Nature and agriculture in the European Union: New perspectives on policies that shape the European countryside

Book abstract:

This book acknowledges the crucial interaction between nature and agriculture, and how it influences and shapes the countryside. It locates the major problems confronting European agriculture, and investigates their economic and ecological implications. By examining the many dangers that undermine the relationship between nature and agriculture, like abandonment and intensification, it further identifies new ways of establishing policies to treat these problems. To this end, the writers advocate a sound and effective balance between nature policy and agriculture policy.

After the introduction, which deals broadly with the conflict between agriculture and nature, the work is separated into four parts, each with several essays from different contributors.

Part one, on methodology, contains research on economics in terms of the relationship between agriculture and nature, ecology, agri-environmental policy, and environmental valuation methods. Part two provides case studies on the interface between agriculture and nature, with work, for example, on water availability in the Mediterranean region and the role of the agricultural land market in the Netherlands. In part three, on mitigation and regulation, there are discussions on marketing, co-operative agreements and integrated rural development, and part five offers an overview and outlook on the overall problem between agriculture and nature, situating the matter in both the context of the past and its prospects for the future.

The book is intended for policymakers, students, academics, and anyone employed in agriculture, resource economics, geography, and agri-business.