Sustainable Ecological Agriculture in China: Bridging the Gap Between Theory and Practice
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Sustainable Ecological Agriculture in China: Bridging the Gap Be ...

Chapter :  Introduction: Putting Ecological Economics into Sustainable Agricultural Practices
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proposed to be the basis for an integrated policy-making process. This can be used to resolve problems associated with ecological agricultural practices.

All concerned with the study of human-environment interactions need to be aware that sustainability and natural capital are spatially and temporally contingent, and be wary of applying inappropriate methods of study and/or policy prescriptions derived from other economic, cultural, and ecological contexts. (Harte, 1995, p. 163)

Differences in ideology and research methodology undoubtedly affect Chinese and Western scholars’ positions on the sustainability issue of agricultural development. As Spash (1999) pointed out,

Ecological economics is also interested in exploring alternative institutions and processes. Such an institutional approach needs to consider how a variety of values can be expressed and how to prevent the loss of values which occurs when they are squeezed to fit within the free market paradigm. The aim for ecological economics must be to develop new ways of thinking about the world around us and approaches for resolving (not necessarily solving) environmental conflicts. (p. 428)

The research will involve the development of an integrated methodology that extends from the latest advances in the areas of ecological economics, system dynamics, cultures and values, political economy, and natural resource management. Because ecological-environmental problems are conditioned by the interactions between nature and society, ecological agricultural research advocates the development of holistic approaches to achieve sustainability and resolve complex policy issues (Costanza, 1991; Funtowicz & Ravetz, 1994). A focus of this research, therefore, is to systematically explore, develop, document, and demonstrate an appropriate methodology for implementing sustainability that is consistent with the need of China's long-term agricultural development. Insights from the theoretical foundations of ecological economics and system dynamics are applied to inform such a holistic approach.