Promoting change or preserving the status quo? The consequences of dominating local politics by agricultural interests

Though there is a vibrant debate about the determinants of structural change in the agricultural sector, the broad consensus is that it is mainly driven by economic environment and farmers’ characteristics. In this paper, we show that the pattern of farm exits can also be importantly shaped by rural politics. Using municipality-level data for Poland and the period 1996–2010, we find a persistent correlation between the outflow from farming and the distribution of political power at the local level. Our results suggest that in municipalities where local governments were captured by agricultural interests there were fewer exits from farming and the land consolidation process was slower. While we cannot rule out that some omitted factors might be responsible for the documented statistical association, our findings are robust across different specifications and to focusing attention on various subsamples.     

我国矿山固体废弃物现状与对策分析

大量矿山固体废弃物的产生既是我国固体矿产资源特点决定的,也是我国千百年矿业开发的历史积累,更是矿产资源利用不合理的结果。通过讨论我国矿山固体废弃物的现状、资源储量及其与矿山生态环境的密切关系,从综合利用、科技创新、优惠扶持政策、产业化道路、加强法制建设、土地复垦方面,做出了相应的对策分析,得出了经济有效的综合利用是矿山固体废弃物综合治理的最关键问题。     

Costs of providing local public services and compact population in Spanish urbanised areas

This paper addresses the impact of land use patterns associated with compact population on the costs of provision and maintenance of urban public services for local entities, controlling for other factors. The aim is to develop an econometric analysis using a panel data set of municipalities of the Spanish Mediterranean area and Madrid in the period 2006–2014. The estimations derived from the study confirm one main hypothesis and indicate that compact population impacts positively on the decrease of municipal costs of urban public services. This study suggests that municipal planning instruments of local entities could contribute to efficiently manage their budgets, as well as orients public policy in terms of its local land use decision-making.     

Factors of vulnerability: How large-scale land acquisitions take advantage of local and national weaknesses in Sierra Leone

Enticing economic benefits for host nations and the notion of large areas of land considered available are often put forward as the main reasons for large-scale land acquisition in many areas of sub-Saharan Africa. However, country-level datasets of land acquisitions seem to indicate a clear divide between a majority of countries engaged in land acquisitions as investors and those involved as targets. We posit that there are socio-economic and governance factors that make the engagement between targets of land acquisitions and investors both unequal and attractive to large-scale investments. We then ask the question: what are the factors that make communities vulnerable to an unequal engagement with large-scale land-investing interests in Sierra Leone? We explore this question using local-level socio-economic data of households and communities in two settings where land acquisitions have occurred in Sierra Leone. We find that socio-economic characteristics of local populations, such as levels of education, the powerful role of traditional chiefs and corruption, make these areas easier targets for such land investments. Investors also exploit the poor economic situation of local areas by making alluring promises of development opportunities. The vulnerability of local people to land investors is further undermined by poor governance at the national level and external politico-financial interest in favor of such investments. Local populations are vulnerable to organized campaigns of land acquisitions by multi-national companies. Proper legal and institutional frameworks are required to protect local interests in these land deals.     

中国村镇耕地污染现状、原因及对策分析

研究目的：分析中国村镇耕地污染现状及其原因,提出村镇污染耕地的整治建议。研究方法：数据统计法,比较分析法。研究结果：中国目前约有1000万hm2耕地受“三废”危害,其中遭受大工业“三废”污染的耕地达400万hm2,污水灌溉耕地216万hm2,受乡镇企业污染的耕地187万hm2。村镇耕地污染的主要来源包括金属采矿与冶炼、养殖业废弃物、化肥/农药/市政污泥以及电子废物等。研究结论：耕地污染已经成为耕地质量恶化的首要因素,直接威胁群众健康。应将村镇污染耕地整治摆在耕地保护的首要位置;从土地利用调控角度进行耕地污染的长效防治;并严格实行源头控制土地污染,加强污染耕地的综合整治;同时,与其他部门协调建立综合决策机制,加强土地污染防治专项立法。     

Of waste facility siting and relational geographies of place: Peri-urban landfills,community resistance and the politics of land control in Ghana

