Impact assessment of land use policies: Introduction

This special issue is built around a series of impact assessments of land use policies and sustainable development in developing countries, carried out in the EU-funded project LUPIS (Sixth framework programme, Global Change and Ecosystems, Contract 36955). The project targeted at the development and testing of impact assessment tools of land-use-related policies in seven developing countries: Brazil, India, China, Indonesia, Kenya, Mali and Tunisia. This issue presents the current understanding of ex-ante assessment and includes contributions with comparative work across several countries, and case studies in individual countries, addressing important land-use related concerns.     

Methods and tools for integrated assessment of land use policies on sustainable development in developing countries

For stimulating sustainable development in developing countries, land use patterns and land use changes are considered critical, and therefore effective and efficient land use policies are needed. In this paper we present a methodological framework that has been developed in a joint European and developing countries project (LUPIS – Land Use Policies and Sustainable Development in Developing Countries), to assess the impact of land use policies on sustainable development in developing countries. An illustrative application is presented for a case study in China, where water pollution due to agriculture in Taihu Basin is a major problem.     

An assessment of policies affecting Sustainable Soil Management in Europe and selected member states

This paper analyses soils-related policies in Europe and in selected member states and regions. Our approach breaks down policy packages at European, national and regional levels into strategic objectives, operational objectives, policy measures and expected impacts, and assesses the relationships between these elements and soil stakes. Four major policy packages, both at EU and national level (CAP-I, RDP, Environment, national initiatives) were analysed. A numerical scale was developed to quantify the level of “embeddedness” of soil stakes in these policy packages. We found that countries better embed soil stakes into their policies when they also put more efforts on environmental innovation. In turn, countries with a high embeddedness level, with high trust in European institutions and that make more efforts towards renewable energy, tend to propose a wider variety of management practices to farmers for dealing with soil stakes.     

Agricultural and rural development in China during the past four decades: an introduction

The past four decades have witnessed unprecedented economic growth and rapidly rising food demand in China. This paper provides an introduction to readers with useful information summarising the development of China’s agricultural sector and the transformation of its rural economy over the 40 years of economic reform. It is, however, impossible to cover all aspects of this recent and rich history in a single journal special issue. Nevertheless, we are of the view that these papers address the most fundamentally important and insightful topics including: land reform and rural development; technology progress and productivity growth; changing food consumption patterns; rural education and human capital accumulation; and poverty alleviation.     

Landscape patterns of development under two alternative scenarios: Implications for conservation

The spatial pattern of urban development has important ecological and conservation implications. Urban sprawl, characterized by scattered and low-density urban development, is commonly criticized for its negative ecological impact. In response, growth management policies have been proposed in order to promote compact development, which is generally considered more favorable from an ecological perspective. Spatial simulations of land cover change are useful for comparing urban development scenarios and their potential effects. One aspect that has not received much attention is how the rate of development may affect differences between compact development and urban sprawl in terms of their potential impact to biodiversity conservation at the landscape scale. Our goal in this study was to compare the spatial pattern and landscape-scale conservation and ecological implications of sprawling development (expected under unregulated development) versus compact development (promoted by growth management policies) at different development rates. We focused on Israel's Mediterranean region—a region characterized by high human population density and heterogeneous land cover. Using a cellular automata model, DINAMICA-EGO, we calibrated and validated an urban development model for the period between 1998 and 2007. Using this period as a reference, we simulated two scenarios 20 years into the future: unregulated (resulting in a more sprawling development pattern) versus regulated development (resulting in a more compact development pattern). For each scenario we analyzed a range of development rates, and compared built-up area patterns, and several landscape-level attributes of natural habitats, conservation priority areas, and protected areas. We found that at development rates comparable to those observed during 1998–2007, there was no major difference between the two scenarios. At higher development rates, some differences between the scenarios emerged: natural core areas were more fragmented and smaller in their extent, and a higher proportion of conservation priority areas were expected to undergo development in the unregulated scenario. Overall, the regulated scenario was more favorable for conservation. Since the regulated and unregulated scenarios exhibited only minor differences in lower development rates, modifications to policy measures included in the regulated scenario should be considered in order improve its effectiveness.     

Lessons learned: an evaluation of land administration initiatives in Latin America over the past two decades

Latin America has a long and rich history of land administration projects stretching back to the 1980s and beyond. Unfortunately, this history has not been systematically analyzed nor recorded but is buried in a myriad of reports and other gray literature. Currently, almost every country in the region has a land administration project, incorporating cadastral reform, that is either in preparation or being implemented. It is therefore timely to consider what lessons have been learned from previous experience, in the region and elsewhere, and more specifically how this experience can inform current efforts. This paper starts with a summary of a recent World Bank/USAID initiative to compile lessons learned from land administration projects around the world and follows with the author's view of lessons learned in the context of project design, institutional reform and technical innovation.     

