The views of many scientists about water are evolving towards a systems approach that accommodates both the multi-faceted dimensions of water resources and the accelerating pace of globalization and human development. The water system includes the water cycle and three major interacting elements:...

The twin issues of food security and environmental protection for the remainder of the century will be defined by expectations that the population will continue to grow to 11 billion, mainly in less developed countries (LDCs), as well as by human behavior. This paper considers conventional analyses...

This paper looks into the relative merits of two approaches—participation in preferential trading agreements (PTAS) and multilateralism, as exemplified by membership in the World Trade Organization—both of which lead to the path of integration with the world economy. Four ASEAN...

Special problems arise when analyzing supply chains because of the complexity of the relationships in the system. In addressing this concern for a research project on a vegetable supply chain in Mindanao, the authors of this paper use a pluralistic methodology. A soft-systems framework was used to...

The paper proceeds from the widely held assessment that Myanmar's economy is handicapped by structural imbalance, instability, inefficient and imperfect markets, and distorted prices. The paper delineates how this general state of affairs is clearly evident in the agricultural sector. It then...

This paper addresses the conceptual and practical difficulties in interdisciplinary cooperation between the natural sciences and the social sciences. The perspective taken is that of Rural Development Sociology of the Social Sciences group of Wageningen University and Research Center. It is proposed...