Ecological, evolutionary and economic issues involved in introducing genetically modified organisms (GMOs), mainly in agriculture, are discussed. The ecological and evolutionary impacts identified hamper (economic) valuation of GMOs and their biosafety regulation and creates difficulties for...

Provides some background on concerns about the sustainability of agriculture, outlines and discusses views about what constitutes sustainable agriculture and contrasts the sustainability of modern industrialised agriculture with that of traditional agriculture. Then the question is considered...

The production of biofuels has been supported by many conservationists and environmentalists on the grounds that it reduces greenhouse gas emissions and is a renewable energy substitute for non-renewable fossil fuels, mainly oil. More recently the domestic production of biofuels (and the...

Poverty and unemployment in Botswana are the major problems that the government is focusing its effort and attention on. The overall government aim is to eradicate poverty and diversify the economy away from diamond mining to create sustainable jobs. Agriculture is traditionally thought to be a...

Protected areas are often the source of agricultural pests and Xishuangbanna State Nature Reserve in Yunnan is no exception. The main pest associated with the Reserve is the Asian elephant Elephas maximus which causes damage outside the Reserve to agriculture as well as in the Reserve. However,...

Analyzes the economics of alternative allocations of forested land for uses (dominant-use vs. multiple use) to ensure the survival of a viable population of a forest-dependent species, e.g. the orangutan. The alternatives are (1) setting aside a sufficient fully protected portion of the forest...

Biodiversity is usually regarded as an asset or resource, the stock of which is partly natural and partly determined by humans. Humans both subtract from and add to this stock and consequently, the change in the stock is heterogeneous. This heterogeneity is not taken account of by some authors...

Concentrates on comparing socio-economic aspects of pearl culture in Australia, which mostly relies on the culture of the South Sea pearl oyster P. maxima, with that in French Polynesia which depends on the culture of the black-lipped pearl oyster P. margaritifera. Australian culture of pearl...

This paper provides an overview of concepts of sustainable agriculture and possible methods of attaining sustainability of agricultural yields and production. Reasons are given as to why modern industrialised agriculture might be less sustainable in terms of yields than traditional agriculture....

After providing information about the global importance of cotton as a textile and China’s and Australia’s contribution to global cotton production, this paper examines and compares trends in the time-series of cotton production of China and Australia for the period 1980-2007. In doing so,...