Agricultural landscapes are increasingly characterised by resource tension and competition. New cultivation regimes, new forms of state regulation, and strengthened linkages between agricultural and non-agricultural sectors mean that rural resource management institutions face an array of new challenges. Institutions are adapting to manage resource constraints at various scales: households are adjusting their 'mix' of productive enterprises; communities are exploring new ways of regulating the use of land, water and forest resources; and regional bodies are being formed to manage the socio-economic and biophysical interconnections in complex catchment systems. The key research challenge in these agricultural landscapes is to strengthen our understanding of the impact of social and environmental change on agricultural sustainability and livelihood security. This research needs to combine anthropological analysis of farming systems and resource management institutions; economic assessment of production alternatives; and biophysical studies of soil and water processes. Catchment modelling provides a useful framework for investigating the overall trends that emerge out of a multitude of social and biophysical interactions.
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