Multiple Capitals Approach for Upland Agricultural Systems

by Lois Mansfield

Overview

This book focuses on upland agricultural systems and applies a multiple capitals approach to explain what they can provide at a time when many are struggling to survive.

Marginal upland agricultural systems have been distorted and derailed by modern economics, politics, and the drive to intensification. This book argues for the application of a multiple capitals approach to resource management challenges for marginal upland agricultural communities. Instead of considering what upland agricultural systems lack, the book showcases how a multiple capitals framework can demonstrate the importance, interrelationships, and relevance of the suite of capitals (natural, human, social, cultural, and financial) to achieve better outcomes for upland communities, broader ecosystem services, and wider society more generally. It is designed to connect theory to practice to provide underpinning knowledge and guidance to help upland agricultural communities thrive. Drawing on case studies from the UK and Japan, as well as making comparisons with Central and South American countries, the book recommends tools for monitoring different forms of capital and suggests a management process driven by multiple capitals to create resilience in upland agricultural systems.

This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of agriculture, natural resource management, ecosystem services, rural development, and those interested in applying a multiple capitals approach more widely within policy and landscape management contexts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781040370254
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	06/05/2025
Series:	Earthscan Food and Agriculture
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	308
File size:	7 MB

About the Author

Lois Mansfield is Emeritus Professor and previously Director of the Research Centre for National Parks and Protected Areas at the University of Cumbria, UK. She currently works as an independent research consultant running her own company, Environmentors Ltd.

Table of Contents

PART I Overview 1. Upland Agricultural Systems and Capital PART II Marginality and Capital 2. Marginality and Upland Agricultural Systems 3. Options for Explaining Agricultural Resources PART III Capital as a Concept in Agriculture 4. Natural Capital 5. Human Capital 6. Social Capital 7. Cultural Capital 8. Financial Capital PART IV A Multiple Capitals Approach 9. Multiple Capital Frameworks, Concepts, and Models 10. Multiple Capital Toolkit for Upland Agriculture

Editorial Reviews

"This internationally relevant book is an excellent and accessible guide to the problematics of creating sustainable upland agricultural systems, a topic of urgent importance in rural development. Its particular value comes from the conceptual consideration of multiple capitals, an approach which leads into a practical toolkit for planning how to achieve good outcomes for upland areas. As such, the book will be of value to policy makers and rural development practitioners, as well as being interesting to academic readers. It is greatly enriched by its use of highly detailed case studies from very different parts of the world to illustrate how the theory can be deployed in practice. This book makes a significant contribution to this specialist field."

Lewis Holloway, Professor of Human Geography, University of Hull, UK.

“In this richly illustrated and intellectually rigorous book, Lois Mansfield demonstrates how a multiple capitals approach can help us truly understand the resilience of upland agriculture. In explicating the crucial socio-cultural contexts of agricultural practices and livelihoods, this indispensable book will change the way we understand and manage the Uplands - and should be essential reading for Scholars, Students, Policymakers and Practitioners alike".

Professor Mark Riley, University of Liverpool.

From the Publisher