Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 439-451 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | Environmental Science and Policy |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| Early online date | 2 Sept 2005 |
| Publication status | Published - Oct 2005 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Abstract
Impacts of increasing population pressure on food demand and land resources has sparked interest in nutrient balances and flows at a range of scales. West Asia/North Africa, China, and sub-Saharan Africa are net importers of NPK in agricultural commodities. These imported nutrients do not, however, redress the widely recognized declines in fertility in sub-Saharan African soils, because the nutrients imported are commonly concentrated in the cities, creating waste disposal problems rather than alleviating deficiencies in rural soils. Countries with a net loss of NPK in agricultural commodities are the major food exporting countries-the United States, Australia, and some Latin American countries. In the case of the United States, exports of NPK will increase from 3.1 Tg in 1997 to 4.8 Tg in 2020. The results suggest that between 1997 and 2020, total international net flows of NPK in traded agricultural commodities will double to 8.8 million tonnes. Against this background, the paper analyses the impact of different policy measures on nutrient flows and balances. This includes not only the effects of agricultural trade liberalization and the reduction of subsidies, but also the more direct environmental policies like nutrient accounting schemes, eco-labeling, and nutrient trading. It finally stresses the need for environmental costs to be factored into the debate on nutrient management and advocates more inter-disciplinary research on these important problems.
Keywords
- Environmental degradation, International trade, Nutrient accounting schemes, Nutrient flows, Nutrient trading permits
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Sciences(all)
- Geography, Planning and Development
- Environmental Science(all)
- Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
Sustainable Development Goals
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In: Environmental Science and Policy, Vol. 8, No. 5, 10.2005, p. 439-451.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Nutrient flows in international trade
T2 - Ecology and policy issues
AU - Grote, Ulrike
AU - Craswell, Eric
AU - Vlek, Paul
PY - 2005/10
Y1 - 2005/10
N2 - Impacts of increasing population pressure on food demand and land resources has sparked interest in nutrient balances and flows at a range of scales. West Asia/North Africa, China, and sub-Saharan Africa are net importers of NPK in agricultural commodities. These imported nutrients do not, however, redress the widely recognized declines in fertility in sub-Saharan African soils, because the nutrients imported are commonly concentrated in the cities, creating waste disposal problems rather than alleviating deficiencies in rural soils. Countries with a net loss of NPK in agricultural commodities are the major food exporting countries-the United States, Australia, and some Latin American countries. In the case of the United States, exports of NPK will increase from 3.1 Tg in 1997 to 4.8 Tg in 2020. The results suggest that between 1997 and 2020, total international net flows of NPK in traded agricultural commodities will double to 8.8 million tonnes. Against this background, the paper analyses the impact of different policy measures on nutrient flows and balances. This includes not only the effects of agricultural trade liberalization and the reduction of subsidies, but also the more direct environmental policies like nutrient accounting schemes, eco-labeling, and nutrient trading. It finally stresses the need for environmental costs to be factored into the debate on nutrient management and advocates more inter-disciplinary research on these important problems.
AB - Impacts of increasing population pressure on food demand and land resources has sparked interest in nutrient balances and flows at a range of scales. West Asia/North Africa, China, and sub-Saharan Africa are net importers of NPK in agricultural commodities. These imported nutrients do not, however, redress the widely recognized declines in fertility in sub-Saharan African soils, because the nutrients imported are commonly concentrated in the cities, creating waste disposal problems rather than alleviating deficiencies in rural soils. Countries with a net loss of NPK in agricultural commodities are the major food exporting countries-the United States, Australia, and some Latin American countries. In the case of the United States, exports of NPK will increase from 3.1 Tg in 1997 to 4.8 Tg in 2020. The results suggest that between 1997 and 2020, total international net flows of NPK in traded agricultural commodities will double to 8.8 million tonnes. Against this background, the paper analyses the impact of different policy measures on nutrient flows and balances. This includes not only the effects of agricultural trade liberalization and the reduction of subsidies, but also the more direct environmental policies like nutrient accounting schemes, eco-labeling, and nutrient trading. It finally stresses the need for environmental costs to be factored into the debate on nutrient management and advocates more inter-disciplinary research on these important problems.
KW - Environmental degradation
KW - International trade
KW - Nutrient accounting schemes
KW - Nutrient flows
KW - Nutrient trading permits
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=27144529531&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.envsci.2005.05.001
DO - 10.1016/j.envsci.2005.05.001
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:27144529531
VL - 8
SP - 439
EP - 451
JO - Environmental Science and Policy
JF - Environmental Science and Policy
SN - 1462-9011
IS - 5
ER -