of traditional agricultural systems and knowledge in many ESAP countries (Doane, 1999). An appropriate response might lie in providing monetary and infrastructural support to indigenous peoples and practitioners of traditional ag­riculture. Protection of traditional knowledge should also involve equity considerations anchored on the principles of conservation, preservation of traditional lifestyles, and ad­equate recognition and compensation.

5.3.2     Organic agriculture
While there is no single definition of organic agriculture, the term is generally understood to represent a suite of farm management practices rooted in using natural rather than synthetic materials to enhance soil fertility and combat plant disease (Raynolds, 2000). Organic agriculture fosters processes and interactions occurring in natural ecosystems, encouraging internal stability rather than relying on exter­nal control measures.
     Through its emphasis on building soil structure and fertility by the incorporation of organic matter, organic ag­riculture can play a role in the rehabilitation of degraded ag­ricultural lands where erosion, compaction, salinization and desertification have significantly reduced yields and threaten future agricultural use. The incorporation of organic mat­ter into the soil improves water-holding capacity, which is essential in areas of poor/erratic rainfall. While some evi­dence suggests higher above and below-ground biodiversity and improved biochemical characteristics in organic sys­tems (Bengtsson et al., 2003; Melero et al., 2006), neutral outcomes are also reported (Franke-Snyder et al., 2001). Species richness has been shown to increase among some organism groups while others are unaffected (Bengtsson et al., 2003). The impacts of organic agriculture on biodi­versity depend on factors such as crop rotation and tillage practices, quantity and quality of organic amendments and the characteristics of the surrounding landscape. Although some studies suggest reduced environmental losses of nu­trients like nitrate nitrogen in organic systems (Kramer et al., 2006), most evidence suggests that nitrate losses are not reduced in high-yielding organic systems when contrasted to conventional production systems (Kirchmann and Berg-stroem, 2001; Torstensson et al., 2006).
     Organic animal agriculture practices include soil man­agement techniques based on appropriate stocking rates and grazing regimes that minimize compaction, provision of good quality drinking water and organically grown feed, free access to graze and range on a wide variety of pasture and browsing species, adequate housing to ensure animal welfare and the use of natural health remedies (BIO-GRO, 2001).

5.3.2.1  Impact
Overall, organic agriculture's emphasis on the sustainable use of local, often free, resources makes this system par­ticularly important for the rural poor in the ESAP region, especially those in marginal areas with access to organic in­puts. Organic agriculture is particularly beneficial for wom­en-headed households because of women's greater difficulty in accessing financial resources to purchase seeds, fertilizers and pesticides. It also eliminates the exposure to pesticides,

which have had a significant impact on the health status of the rural poor (UNESCAP, 2002).
     In addition to its potential for marginalized areas in the region, organic agriculture is developing into a lucra­tive export market-driven sector—as well as a thriving do­mestic market sector, with produce increasingly being sold at local farmers markets in Australia and New Zealand as well as many other ESAP countries. There is also growing demand for organic food in the ESAP urban centers and the premiums paid for this food could offer an opportu­nity for increased incomes for the rural poor, especially in areas largely untouched by Green Revolution technologies (IFAD, 2002). Overall, the organic market in Asia is cur­rently growing at the rate of 10-20% annually, making it the fastest growing sector in the region's agricultural market. A number of countries in the region have adopted policies to promote organic agriculture to take advantage of the growth in market demand. The area under organic management in Asia is around 2.9 million ha, while in the Pacific (largely Australia  and New Zealand)  it is  around  11.8  million hectares (Yussefi and Willer, 2003).
     Similar to traditional agriculture in the region, animals in organic systems are incorporated into a mixed animal agriculture/cropping enterprise, often with the addition of forestry. Yields from organic dairy systems in New Zealand average around 5% lower than their conventional counter­parts but with higher returns and lower input costs resulting in little change in overall returns to the farmer (Christensen and Saunders, 2003). Organic aquaculture in the ESAP re­gion has lagged behind the development of other kinds of organic agriculture. New Zealand is one of the largest pro­ducers of organic fish and mussels outside Europe; other major producers include Indonesia, Viet Nam and Thailand (shrimp) and Australia (salmon). One constraining factor is the requirement that food for the farmed species be obtained from sustainably managed fisheries, derived from locally-available fishery products not suitable for direct human consumption, free from synthetic additives and contami­nants and only fed to farmed aquatic species with naturally piscivorous feeding habits (FAO, 2002). Removal of this constraint would considerably increase the production of farmed organic aquatic plants and molluscs.
     Organic systems may require more labor than other sys­tems, which can be negative or positive, depending on the availability of labor and income-generating activities. The question of yields from organic versus conventional systems remains controversial, but there is clearly a niche for organic crops in the ESAP region, particularly when combined with nitrogen-fixing legumes, livestock systems that supply reli­able organic inputs, or where sufficient crop residues are available. There are a number of organic conversion proj­ects throughout the region that have reported yield increases and social benefits after conversion (FAO, 2002). In Asia a positive relationship was noted between organic farming and improvements in rural livelihoods, including positive effects on employment, income and household food security (UNESCAP 2002a). For example, an improvement in the health status of members of the Nayakrishi Andalon organic movement in Bangladesh, which includes more than 65,000 families, was observed.