| Popis: |
Agriculture carried out in the mountainous areas of Southeast Asia is intensifying rapidly, driven as it is by economic growth, policy changes, the introduction of new technologies and population growth. Rice, the dominant crop, is giving way to a greater variety of cash crops such as maize, vegetables, fruits, flowers and rubber. Building on a long-term interdisciplinary research project run by the University of Hohenheim over the period 2000–2014, in collaboration with various universities and research institutes in Thailand and Vietnam, we discuss three interrelated problems that tend to accompany land use intensification in mountainous areas, these being rapid land degradation, increasing levels of pesticide use and pollution, and persistent poverty. We set the framework for this book by introducing these problems and discussing how research into the development, testing and adaptation of innovations, as well as the development of knowledge on mountainous land use systems, has contributed to more sustainable land use and rural development among the mountainous areas of Southeast Asia. |
