Sustainable Agriculture: A Question of Ecology, Economics, Ethics or Expedience?

David Pannell and Steven Schilizzi

No 136500, 1997 Conference (41st), January 22-24, 1997, Gold Coast, Australia from Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society

Abstract: Sustainability is the paradigm of our time, yet its use as a guide to planning or decision making is clouded by its ambiguity and the multiplicity of definitions in use. In this paper we address the issue of how best to deal with the multi-faceted nature of sustainability. We outline each of the facets of sustainability which have been discussed in literature, but suggest that most of them boil down to three basic concepts: environmental stability, intergenerational equity and economic efficiency. The definitions of sustainability in use represent different different combinations of these three basic concepts. Nevertheless it remains difficult to link the concept to practical actions and decisions. We argue that a multiple criteria decision making approach is the best solution to this problem. This is consistent with the use of "sustainability indicators", but such indicators need to be selected carefully to be relevant to the essential elements of sustainability.

Keywords: Agricultural; and; Food; Policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 13
Date: 1997
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:aare97:136500

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.136500

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