The siting of landfills in peri-urban spaces is seen as both a solution to land scarcity in inner cities and a development opportunity for rural hinterlands. Despite the widespread reliance on landfills for managing urban waste in Ghana, their operation tends to ignite land use conflicts at different scales. However, existing studies on the drivers of these conflicts have mostly failed to situate local resistance within the broader political economy of land control. Drawing on a longstanding landfill conflict in northern Ghana, this contribution shows how under the guise of landfills, the land question in peri-urban spaces is contested. While at face value the landfill struggle appears to be fuelled by the associated poor environmental conditions and health risks of waste from the inner city, our findings reveal the role of diverse incongruities including: (i) the crafty tactics deployed by state institutions in land acquisition for 'public interest', (ii) payment of unrealistic consideration, and (iii) diversion of designated public lands to undeclared uses. Amid these contestations, the notion of territorial belonging by peri-urban communities often runs counter to statutory ordering by the government who hold such hitherto private lands for ‘public interest’. Powerful local actors such as chiefs hide behind community agitations with hopes of controlling land if such contestations materialize. These dynamics have ramifications for the achievement of the New Urban Agenda of Habitat III, which focuses on secondary cities. A sustainable resolution of landfill-related conflicts must therefore begin with addressing the land question in peri-urban spaces.     

Can wildlife management units reduce land use/land cover change and climate change vulnerability? Conditions to encourage this capacity in Mexican municipalities

Climate change and land use/land cover change (LULCC) are associated with local vulnerability, defined as the intrinsic tendency of a system to be negatively affected by an event or phenomenon, but this can be ameliorated by ecosystem conservation. In Mexico, extensive Wildlife Management Units (eWMUs) are environmental policy instruments designed to promote ecosystem conservation and rural development via the sustainable use of wildlife by local populations. However, evidence of the successful reduction of LULCC by eWMUs is contradictory, and there has been no investigation into their potential as an action to promote climate change adaptation. In this study, we focused on the overall patterns of LULCC associated with eWMU throughout the country and examined strengths and weaknesses of eWMUs as policy instruments to address climate change. In particular, we analyzed how differences in areas with eWMUs influence LULCC and assessed how eWMUs could contribute to reducing vulnerability, particularly in double exposure municipalities. We calculated the percentage of eWMUs per municipality from official information and estimated LULCC from vegetation changes between 2002 and 2011. We then used the Kruskal-Wallis test to find statistically significant differences in vegetation changes based on the percentage of eWMUs and performed between-group comparisons using a post hoc Dunn test. Although Mexico has 2456 municipalities, only 37% have eWMUs. Furthermore, 64% of Mexico’s municipalities have lost vegetation cover, whereas only 36% have either gained vegetation or remained stable. In municipalities that recorded changes to the vegetation, those changes were, overall, minimal and involved less than 10% of the total area of those municipalities. In general, municipalities with less than 10% of their total area dedicated to eWMUs experienced higher vegetation losses than those with more than 10% of their total area dedicated to eWMUs. We detected twelve double exposure municipalities, i.e. they are vulnerable to climate change and lost more than 10% of their vegetation. Double exposure municipalities dedicated less than 2% of their total area to eWMUs as well. Our results suggest that incremental increases in the area dedicated to eWMUs may reduce LULCC and protect vegetation, particularly in double exposure municipalities. Based on the literature, some ecological, economic and socio-cultural factors may determine the success of eWMUs and strongly impact LULCC. Therefore, additional efforts must be made to enhance our understanding of ecological and climatic processes; habitats must be monitored using a standardized methodology; biological, cultural, economic and institutional diversity must be incorporated into the planning, implementation and monitoring of eWMUs; and agreements must be established to strengthen social organization and human capital. Taking all this into account, we suggest that reducing vulnerability and improving double exposure areas by increasing the number and interconnectedness of eWMUs could represent an effective strategic approach at the municipal level to address LULCC and climate change.     

