Advanced Search
MyIDEAS: Login

Ecosystem Services and Food Security: Economic Perspectives on Environmental Sustainability

Contents:

Author Info

  • Robert B. Richardson

    () (College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Michigan State University, 131 Natural Resources Building, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA)

Registered author(s):

    Abstract

    Food security in developing countries depends in part on the sustainable use of natural resources. Food security is usually examined through three dimensions, namely the availability, access, and utilization of food. Ecosystems directly and indirectly support each of these dimensions through the provision of critical ecosystem services that facilitate agricultural production, create income-generating opportunities, and provide energy for cooking. However, in some cases, household uses of natural resources undermine particular elements of food security, hindering national poverty reduction strategies and threatening the sustainability of critical ecosystem functions. I examine the role of ecosystem services in rural food security through the lens of its three dimensions, and highlight the tensions that stem from household-level interactions and uses. In some cases, uses of resources and services that support the access and utilization dimensions may undermine the ecosystem functions that support food availability. The conclusions underscore the importance for the integration of ecosystem services into food security plans and poverty reduction strategies in developing countries.

    Download Info

    If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
    File URL: http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/2/11/3520/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/2/11/3520/
    Download Restriction: no

    Bibliographic Info

    Article provided by MDPI, Open Access Journal in its journal Sustainability.

    Volume (Year): 2 (2010)
    Issue (Month): 11 (November)
    Pages: 3520-3548

    as in new window
    Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:2:y:2010:i:11:p:3520-3548:d:10250

    Contact details of provider:
    Web page: http://www.mdpi.com/

    Related research

    Keywords: food security; ecosystem services; environmental sustainability; international development;

    Find related papers by JEL classification:

    References

    References listed on IDEAS
    Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
    as in new window
    1. Jayne, Thomas S. & Yamano, Takashi & Weber, Michael T. & Tschirley, David L. & Benfica, Rui M.S. & Neven, David & Chapoto, Antony & Zulu, Ballard, 2002. "Smallholder Income And Land Distribution In Africa: Implications For Poverty Reduction Strategies," 2002 Annual meeting, July 28-31, Long Beach, CA 19692, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    2. de Groot, Rudolf S. & Wilson, Matthew A. & Boumans, Roelof M. J., 2002. "A typology for the classification, description and valuation of ecosystem functions, goods and services," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 393-408, June.
    3. Reardon, Thomas, 1997. "Using evidence of household income diversification to inform study of the rural nonfarm labor market in Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 735-747, May.
    4. Fernandez, Ana & Richardson, Robert B. & Tschirley, David L. & Tembo, Gelson, 2009. "Wildlife Conservation in Zambia: Impacts on Rural Household Welfare," Food Security Collaborative Working Papers 55053, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    5. Shackleton, Charlie M. & Shackleton, Sheona E., 2006. "Household wealth status and natural resource use in the Kat River valley, South Africa," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(2), pages 306-317, May.
    6. Pattanayak, Subhrendu K. & Sills, Erin O. & Kramer, Randall A., 2004. "Seeing the forest for the fuel," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(02), pages 155-179, May.
    7. Farber, Stephen C. & Costanza, Robert & Wilson, Matthew A., 2002. "Economic and ecological concepts for valuing ecosystem services," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 375-392, June.
    8. Barrett, C. B. & Reardon, T. & Webb, P., 2001. "Nonfarm income diversification and household livelihood strategies in rural Africa: concepts, dynamics, and policy implications," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 315-331, August.
    9. Fisher, Monica, 2004. "Household welfare and forest dependence in Southern Malawi," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(02), pages 135-154, May.
    10. Loomis, John & Kent, Paula & Strange, Liz & Fausch, Kurt & Covich, Alan, 2000. "Measuring the total economic value of restoring ecosystem services in an impaired river basin: results from a contingent valuation survey," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 103-117, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as in new window

    Cited by:
    1. Mulenga, Brian P. & Richardson, Robert B. & Tembo, Gelson, 2012. "Non-Timber Forest Products and Rural Poverty Alleviation in Zambia," Food Security Collaborative Working Papers 123220, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.

    Lists

    This item is not listed on Wikipedia, on a reading list or among the top items on IDEAS.

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:2:y:2010:i:11:p:3520-3548:d:10250

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: (XML Conversion Team).

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If references are entirely missing, you can add them using this form.

    If the full references list an item that is present in RePEc, but the system did not link to it, you can help with this form.

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.