From Thaer and Thünen until Today: Past and Future of Agricultural Landscape Use in Germany

This article intends to present the historical development of German agriculture sector in last two centuries and underlined the benefit of the advancement in agriculture sector to fulfil the growing food demand. At the same time the article discussed the ecological and socio-economic perspectives of rapid technological development of agriculture sector in Germany. This article would facilitate the debate on technological development in agriculture sector, which rapidly growing throughout the world, in view point of sustainable socio-ecological development.

A Transition from Wood Fuel to LPG and Its Impact on Energy Conservation and Health in the Central Himalayas, India

The aim of the study was to evaluate the impacts of the transition from wood fuel to Liquefied Petroleum Gas(LPG) from energy use and health perspectives along an altitudinal gradient(viz.,lower altitude;middle altitude;and higher altitude) of the Central Himalayas.Empirical field study and questionnaire based survey was conducted forobtaining the data.A total of 20 households from each altitude were selected for obtaining reliable information on the actual quantity of fuelwood consumed.Of the 20 households,five households each based on the family size i.e.,small families(<4 members),medium(5-8 members) and large(>9 members) from all the altitudinal regions were selected.This was followed by an administration of a questionnaire on the quantity of fuelwood consumed.After the completion of the questionnaire survey,the data was validated using a weighted survey for the randomly selected households for obtaining precise information on the actual quantity of fuelwood consumed.Energy analysis is done with respect to the time spent on fuelwood collection and energy value of burning of per kg of fuelwood.Study indicates that declining biomass requirement from forests contributes significantly towards energy conservation,also has positive impact on human health.Per capita annual energy expenditure on collection of fuelwood is 752 MJ which is higher than any other activity in villages of Central Himalaya.The LPG substitution has contributed to energy saving which is equivalent to 2976-3,742 MJ per capita per year in middle and lower altitudes respectively.In the higher altitude the energy saving is calculated to be about 257 MJ per capita per year.Replacing fuelwood with LPG has made positive impact on society in terms of improving the health while reducing diseases that are caused due to indoor air pollution.

Macro to Micro Viewpoint of Climate Change - Linking Karnataka to Global Issue

A numerous studies have been done on climate change at regional, national and global levels. Several climate models have predicted the global scenarios for climate in different parts of the world. However, the significance and practical implementation of such models at local level yet to be validated. This is because those national or global models do not consider micro variables such as such as environmental resources for example ‘land availability, local climatic conditions, socioeconomic factors such as ‘labour and capital’, policy aspects such as ‘subsidies, nature conservation strategies’ and competition for labor and capital in relation of ‘national economy’. India, with a huge diversity in land, topography, climate and socioeconomic conditions, divided into 15 agro-ecological zones. Further, to help develop location specific research and development strategies at the micro level, a total of 127 sub-zones (agro-climatic sub regions) have been identified in India. Therefore, research on climate change and its impact only at the regional or national level may not be a sound approach to provide solutions for adaptation to climate change at micro level. Thus the micro-level research needs to be undertaken that might help us understand climate change impacts on the landscape i.e. biodiversity, health, natural resource management, land use and land cover development, adaptation and the development of socio-ecological systems. The concepts presented in this article should provide the basis for a discussion on decision-making issues among multidisciplinary experts with regard to climate change and sustainable development within complex environments.

Conservation and Management of Forest Resources in India: Ancient and Current Perspectives

This paper brings out the issues related to natural resource exists, management and erosion right from the ancient to modern era. The natural resource such as forests and forest products were found as a basic source of survival for living organisms during the initial period. Later, the natural resources started degrading slowly and steadily due to increased human activities. In the beginning, natural resources were the primary assets for the growth of agriculture, industry, urbanization etc. Subsequently, increased anthropogenic activities started degrading the forest cover on a large scale through extending the agricultural land scape and other developmental activities in the country. The importance of traditional knowledge regarding resource conservation, protection of sacred grooves, endangered species etc. started declining in modern India. Innovativeness and policy framework for resource conservation and utilization became unfriendly in addition to gradual decline of community management. The key findings of the study point to major gaps existing such as between line departments and institutions in the promotion and management of forests, human welfare, agriculture, animal husbandry etc. Moreover, people tend to be more inclined towards the utilization of natural resources rather than conservation. From an observational and practical point of view, the natural resource has been declining rapidly in India. Therefore, this study strongly suggests that a due attention be directed towards developing people-friendly and environment friendly conservation strategies.