Conflicts over Locally Unwanted Land Uses (LULUs): Reasons and solutions for case studies in Izmir (Turkey)

Land use planning affects many different and usually conflicting interests. While every land use planning decision has a potential of creating conflicts, Locally Unwanted Land Uses (LULUs) are the most conflict facing subjects in urban land use planning processes. This paper aims to answer the question “what are the reasons and solutions for conflicts in the planning processes of LULUs”. This paper is based on a research examining LULU cases in İzmir, Turkey including solid waste facilities, fisheries and quarries to find out the reasons and the solutions for LULU conflicts. The research findings suggest that the conflicts stem not only from negative effects of LULUs on environment and community but also from procedural deficiencies such as lack of knowledge and lack of trust. The findings also call for planning processes with more consideration of local level and public participation seeking for consensus. Meanwhile, the conclusions underline the limitations for the success of participatory processes in which conflicts are resolved with attempts including symbolic benefits rather than considering exact interests of local people.     

Land for housing in the Netherlands: The role of municipalities

This article looks at the role of municipalities in planning, developing and providing land for housing in the Netherlands. Specific reference is made to the role of the municipality as a planning authority (its autonomy and limitations), municipal land use plans (the legal obligation to make such plans and their content) and the role of municipalities in developing and providing land (the legal base of such development, involvement by the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment, and the balanced cost-benefit accounts of land use plans).     

The significance of different realms of value for agricultural land in Sweden

The demand for additional agricultural land is expected to rise by approximately 50 per cent by 2050 on a global level, and agricultural land of high quality needs to be preserved to ensure future food security. However, agricultural land per capita is decreasing. One of the main reasons for this in the EU and globally is the building of houses or infrastructure on agricultural land. There is a possibility that the Swedish agricultural sector will grow in the future and supply more regions than its own territory with food due to, e.g., climate change. Although appropriate regulations exist to support local decision makers in protecting agricultural land in Sweden, the potential to provide such protection is not fully utilised. This paper aims to contribute to explaining why Swedish municipalities build on agricultural land through an analysis of the values behind the arguments for preserving and exploiting agricultural land at the municipal level and the implications of these values for the preservation of agricultural land in Sweden. Assuming value pluralism, we analyse 30 municipal comprehensive plans through a framework of nine realms of value. We find that municipalities deploy at least eight of the nine realms of value to motivate the preservation of agricultural land, but the economic realm is more dominant among arguments to exploit agricultural land. Most plans do not consider food security. Municipalities could become better prepared to handle unexpected events if they worked with longer-term future scenarios. Further research is needed regarding how different values are weighed against each other in actual exploitation issues.     

Bioelectricity in Malaysia: economic feasibility,environmental and deforestation implications

We investigate the economic feasibility of bioelectricity production from biomass in Malaysia and its impact on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and storage, agricultural prices, agricultural employment and deforestation. For this purpose, we develop a partial equilibrium model that projects agricultural prices, production, imports, exports, domestic consumption and land use in 5‐year increments between 2015 and 2065. Our results show that by 2030 biomass‐generated electricity can supply 36.5 per cent of the electricity generated in Malaysia, 16 times more than the 2016 electricity supply from biomass. Increased bioelectricity production from biomass will significantly reduce GHG emissions and will help Malaysia meet its commitment in the Paris Agreement to mitigate GHG emission by 45 per cent before 2030. Our modelling shows that biomass‐generated electricity creates a derived demand for waste biomass that expands the area of oil palm plantations. The expansion lowers agricultural prices, boosts agricultural employment and leads to some deforestation as landowners clear rainforest to plant oil palm trees. Nonetheless, the deforestation does not increase GHG emissions since GHG gains from bioelectricity significantly exceed GHG losses from deforestation.     

Searching for a downward spiral? Soil erosion risk,agro-forest landscape and socioeconomic conditions in Italian local communities

