Pathways of rural change: an integrated assessment of metabolic patterns in emerging ruralities

Ravera, Federica; Scheidel, Arnim; Dell’Angelo, Jampel; Gamboa, Gonzalo; Serrano, Tarik; Mingorría, Sara; Cabello, Violeta; Arizpe, Nancy; Ariza, Peña

doi:10.1007/s10668-014-9534-9

Cited by 22 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…At the beginning of the 21st century human societies live in a world with limited natural resources, increasing population and expansion of production systems that are highly material, energy, waste and pollution intensive (Rockström et al, 2009;Giampietro et al, 2011;Muradian et al, 2012;Ravera et al, 2014). In the context of escalating societal demand for food, fuel and fibers, agribusiness corporations have increased their pressure on land and land based resources, particularly in the developing world where large agricultural areas are considered as "underperforming".…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Global Water Grabbing Syndrome

Dell’Angelo

Rulli

D’Odorico

2018

Ecological Economics

160

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Large-scale acquisitions of agricultural land in developing countries have been rapidly increasing in the last 10 years, contributing to a major agrarian transition from subsistence or small scale farming to large-scale commercial agriculture by agribusiness transnational corporations. Likely driven by recent food crises, new bioenergy policies, and financial speculations, this phenomenon has been often investigated from the economic development, human right, land tenure and food security perspectives, while its hydrologic implications have remained understudied. It has been suggested that a major driver of large-scale land acquisitions (LSLAs) is the quest for water resources that can be used (locally) to sustain agricultural production in the acquired land. The appropriation of water resources associated with LSLAs has often been termed 'water grabbing', though to date a formal definition of such a normative and inherently pejorative term is missing. The intrinsic assumption is that the acquisition of water undergoes the same dynamics of unbalanced power relationships that underlie many LSLAs. Here we invoke hydrological theories of "green" and "blue" water flows to stress the extent to which water appropriations are inherently coupled to land acquisitions and specifically focus on blue water. We then propose a formal definition of blue water grabbing based both on biophysical conditions (water scarcity) and ethical implications (human right to food). Blue water grabs are appropriations of irrigation (i.e., blue) water in regions affected by undernourishment and where agricultural production is constrained by blue water availability. We use this framework to provide a global assessment of the likelihood that LSLAs entail blue water grabbing.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Global Water Grabbing Syndrome

Dell’Angelo

Rulli

D’Odorico

2018

Ecological Economics

160

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“…While food security at a global level is studied looking at the interactions among globalization, global trade and large-scale agricultural production systems (Rulli andD'Odorico 2014, Suweis et al 2015), focusing on local systems of production highlights smallholder adaptation strategies, decision making and integration in regional markets (Orr andMwale 2001, Markelova et al 2009). There are multiple factors that directly influence the economic, social, cultural, productive, behavioral and metabolic aspects of smallholders lives (Turner and Ali 1996, Borras 2009, Ravera et al 2014. As a result, one of the most critical structural agrarian transformations in developing countries concerns the transition from subsistence to market-oriented smallholder agricultural systems (Lambin and Meyfroidt 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling ecohydrological dynamics of smallholder strategies for food production in dryland agricultural systems

Gower

Dell’Angelo

McCord

et al. 2016

Environ. Res. Lett.

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In dryland environments, characterized by low and frequently variable rainfall, smallholder farmers must take crop water sensitivity into account along with other characteristics like seed availability and market price when deciding what to plant. In this paper we use the results of surveys conducted among smallholders located near Mount Kenya to identify clusters of farmers devoting different fractions of their land to subsistence and market crops. Additionally, we explore the tradeoffs between waterinsensitive but low-value subsistence crops and a water-sensitive but high-value market crop using a numerical model that simulates soil moisture dynamics and crop production over multiple growing seasons. The cluster analysis shows that most farmers prefer to plant either only subsistence crops or only market crops, with a minority choosing to plant substantial fractions of both. The model output suggests that the value a farmer places on a successful growing season, a measure of risk aversion, plays a large role in whether the farmer chooses a subsistence or market crop strategy. Furthermore, access to irrigation, makes market crops more appealing, even to very risk-averse farmers. We then conclude that the observed clustering may result from different levels of risk aversion and access to irrigation.

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“…Variables are often used in a context-dependent manner to fit the purpose of each specific study 50 ; data are derived from census statistics, MEFA (see below) or other models. MuSIASEM has been applied to rural systems 53 , mining 54 , and urban waste management 55 . The nexus between resources such as food, water or energy 56 and the links to ecosystem metabolism 57 are increasingly studied.…”

Section: Multi-scale Integrated Analysis Of Societal and Ecosystem Mementioning

confidence: 99%

Contributions of sociometabolic research to sustainability science

et al. 2019

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Recent high-level agreements such as the Paris climate accord or the Sustainable Development Goals aim at mitigating climate change, ecological degradation and biodiversity loss while pursuing social goals such as reducing hunger or poverty. Systemic approaches bridging natural and social sciences are required to support these agendas. The surging human use of biophysical resources (materials, energy) results from the pursuit of social and economic goals, while it also drives global environmental change. Socio-metabolic research links the study of socioeconomic processes with biophysical processes and thus plays a pivotal role for understanding societynature interactions. It includes a broad range of systems science approaches for measuring, analyzing and modelling of biophysical stocks and flows as well as the services they provide to society. Here we outline and systematize major socio-metabolic research traditions that study the biophysical basis of economic activity: urban metabolism, the multi-scale integrated assessment of societal and ecosystem metabolism, biophysical economics, material and energy flow analysis, and environmentally extended input-output analysis. Examples from recent research demonstrate strengths and weaknesses of socio-metabolic research. We discuss future research directions that could also help to enrich related fields.

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Pathways of rural change: an integrated assessment of metabolic patterns in emerging ruralities

Cited by 22 publications

References 30 publications

The Global Water Grabbing Syndrome

The Global Water Grabbing Syndrome

Modeling ecohydrological dynamics of smallholder strategies for food production in dryland agricultural systems

Contributions of sociometabolic research to sustainability science

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