Oxford University Press Natural Resource Management in Agriculture: Methods for Assessing Economic and Environmental Impacts

In response to increasing concerns about the degradation of natural resources and the sustainability of agriculture, many research programmes have been established in natural resource management (NRM). However, although methods for evaluating the impacts of crop improvement technologies are well developed, there is a dearth of methods for evaluating the impacts of NRM interventions. This is partly due to the complexity of interactions among natural resources, spatial and temporal dimensions of impact, and the valuation of direct and indirect environmental costs and benefits. This book discusses the unique features and methodological difficulties of NRM impact assessment. It examines the strengths and weaknesses of various impact assessment approaches, including econometric, bio-economic, and more direct methods. It also assesses and identifies data requirements for developing impact indicators and recommends suitable methodologies for assessing the impacts of NRM technologies on issues such as soil and water conservation and watershed and biodiversity management. Review The editors have achieved a clear structure, consistency in nomenclature an coherency within and between themes. The book marks an important milestone in our understanding of how complex agro-ecosystems can be evaluated and how researchers from different disciplines can link their efforts to provide rational methods for NRM assessment.-- "Experimental Agriculture"