Soil erosion is a common form of land degradation in Europe concentrating on sloping rural areas. Consequences of soil erosion include the alteration of the long-term balance between ecosystem functioning and socio-ecological systems. Although it was hypothesized that rural areas with specific environmental (soil, climate, vegetation) and territorial attributes (economic marginality and poor accessibility) are more exposed to soil erosion risk, less information are available on the spatial link with various socio-spatial, productive, cultural and political attributes of local communities, spanning from unemployment to subsidence agriculture, from quality of life to water management, from poverty to economic backwardness. Taken together, these factors may trigger a downward spiral leading to land degradation. The present study explores, on a municipal scale in Italy, the spatial relationship between an index of soil erosion risk and 133 indicators describing six research domains. Exploratory data analysis based on non-parametric inference, principal components analysis and hierarchical clustering was carried out with the aim to profile municipalities exposed to high risk of soil erosion and to identify a restricted number of factors possibly determining a downward spiral towards soil erosion and land degradation. Results indicate that the socioeconomic profile of risky areas in Italy is characterized by specific rural development attributes and defined productive structure and socio-spatial characteristics representing a possible target for mitigation policies. Multi-factor studies investigating the influence of the local socioeconomic context on soil erosion may contribute to improve the effectiveness of national soil conservation strategies.     

煤矿矸石山生态系统的演替

煤矿矸石山压土地。破坏植被和环境;分析了煤矿矸石山上被重建与林龄,废弃和不同高度的关系;提出利用矸石山作房地,利用矸石筑 ,烧砖和水泥的原料,建立矸石山人工植被等利用和改造途径。     

土地利用规划实施评价的基础数据整理问题探讨

规划实施评价是在新一轮土地利用总体规划中必须开展的前期研究之一。通过对规划实施评价基础数据整理中：新旧地类转换及其对规划指标和实施现状的影响;若干实施数据(新增建设、耕地增减)采用;若干难量化因素(如土地利用分区与用途管制实施情况)的处理方法等三个具体问题提出了看法和意见,并归纳总结了评价基础数据整理的原则。     

Central versus local states: Which matters more in affecting China's urban growth?

To date, many geography studies have identified GDP, population, FDI, and transportation factors as key drivers of urban growth in China. The political science literature has demonstrated that China's urban growth is also driven by powerful economic and fiscal incentives for local governments, as well as by the political incentives of local leaders who control land use in their jurisdictions. These parallel but distinct research traditions limit a comprehensive understanding that can result in partial and potentially misleading conclusions of urbanization in China. This paper presents a spatially explicit study that incorporates both political science and geographic perspectives to understand the relative importance of hierarchal administrative governments in affecting urban growth. We use multi-level modeling approach to examine how socio-economic and policy factors – represented here by fiscal transfers – at different administrative levels affect growth in “urban hotspot counties” across three time periods (1995–2000, 2000–2005, and 2005–2008). Our results show that counties that are more dependent on fiscal transfers from the central government convert less cultivated land to urban use, controlling for other factors. We also find that local governments are becoming more powerful in shaping urban land development as a result of local economic, fiscal, and political incentives, as well as through the practical management and control of capital, land, and human resources. By incorporating fiscal transfers in our analysis, our study examines a factor in the urban development of China that had previously been neglected and provides an improved understanding of the underlying processes and pathways involved in urban growth in China.     

The role of landscape amenities in regional development: Evidence from Swiss municipality data

Several recent regional and migration studies have identified landscape amenities as potentially important drivers of migration and local economic change in the United States. To date, these empirical approaches have rarely been applied to European data in spite of an impressive European cultural landscape heritage. Here, we apply a regional adjustment model to data from 2467 municipalities in Switzerland to examine how landscape amenities and related policies affected regional development along with fiscal, demographic and infrastructure variables in the period from 1995 to 2005. In the population equation, the coefficients of the standard variables show a consistent pattern that parallels the findings of earlier work. Moreover, we find that population was positively affected by closeness to major lakes and by abundance of open space. However evidence on positive effects of traditional landscape elements such as extensive orchards and vineyards is limited. Furthermore, municipalities with national heritage townscapes grew less than those without, while the density of hiking trails had no significant effect. In the employment equation, employment was consistently affected by demographic factors and accessibility but not by the landscape amenity variables, except that employment grew less in municipalities that are part of an inventory of nationally significant landscapes. The lack of measurable local benefits from nationally significant landscapes and townscapes suggests that policies to preserve these amenities should be implemented and financed by the national government.     

