, 32 (1), 75-91.

McCanna L., B. Colbyb, K. Easterc, A. Kasterined, K. Kuperane (2005). Transaction cost measurement for evaluating environmental policies, Ecological Economics, Vol. 52, 4, 1, 527–542.

MEA (2005). Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Ecosystems and Human Well-Being: Synthesis, Washington: Island Press.

MAF (2009). Annual report, Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Sofia.

MEW. (2007). Annual report, Sofia: Ministry of Environment and Water.

Mori T. (1991). The History of Japanese Agriculture, in Agricultural Policy in Japan, XXI IAAE Conference, Tokyo. NSI .(2011). Statistical Book, Sofia: National Statistical Institute.

North D. (1990). Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Peerlingsa J. and N. Polman (2009). Farm choice between agri-environmental contracts in the European Union, Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Vol. 52, 5, 593-612.

Reed M. (2008). Stakeholder participation for environmental management: A literature review, Biological Conservation, Volume 141, Issue 10, 2417–2431.

Scozzari A and B. Mansouri (Editors) (2011). Water Security in the Mediterranean Region, An International Evaluation of Management, Control, and Governance Approaches, Springer.

UN (2012). Report of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio de Janeiro, 20–22 June 2012, UN.

Williamson O. (1996). Mechanisms of Governance, New York: Oxford University Press.