Search

American Indian science encompasses tribal processes of conceiving, considering, and experimenting that produce ways of knowing about the physical and natural worlds. The cultural science of Chemehuevis and their Southern Paiute relatives is deeply rooted in the Americas, where Indians have learned paradigms and scientific philosophies for successfully navigating diverse environments for thousands of years. Varied indigenous knowledge systems systematically build on the collective wisdom, practical experiences, and adaptations learned throughout time and among generations through the oral tradition. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, science is "[t]he state or fact of knowing; knowledge or cognizance or something specified or implied." American Indians have enjoyed centuries of scientific knowledge based on observation, experimentation, and application and referred to as tribal traditional knowledge. Chemehuevis see the Tribal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a powerful instrument of change that can slow devastating processes putting tribes at physical, mental, spiritual, and cultural risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within Europe and North America the integration of environmental concerns into agriculture has become a domain almost exclusively defined by public policy. In this paper it is contended that we are currently witnessing a new direction in attempts to reconcile agricultural production and environmental protection, in which the market is playing an increasingly important role. The paper takes as its focus the rapidly expanding number of what are termed ‘market-oriented initiatives for environmentally sustainable food production’ (MOIs), in which the incentive for food producers to manage the environment positively comes directly through the market. The number of MOIs, in both Europe and North America, has proliferated recently, although some have been established for many years. However, both older and newer forms of these MOIs appear to be the focus of a new rural development, food quality, and sustainable farming agenda. In an attempt to make a contribution to this emergent debate, this paper sets out to address the extent to which these MOIs are capable of contributing to the development of more environmentally sustainable food production. In this paper we consider the drivers of this new approach, review the various types of MOI that are emerging in both Europe and North America, and examine the different approaches to environmental management that MOIs adopt. The paper also offers a reflection upon the potential contribution of MOIs to the delivery of environmental goods in food production and the implications of this for public sector approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deals with a study which discussed Mexico's environmental policy and practice after the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came into effect in 1994. Background information on NAFTA; Indicators of environmental performance; Summary and conclusions.