Moving from vision to action- integrating ecosystem services in the Swedish local planning context

Policies and planning processes related to land use play an important role in maintaining and developing ecosystem services. The incorporation of ecosystem services into local plans is considered an indicator of the plan’s capacity to implement strategic action. This study provides a national overview of the incorporation of the ecosystem service concept in current municipal comprehensive plans in Sweden and explores the actions taken by three municipalities in Stockholm County to implement the ecosystem service concept in practice. A multi-method design was employed including a qualitative content analysis of 231 municipal comprehensive plans, a statistical analysis analyzing temporal changes from 2005 – 2017, and dialogue meetings with municipal practitioners from the three municipalities. We divided the level of integration to four categories, A (Advanced) - D (Not included). Overall, the integration of the ecosystem service concept has significantly increased in municipal comprehensive plans during the last decade. At national level, 23% of municipalities have explicitly mentioned ecosystem services, and within Stockholm County, 42%. The dialogue meetings with municipal practitioners revealed that the municipalities were at different stages of implementing the ecosystem service concept, with diverse actions being implemented for advancing practice. These included capacity building, participatory processes and development of thematic plans and operational documents. To support the future implementation of the ecosystem service concept from vision to action, both local and national initiatives are needed.     

中国建设用地爬坡潜在重点县域识别与分析

研究目的：识别全国建设用地爬坡潜在重点县域,服务国家低丘缓坡开发用地宏观管控。研究方法：以县域为统计单元,利用人口普查、数字高程模型和建设用地遥感解译数据,建立识别框架开展识别,并借助空间自相关、标准差椭圆、平均最近邻距离等方法对识别结果基本特征进行分析。研究结果：（1）识别框架分人口集聚势能、人均用地门槛和用地比率门槛3方面要素,共计9项判别指标,被识别县域须同时满足所有判别指标要求;（2）共识别出潜在重点爬坡县域311个,它们整体具备人口密度较大、坡地建设现象较普遍、建设用地需求较旺盛的统计特征;（3）潜在重点爬坡县域绝大部分位于东部季风区,尤其集中于温暖湿润的南方地区。研究结论：在全国范围上统筹指标体系,判断县域建设用地的爬坡迫切程度和潜力,可为深入谋划低丘缓坡开发用地指标的区域分配政策提供基础参考,有利于重点区域推进实施集约式爬坡和防止建设用地增量浪费。     

A spatial analysis of land-use change and agriculture in eastern Canada

Publicly available statistics regarding rural demographics, rural society and land use are presented and analysed using Geographic Information System (GIS). Our aim was to provide a quantitative basis for discussion of rural policy issues such as urban encroachment. Productivity (tonnage) of crop agriculture has increased by about 230% over 40 years while that of livestock (expressed as livestock units) has remained constant. Agricultural consolidation and intensification seen in southern Ontario has not translated into economic sustainability where on-farm income declined from 1991 to 2000. However, on-farm income in southern Quebec and municipalities adjacent to Toronto increased, perhaps due to the niche markets created in these regions. The increases in agricultural activity throughout southern Ontario have occurred in regions that have been designated as sites for innovation clusters, thus providing a foundation of resources for bio-based industries to expand and innovate. Reflecting on trends of demographics and production systems we conclude that rural policy should orient its geographical delineation to regional and inter-provincial scales. Our analysis indicates that rural populations and communities are sustainable but agricultural enterprises have changed radically; they have maintained or increased productivity but lost profitability. Applying a rural landscape design to the entire region would help address the sustainability of agriculture and rural communities.     

土地财政、预算软约束与地方政府债务规模

研究目的:从土地财政在政府举债中的重要地位出发,研究土地财政与预算软约束对政府债务规模的影响机制;实证分析预算软约束在土地财政和地方政府债务规模之间的中介效应;对控制地方政府债务规模、促进政府对土地资源的科学管理提出政策建议。研究方法:对2008—2011年和2013—2015年的28个省级面板数据进行回归分析;中介效应模型检验。研究结果:土地财政与预算软约束均与地方政府债务规模显著正相关;预算软约束在土地财政与地方政府债务规模间存在显著的中介效应。研究结论:解决地方政府的债务风险问题和土地管理问题,必须严控土地资源的抵押转化,限制预算软约束;同时适当引入竞争性的土地交易机制,促进土地财政、土地金融的改革。