Research Fellow Publishes on Agriculture, Assessment, and Complexity in "Environmental and Sustainability Indicators" Journal

May 19, 2020

Environment and Sustainability Indicators

Planetary Health Research Fellow Byomkesh Talukder published Environmental and Sustainability Indicators Towards Complexity of Agricultural Sustainability Assessment: Main Issues and Concerns in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental and Sustainability Indicators.

The open-source article was published online on 29 April 2020.

Towards Complexity of Agricultural Sustainability Assessment: Main Issues and Concerns

Abstract

The sustainability of agricultural systems is of paramount concern in order to ensure the survival and wellbeing of humans throughout the world. Sustainability is a complex issue involving multiple factors that fit broadly within economic, social and environmental areas. Given its complexity, this paper examines the question of how sustainability can be assessed in a way that gives a holistic picture of the separate and interrelated factors. The paper then presents a literature review, field experience and the use of complex adaptive systems to identify the issues and concerns that need to be addressed during agricultural sustainability assessment and categorizes them into in seven groups: integration of capitals; maintaining resilience, adaptation and transformation; ensuring system performance; involving stakeholders; mixing interdisciplinary views; integration of scales; and practicing good governance. Based on these issues and concerns, a set of indicators are suggested that will assist with holistic agricultural sustainability assessment in a given area.

Citation

Talukder, B., Blay-Palmer, A., & Hipel, K. W. (2020). Towards Complexity of Agricultural Sustainability Assessment: Main Issues and Concerns. Environmental and Sustainability Indicators, 100038.

Full Article

Read the full article here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665972720300209