Quantifying Sustainable Development (eBook)

Cover 1
Contents 6
Contributors 16
Foreword 20
Preface 24
Section I: Introduction: The Tropics„Paradise Imperiled? 30
Chapter 1. The Changing Tropics 32
I. Introduction 32
II. The Industrialization of Agriculture 32
III. The Increasing Need for Foreign Exchange 39
IV. Tropical Environmental Issues and Their Economic Consequences 41
V. Has Development Failed? 42
VI. Was Conventional Economics the Wrong Tool to Guide Development? 42
VII. Sustainable Development, the New Silver Bullet 43
References 45
Chapter 2. A Brief Historical and Visual Introduction to Costa Rica 48
I. Costa Rica, Green Paradise? 48
II. A Historical Perspective on Costa Rica and Its Economy 51
III. The Effects of Foreign Aid and Loans 62
IV. Costa Rica in the 1990s„Radical Changes in the Country and the Economy 64
V. Conclusions 68
References 69
Section II: Development and Sustainability 72
Chapter 3. The Theories and Myths That Have Guided Development 74
I. The Economic Issues 74
II. The Lure of Sustainable Development 75
III. The Central Question of This Book 79
IV. Some Important History about the Development of Economics 86
V. Biophysical Economics 103
References 114
Chapter 4.Data on Sustainability in Costa Rica: Time Series Analysis of Population, Land Use, Economics, Energy, and Efficiency 120
I. Introduction 120
II. Methods 122
III. Results 126
IV. Discussion 135
V. Conclusions 147
References 148
Chapter 5. Land, Energy, and Agricultural Production in Costa Rica 150
I. Introduction 150
II. Assessing the Food Production Capacity of Costa Rica 159
III. Simulation Results 169
IV. What This Means for the Future 175
V. Conclusions 182
References 184
Section III: Adding a Spatial Dimension: Tools for Dynamic Geographical Analysis 186
Chapter 6. The Derivation and Analysis of National-Level Geographical Information: A New Model for Accessibility and an Easy-to-Use Micro GIS Program 188
I. Introduction 188
II. A Plan to Generate National-Level Data Bases 193
III. Our Plan to Provide a Uniform Format for Costa Rican Geographical Data 195
IV. Development of Mean Environmental Characteristics for Each Political Unit 198
V. A Free Micro GIS Program 201
References 204
Chapter 7. Geographical Modeling: The Synthesis of a GIS and Simulation Modeling 206
I. The Concepts behind Land Use Decision Making 206
II. Tools for Analysis 209
III. Applying Gradient Analysis through Geographical Modeling to Costa Rica 224
IV. Models and Policymaking 226
References 227
Section IV: Building a Geographical Database for Costa Rica 232
Chapter 8. Developing a Nationwide Topographical Database 234
I. Introduction 234
II. Construction of the Topographical Database 237
III. Generating Derivatives of the DEM 244
IV. Potential Uses in Sustainability Assessment 249
References 250
Chapter 9. Synthesis of Costa Rican Meteorological Information in a Geographical Context 252
I. Introduction 252
II. Methodology„An Overview 263
III. Methods We Used to Compute Costa Rican Digital Climate Maps 268
IV. Results 276
V. Discussion„Validating the Accuracy of the Generated Maps 290
VI. Conclusions 292
References 292
Chapter 10. Properties, Geographic Distribution, and Management of Major Soil Orders of Costa Rica 294
I. Introduction 294
II. Historical Perspective 295
III. Classifying Costa Rica’s Diverse Soils 296
IV. Conclusions 318
References 319
Chapter 11. Remote Sensing and Land Use Analysis for Agriculture in Costa Rica 324
I. Introduction 324
II. Application of Remote Sensing to Assessing Forest Cover and Land Use Change in Costa Rica 339
III. Analysis of Crops 347
IV. The Future of Costa Rican Institutions Developing Remote Sensing Applications 370
V. Conclusion 372
References 373
Section V: Application to Sustainability Issues for Costa Rica’s Natural Resources 376
Chapter 12. Temporal and Spatial Overview of Costa Rican Agricultural Production 378
I. Introduction 378
II. Trends in Land Use and Agricultural Yield 379
III. The Geography of Agriculture 405
