Description

In this volume we examine the process of economic development, by which we mean both economic growth and institutional evolution. We ask how economic development, and in particular agricultural development, influences watershed health. Our empirical focus is on a single agricultural landscape, the Manupali River watershed in the southern Philippines; however, we draw lessons from this location that have currency well beyond the borders of the watershed, or indeed the Philippines or Southeast Asia. The contributions to this volume aim to improve our understanding of the General forces influencing patterns of land use in tropical agricultural landscapes. The interface between human activity and the local environment is of central concern, but we also attempt to answer questions of how best to manage natural resources so as to sustain agricultural livelihoods, and how best to minimize environmental damages arising from agricultural activities.