Forests, Water and People in the Humid Tropics Past, Present and Future Hydrological Research for Integrated Land and Water Management
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Foreword
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Symposium and Workshop
- Introduction
- Part I Current trends and perspectives on people–land use–water issues
- 1 Trends and patterns of tropical land use change
- 2 The myth of efficiency through market economics: a biophysical analysis of tropical economies, especially with respect to energy, forests and water
- 3 Impacts of land cover change in the Brazilian Amazon: a resource manager's perspective
- 4 Forest people and changing tropical forestland use in tropical Asia
- 5 People in tropical forests: problem or solution?
- 6 Useful myths and intractable truths: the politics of the link between forests and water in Central America
- 7 Land use, hydrological function and economic valuation
- 8 Water resources management policy responses to land cover change in South East Asian river basins
- 9 Community-based hydrological and water quality assessments in Mindanao, Philippines
- Part II Hydrological processes in undisturbed forests
- Part III Forest disturbance, conversion and recovery
- Part IV New methods for evaluating effects of land-use change
- Part V Critical appraisals of best management practices
- Conclusion: Forests, water and people in the humid tropics: an emerging view
- Plate section
- References
2 - The myth of efficiency through market economics: a biophysical analysis of tropical economies, especially with respect to energy, forests and water
from Part I - Current trends and perspectives on people–land use–water issues
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 January 2010
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Foreword
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Symposium and Workshop
- Introduction
- Part I Current trends and perspectives on people–land use–water issues
- 1 Trends and patterns of tropical land use change
- 2 The myth of efficiency through market economics: a biophysical analysis of tropical economies, especially with respect to energy, forests and water
- 3 Impacts of land cover change in the Brazilian Amazon: a resource manager's perspective
- 4 Forest people and changing tropical forestland use in tropical Asia
- 5 People in tropical forests: problem or solution?
- 6 Useful myths and intractable truths: the politics of the link between forests and water in Central America
- 7 Land use, hydrological function and economic valuation
- 8 Water resources management policy responses to land cover change in South East Asian river basins
- 9 Community-based hydrological and water quality assessments in Mindanao, Philippines
- Part II Hydrological processes in undisturbed forests
- Part III Forest disturbance, conversion and recovery
- Part IV New methods for evaluating effects of land-use change
- Part V Critical appraisals of best management practices
- Conclusion: Forests, water and people in the humid tropics: an emerging view
- Plate section
- References
Summary
INTRODUCTION
Tropical countries, in general, are changing much more rapidly than temperate ones. This is true with respect to population numbers, deforestation, economic growth (both positive and, occasionally, negative), influence of trade and, in general, various other aspects of globalisation (World Bank, 1998). At the same time, most tropical countries remain especially vulnerable to both natural and man-made disasters (Hurricane Mitch in Central America and the 1998 Asian economic ‘meltdown’ serve as ready examples). Within this context of uncertainty, ‘sustainability’ remains an obvious and highly desired goal for many, as is obvious in the promotional tourist literature of many tropical countries, such as Costa Rica. Similarly, one hears from various quarters the desirability of improving ‘efficiency’ and also the concept that with high levels of development, environmental improvements are not only possible but likely (e.g. the environmental Kuznets curve; see Rothman and de Bruyn, 1998). Often these are seen as important rationales for far-reaching programmes, such as the structural adjustment programmes implemented in many tropical countries by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (Lélé, 1991; Taylor, 1993) and even for large-scale conservation programmes (Goodland et al., 1990).
The concept of sustainability
What would constitute this sustainability, if indeed it were able to be achieved?
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Forests, Water and People in the Humid TropicsPast, Present and Future Hydrological Research for Integrated Land and Water Management, pp. 40 - 58Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2005
References
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). (1999). Fertilizer Use by Crop, 4th edn. Rome, Italy: FAO
Gleick, P. H. (1998). The World's Water 1998–1999: The Biennial Report on Freshwater Resources. Washingon, DC: Island Press
and (1996). Environmental sustainability: universal and non-negotiable. Ecological Applications 6: 1002–17CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , . (1990). Tropical moist forest management: the urgency of transition to sustainability. Environmental Conservation 17: 303–18CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1991). An idiosynchratic assessment of the role of mathematical models in environmental sciences. Environment International 17: 507–17CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hall, C. A. S.(ed.) (2000). Quantifying Sustainable Development: The Future of Tropical Economies. San Diego, CA: Academic Press
and (1993). The efficiency of land and energy use in tropical economies and agriculture. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 46: 1–30CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hall, C. A. S., J.-Y. Ko, C.-L. Lee et al. (1998). Ricardo lives: The inverse relation of resource exploitation intensity and efficiency in Costa Rican agriculture and its elation to sustainable development. In: S. Ulgiadi (ed.) Advances in energy studies: Energy Flows in Ecology and Economy. Rome, Italy: Musis
, , . (2001). The need to reintegrate the natual sciences with economics. BioScience 51: 663–73CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hernandez, C., S. G. Witter, C. A. S. Hall et al. (2000). The Costa Rica banana industry: can it be sustainable? In: C. A. S. Hall (ed.) Quantifying Sustainable Development: The Future of Tropical Economies, pp. 563–93. San Diego, CA: Academic PressCrossRef
Jevons, W. S. (1865). The Coal Question: An Inquiry concerning the Progress of the Nations (A. W. Flux (ed.) 1965). New York: A. M. Kelley
Ko, J.-Y. (2000). An integrated assessment of energy and resource efficiency trends at regional, national, and international scales. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY
, and (1998). Resource use rates and efficiency as indicators of regional sustainability: an examination of five countries. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 51: 571–93CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kroeger, T. and D. R. Montanye (2000). An assessment of the effectiveness of structural adjustment policies in Costa Rica. In: C. A. S. Hall (ed.) Quantifying Sustainable Development: The Future of Tropical Economies, pp. 665–94. San Diego, CA: Academic PressCrossRef
LeClere, G. and C. A. S. Hall (in press). Making Development Work: A New Role for Science. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press
(1991). Sustainable development: a critical review. World Development 19: 607–21CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Montanye, D. R. (1998). Examining sustainability: an evaluation of U.S.AID policies for agricultural export-led growth in Costa Rica. Unpublished M.S. Thesis, State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY.
Odum, H. (1971). Environment, Power and Society. New York: Wiley Interscience
OTA (Office of Technology Assessment) US Congress (1994). Perspectives of the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development, OTA-ENV-609. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office
and (1990). United States energy use from 1973 to 1987: the impacts of improved efficiency. Annual Review of Energy 15: 455–504CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1993). The world bank and the environment: the world development report 1992. World Development 21: 869–81CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, and (2001). Twenty-five years of indutrial development: a study of resource use rates and macro-efficiency indicators for five Asian countries. Environmental Science and Policy 4: 319–32CrossRefGoogle Scholar
United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) (2000). Global Environmental Outlook 2000. Available online at http://www.unep.org/Geo2000/english/index.htm
, , . (1997). Zoning of timber extraction in the Brazilian Amazon. Conservation Biology 12: 128–36CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (2000). Anthropogenic disturbance of the terrestrial water cycle. BioScience 50: 753–65CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , . (1996). Materialization and dematerialization: measures and trends. Daedalus 125: 171–98Google Scholar
World Bank (1997). Expanding the Measure of Wealth: Indicators of Environmentally Sustainable Development. World Bank
World Bank (1998). World Development 1998–99: Knowledge for Development. World Bank
World Resources Institute (WRI) (1999). A Guide to the Global Environment. (CD data base). New York: Oxford University Press
- 4
- Cited by