Advising Efficient Political Decisions for Sustainability of Local Agricultural Systems: High-Risk Agriculture in Southern Europe

Abstract

Efficient political decisions are needed to improve agricultural sustainability in many local areas. This article presents a way to use causal network analysis methodology to inform decisions for sustainable agricultural systems. High-risk (unsustainable) agriculture has developed in 42 southern European municipalities where various social, economic and environmental impacts threaten the local rural way of life. Our epistemological starting point is the complexity and multidimensionality of socioenvironmental systems. Within the context of an impact assessment, causal network analysis is used to show that social nodes are important, which suggests that efficient political intervention for these nodes should initiate the necessary changes.