Measuring environmental sustainability in agriculture: A composite environmental impact index approach.
The present study develops a composite environmental impact index (CEII) to evaluate the extent of environmental degradation in agriculture after successfully validating its flexibility, applicability and relevance as a tool. The CEII tool is then applied to empirically measure the extent of environmental impacts of High Yield Variety (HYV) rice cultivation in three districts of north-western Bangladesh for a single crop year (October, 2012-September, 2013). Results reveal that 27 to 69 per cent of the theoretical maximum level of environmental damage is created due to HYV rice cultivation with significant regional variations in the CEII scores, implying that policy interventions are required in environmentally critical areas in order to sustain agriculture in Bangladesh.
Department of Economics, Rajshahi University, Rajshahi 6205, Bangladesh. Electronic address: nooresabiha@yahoo.com.
Noor-E
NE
Sabiha
Curtin Business School, Curtin University, Perth, WA 6845, Australia. Electronic address: Ruhul.Salim@cbs.curtin.edu.au.
Ruhul
R
Salim
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK. Electronic address: srahman@plymouth.ac.uk.
Sanzidur
S
Rahman
Curtin Business School, Curtin University, Perth, WA 6845, Australia. Electronic address: F.Rola-Rubzen@curtin.edu.au.
Maria Fay
MF
Rola-Rubzen
D000383:Agriculture / Q000379:methods*; D001459:Bangladesh; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000032:analysis*; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012275:Oryza / Q000254:growth & development*
Agriculture; Bangladesh; Composite environmental impact index; Environmental impact assessment; Indicator