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Sustainability
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Environmental Economics. Contributions to Sustainability of Agricultural Ecosystems
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Environmental Economics. Contributions to Sustainability of Agricultural Ecosystems

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2021) | Viewed by 12756

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Juan Francisco Velasco-Muñoz

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Economy and Company, University of Almería, Spain
Interests: environmental economics; sustainability; circular economy; waste management; water management; agricultural management; regional development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. José A. Aznar-Sánchez

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Economy and Business, University of Almería, Almería, Spain
Interests: economic development; agriculture economics; environmental economics; natural resource economics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the current context of degradation and overexploitation of natural resources, social sciences and, especially, economics have a great deal to contribute in the search for sustainable solutions. The need to provide food to a growing world population and deal with the effects of climate change are serious challenges to which the agricultural ecosystem management have to face. The issue embraces all natural resources, e.g., water, land, and raw materials, and the different types of agricultural management and crops, such as extensive and intensive agriculture, protected crops, and organically and traditional produced agriculture, among others, which are important for the local development.

This Special Issue of Sustainability is open to studies covering the wide range of topics related to environmental economics and sustainable management of agricultural ecosystems including, but not limited to evaluations of investment projects, analysis of sustainable management, socio-economic valuation of ecosystem services, economic circularity, land use, and conservation. Contributions focused on the achievement of sustainable development under an economic point of view are welcome as well as works related to legal measures or analyses with a social perspective. Documents dealing with measures to mitigate environmental impacts through sustainable management practices, development of circularity processes on value chains, assessment of proposed or already implemented legal measures are especially welcome. In addition, we are interested in the methodologic development of economics to face the challenge of sustainable management in agricultural ecosystems.

Dr. Juan F Velasco-Muñoz
Dr. José A Aznar-Sánchez
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sustainable management
  • circular economy
  • socio-economic valuation of ecosystem services
  • waste management
  • recycling
  • reutilization
  • cost–benefit analysis
  • land use
  • agroecology
  • conservation

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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24 pages, 295 KiB  
Article
The Importance of Social Value in Agroecological Farms: Adjusting the Common Good Balance Sheet to Improve Their Sustainable Management
by Vanessa Campos, Joan R. Sanchis and Carmen Talavera
Sustainability 2021, 13(3), 1184; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031184 - 23 Jan 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2222
Abstract
Organic farming offers the producers the possibility of focusing on their business while obtaining a competitive advantage. Nevertheless, this is centered in specific activities of the production process, thus only creating environmental value. Therefore, it is not an approach based on sustainability. As [...] Read more.
Organic farming offers the producers the possibility of focusing on their business while obtaining a competitive advantage. Nevertheless, this is centered in specific activities of the production process, thus only creating environmental value. Therefore, it is not an approach based on sustainability. As a consequence of this, it becomes necessary to enlarge this approach toward people (social value) and profitability (economic value). The objective of this work is to describe a tool based on the Economy for the Common Good model applied to the agroecological sector. We propose to adapt the Common Good Matrix to the characteristics of agroecological farms to offer a useful tool to manage and monitor Mediterranean small farms following a sustainability approach. The methodology consists of: (1) A bibliometric analysis of agroecological publications to identify sustainability indicators; (2) Delphi method application to perform a screening among the identified indicators; and (3) the establishment of peer groups of producers to carry out jointly their Common Good Balance Sheets. Eighteen experts participated in the Delphi study, and 15 companies participated in peer groups, of which seven obtained certification as companies of the common good. The bibliometric analysis shows that there is a gap of publications on agroecology and sustainability. The results obtained from peer study confirm that those agroecological companies that apply the adapted Common Good Matrix can implement corporate sustainability more easily. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Economics. Contributions to Sustainability of Agricultural Ecosystems)
26 pages, 1709 KiB  
Article
Agritourism Activity—A “Smart Chance” for Mountain Rural Environment’s Sustainability
by Ramona Ciolac, Tiberiu Iancu, Ioan Brad, Gabriela Popescu, Diana Marin and Tabita Adamov
Sustainability 2020, 12(15), 6237; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12156237 - 3 Aug 2020
Cited by 37 | Viewed by 5840
Abstract
The debates regarding sustaining the rural world by improving the quality of life are numerous; one of the proposals being agritourism activity. This activity can be a “smart chance” for the sustainability of the mountain rural environment, because it has a multiplier effect [...] Read more.
The debates regarding sustaining the rural world by improving the quality of life are numerous; one of the proposals being agritourism activity. This activity can be a “smart chance” for the sustainability of the mountain rural environment, because it has a multiplier effect on some important parts of economic and social life of the community. For instance, it can be an ally of agriculture, ensuring a diversification alternative for farms, an alternative for local guesthouses to capitalize their own local products, while ensuring the opportunity to obtain additional/complementary income, a possibility of adjusting the depopulation phenomenon and the abandonment of old houses and lands, at the same time offering a pleasant activity/alternative, especially for young people. In this context, the purpose followed in the paper is oriented through the transposition of agritourism activity into a “smart chance” for ensuring rural mountain sustainability. Being simultaneously an innovative and diversifying alternative, it is an actual one that starts from the study of two areas which are similar in terms of tourist potential. However, the approach is a different one, especially regarding the combination of agricultural resources with those specific to the rural way of life, and it also follows a different degree of development. Our scientific approach aims to present some aspects from the two areas, to achieve a general image of tourism potential, to identify how the agritourism activity is seen by those directly involved in its implementation, to point out some aspects due to which agritourism activity can be considered as a “smart chance” while bringing multiple benefits, and to ensure the sustainability of rural mountain areas by playing a vital role in the transition towards a more sustainable future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Economics. Contributions to Sustainability of Agricultural Ecosystems)
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20 pages, 2139 KiB  
Review
Sustainable Use of Wastewater in Agriculture: A Bibliometric Analysis of Worldwide Research
by María J. López-Serrano, Juan F. Velasco-Muñoz, José A. Aznar-Sánchez and Isabel M. Román-Sánchez
Sustainability 2020, 12(21), 8948; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12218948 - 28 Oct 2020
Cited by 29 | Viewed by 3887
Abstract
It is estimated that at least one quarter of the world’s population will be affected by water shortages in the coming years and by 2030 there will be a global water deficit of 40% if urgent action is not taken. Currently, the main [...] Read more.
It is estimated that at least one quarter of the world’s population will be affected by water shortages in the coming years and by 2030 there will be a global water deficit of 40% if urgent action is not taken. Currently, the main consumer of water globally is agriculture. In addition, it has been estimated that to meet the demand for food by 2050, the water available for agricultural irrigation would have to increase by 70%. In this context, wastewater could become a relevant water resource to meet this growing demand. This article aims to show the state of the global research on sustainable use of wastewater in agriculture. To this end, a systematic qualitative analysis and a quantitative bibliometric analysis were conducted. The search was carried out for the period 2000–2019, and the analyzed sample comprised 1986 articles. The results show that this line of research is one of the most outstanding within agriculture and has gained special relevance during the last five years. Research has improved significantly at a technical level, but problems such as energy consumption, and the elimination of heavy metals and elements of chemical and pharmacological products, still need to be refined. There is a particular lack of contributions covering social aspects. This article can serve as a reference for both researchers and stakeholders interested in this topic. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Economics. Contributions to Sustainability of Agricultural Ecosystems)
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