International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology
Volume 22, Issue 5, 2015
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tsdw20/current#.VSj2SpMw1hX

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Original Articles
Social and environmental impacts of agricultural cooperatives: evidence from Ethiopia
DOI:10.1080/13504509.2015.1052860
Dagne Mojoab*, Christian Fischera & Terefe Degefac
pages 388-400
Abstract
Cooperatives are considered as potential organizational vehicles for sustainable development due to their multiple objectives and diverse roles. In particular, a lot is expected from agricultural cooperatives since they depend mainly on natural resource-based activities where sustainability issues are central concerns. Using household survey data of 305 coffee farmers from Ethiopia, the impacts of cooperative membership on farmers’ social and environmental performances are examined. Findings, based on propensity scores matching, show a significant positive impact of cooperatives on members’ social capital including trust, commitment and satisfaction, and on human capital such as training sessions received and experiences gained. However, farmers’ environmental performance is negatively associated with membership contrary to expectations. The findings suggest further efforts that need to be made by agricultural cooperatives to improve the environmental performance of farmers, while the accumulated human and social capitals are encouraging and can ease future collective actions toward cares for the environment and future generations.

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Original Articles
The role of ruminant animals in sustainable livestock intensification programs
DOI:10.1080/13504509.2015.1075441
Luis Orlindo Tedeschia*, James Pierre Muirb, David Greg Rileya & Danny Gene Foxc
pages 452-465
Abstract
Food supply has improved considerably since the eighteenth century industrial revolution, but inadequate attention has been given to protecting the environment in the process. Feeding a growing world population while reducing the impact on the environment requires immediate and effective solutions. Sustainability is difficult to define because it embodies multifaceted concepts and the combination of variables that make a production system sustainable can be unique to each production situation. Sustainability represents the state of a complex system that is always evolving. It is an intrinsic characteristic of the system that needs to be shaped and managed. A sustainable system has the ability to coexist with other systems at a different output level after a period of perturbation. Resilience is the ability of a system to recover and reestablish a dynamic equilibrium after it has been perturbed. Sustainable intensification (SI) produces more output(s) through the more efficient use of resources while reducing negative impact on the environment; it provides opportunities for increasing animal and crop production per area while employing sustainable production alternatives that fully consider the three pillars of sustainability (planet, people, and profit). Identifying the most efficient animals and feeding systems is the prerequisite to successful applications of sustainable livestock intensification programs. Animal scientists must develop strategies that forecast the rate and magnitude of global changes as well as their possible influences on the food production chain. System modeling is a powerful tool because it accounts for many variables and their interactions involved in identifying sustainable systems in each situation.