Social Science Applications in Asian Agroforestry

Contents Foreword. Preface. I. Setting the stage 1. Our theme Thinking social scientifically about agroforestry/W.R. Burch. II. Problems and prospects 2. Programs of participatory forestry development in Asia/Y.S. Rao. 3. Wasteland development in India political institutional and sociocultural imperatives/S.A. Shah. 4. Social science research in agroforestry and other land use technologies/W.R. Bentley. III. Approaches and applications 5. Toward a social ecology for agroforestry in Asia/J.K. Parker and W.R. Burch. 6. The uses of political science in agroforestry interventions/H.W. Blair. 7. The economics of agroforestry/D.E. Mercer. 8. The uses of anthropology in agro social forestry R and D approaches to anthropological forestry/D.A. Messerschmidt. Epilogue/J.K. Parker and W.R. Burch. Subject Index. Combining tree and food crops with animals to meet human needs is an ancient strategy of farmers in Asia and other parts of the world. But modern scientists are rather like the character in Molieres play who discovers he speaks prose they have assigned to such traditional practices a classification scheme some systematic measures and a name agro forestry and are apt to feel they have opened a new field. Nevertheless scientists and developers are challenged to solve a range of problems that reflect complex and interrelated biophysical and socioeconomic factors in order to improve on and promote new variations of this ancient strategy. This book provides theoretical and applied perspectives from political science anthropology economics and sociology to help identify and apply modern practices and technologies that are appropriate to the means needs and skills of Asian farmers. It identifies the kinds of knowledge and experience that are useful for resolving observed problems rather than for achieving political balance between competing disciplines. Readers will have an overview of the kinds of agro forestry problems that the social sciences can address and of available substantive findings that can contribute to agro forestry practice and education. This overview provides a solid introduction to how systematic social knowledge when applied to agro forestry activities can be a powerful aid to basic problem solution in research planning management and policy. 188 pp.