IV. An Energy Flow Analysis of Agricultural Productivity in Costa Rica 422
V. Conclusion 427
References 429
Chapter 13. Biophysical Agricultural Assessment and Management Models for Developing Countries 432
I. Introduction 432
II. Model 1: ALES Land Use Potential Evaluation System 433
III. Model 2: DSSAT Crop Simulation Models 442
IV. Discussion 447
V. Conclusions 449
References 449
Chapter 14. Geographical Synthesis of Data on Costa Rican Pastures and Their Potential for Improvement 452
I. Introduction 452
II. Pastures 460
III. Economic Issues 472
IV. Conclusion 473
References 475
Chapter 15. The Extent and Economic Impacts of Soil Erosion in Costa Rica 478
I. Introduction 478
II. Literature Review 479
III. Methods 486
IV. Results 489
V. Discussion 493
VI. Conclusions 496
References 497
Chapter 16. Land Use and Cover Change in Costa Rica: A Geographic Perspective 502
I. Introduction 502
II. Overview of Past and Present Remote Sensing and GIS Studies in Costa Rica 504
III. Methods 507
IV. Results 510
V. Discussion 523
VI. Conclusions 527
References 529
Chapter 17. Gradient Analysis of Biomass in Costa Rica and a First Estimate of Countrywide Emissions of Greenhouse Gases from Biomass Burning 532
I. Introduction 532
II. Methods 535
III. Results and Discussion 543
IV. Conclusions 551
References 552
Chapter 18. Forestry in Costa Rica and an Estimate of Energy Potentially Available from Forests 556
I. Introduction 556
II. Use of Costa Rican Forests and the Forestry Industry 557
III. Could the Forest Provide the Energy That Costa Rica Needs for Its Economy? 563
IV. Discussion 568
References 570
Chapter 19. Assessing the Role of Parks for Protecting Forest Resources Using GIS and Spatial Modeling 572
I. Introduction 572
II. Using a GIS to Assess the Quality of National Parklands 577
III. Using Spatial Modeling to Assess Resistance to Land Use Change 584
IV. Discussion 568
References 570
Section VI: Biophysical Analysis of Major Components of the Economy 590
Chapter 20. The Costa Rican Banana Industry: Can It Be Sustainable? 592
I. Introduction 592
II. The Present Role of the Banana Industry in the Costa Rican Economy 601
III. Toward a Sustainable Banana Production Future 615
IV. Visions and Goals 619
References 620
Chapter 21. The Costa Rican Coffee Industry 624
I. Introduction 624
II. How Sustainable Is Sustainable? A Biophysical Perspective 635
III. Why Areas with Suboptimal Growing Conditions Get Higher Selling Prices: A Case Study in the West Central Valley 650
IV. Land Use Changes 653
V. Summary and Conclusions 653
References 654
Chapter 22. Costa Rican Industry: Characteristics, History, and Potential for Sustainability 658
I. Introduction 658
II. The History of the Costa Rican Industrial Sector 659
III. Will Emerging Industries Be Any Different? 662
IV. Sustainability of the Costa Rican Industrial Sector 665
References 673
Chapter 23. The Internationalization of the Costa Rican Economy: A Two-Edged Sword 676
I. Introduction 676
II. Results 683
III. Discussion 689
IV. Conclusion 691
References 692
Chapter 24. An Assessment of the Effectiveness of Structural Adjustment Policies in Costa Rica 694
I. The Costa Rican Strategy of Export-Led Growth 694
II. Discussion: The Political Implications of Structural Adjustment Policies 706
References 720
Chapter 25. Comparative Estimates of Sustainability: Economic, Resource Base, Ecological Footprint, and Emergy 724
I. Introduction 724
II. Summary from Other Chapters of This Book 725
III. Calculating the Ecological Footprint of Costa Rica: Does Costa Rica Fit inside Costa Rica? 726
IV. Emergy, Foreign Trade, and Carrying Capacity in Costa Rica 735
V. Results and Discussion of Emergy Analysis 739
VI. Summary and Conclusions 741
References 742
Chapter 26. The Myth of Sustainable Development 744
I. The Impossibility of Sustainable Development 744
II. Why Conventional Development Does Not Work 752
III. Conclusion: There Is Hope 756
References 760
Appendix I. Low-Cost Mapmaking 762
Appendix II. A Free Micro GIS Program 774
Appendix III 776
Index 782