Toward the sustainable development of urban areas: An overview of global trends in trials and policies

Achieving sustainable urban development (SUD) remains one of the most important goals for many countries. Numerous nations have made attempts to attain sustainable development (SD) by fixing one or more of the problems facing urban development, which has resulted in various approaches to SUD. However, a main issue that could help decision-makers deal effectively with SD needs to be emphasized.This study covers 10 topics that have recently become highly relevant to SUD:(1) A balanced approach to SUD, (2) Socio-cultural awareness, (3) Urban sprawl, (4) Economic urban development, (5) Transportation, (6) Urban renewal, (7) Mitigating greenhouse gases (GHG), (8) Urban vegetation, (9) Assessment systems, and (10) City structure and land use. The methodology is based on an overview of these themes via a critical reading of different publications, mostly from the last five years. This study classifies these topics both quantitatively and qualitatively in order to highlight hot-button issues at the domestic and international levels. The publications that were analyzed showed that Asian countries, especially China, are making changes towards SUD more than nations of other continents. The study concludes that transportation is the most prominent challenge in the field of SUD, followed by socio-cultural awareness. The concern of transportation and socio-cultural conscious issues can propel SUD forward and improve other problems related it.     

Economic development,food demand and the consequences for agricultural resource requirements: an application to Indonesia

We analyse food demand patterns of Indonesian households from a resource intensity perspective and quantify the impact of changed demand patterns on the use of three major resource inputs: fossil fuel; land; and water in agricultural production. Using Indonesian Family Life Survey data, 13 major food items (which constitute 70 per cent of food expenditure) are categorised into low, moderate and high resource intensity, and income elasticity and Engel curves are estimated for the period from 1997 to 2007. Our results show that income growth in Indonesia is associated with demand patterns that are more resource intensive. By 2007, per capita requirements of fossil fuel, land and water increased by 42.7 per cent (3.13 MJ), 44.9 per cent (1.24 m²) and 50.4 per cent (2.1 kL), respectively, relative to 1997. The results imply that, at least for Indonesia, changed food demand patterns resulting from economic development will increase the demand for natural resources substantially.     

Impact of MGNREGA on the livelihood security of rural poor in India: a study using national sample survey data

This paper studies the impact of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) at the all-India level utilizing nationally representative data from the national sample survey (NSS). We propose an alternative methodology for the proper identification of target households in the baseline period using a secondary data source such as the NSS. The programme is assessed in terms of whether it has been successful in ensuring livelihood security for beneficiary households. The study found that the increase in spending capacity of non-beneficiary households was greater than MGNREGA beneficiary households. Moreover, the overall growth trend in spending capacity over time had a greater effect in improving the livelihood security of the target households than the estimated effect of the programme.     

长沙市工业化与城市化协调发展探究

省会城市在城市化和工业化方面存在着一系列的特殊情况;长沙已开始由工业化的中级阶段向高级阶段迈进;试图从工业化与城市化的一般关系,通过对长沙市具体数据的分析,提出了以提高服务业比重为中心内容,以推进农业现代化、加快高新技术产业发展等为协调措施的发展对策。     

Impact of an urban growth boundary across the entire house price spectrum: The two-stage quantile spatial regression approach

This study provides evidence for the impact of an urban growth boundary (UGB) on house prices. The study employs a two-stage quantile spatial regression method on a dataset that inventories sales transactions of single-family houses within two miles of either side of the eastern boundary of the primary UGB in King County, Washington. The results show that while the UGB decreases house prices across the entire house price spectrum, the impact is uneven; it is most pronounced for houses in the 5th to 8th decile of prices. These findings should encourage policy makers to adopt sub-housing-market-level policy approaches to address UGB and other urban and regional development policies’ potential impacts on house prices.     

林权改革对林地经营模式影响分析——福建林权改革调查报告

2003年新一轮林权改革后,福建集体林区林权经营方式在结构上的变化,及由此带来的对福建林业经济发展产生的初步影响。林改3年来,集体经营的山林面积迅速减少,家庭承包经营成为福建集体林区最主要的经营方式。林改基本上完成了山林权的初次分配,促进了林业经济的市场化;尽管全面衡量林改的成效还为时过早,但数据显示林改后林业经营可持续发展的趋势已经初步显现。文章最后就林权改革不足之处做了简单评析。     

Urban containment strategies: A case-study appraisal of plans and policies in Japanese, British, and Canadian cities

This paper presents a comparative assessment of the nature and impact of urban containment policies in three countries, through examination of strategic plans for six case-study cities. Recent development patterns and current planning policies are mapped and assessed, and compared to a conceptual model of strategic options for urban containment. Emphasis is on rationales for containment, locational attributes of areas where development is encouraged or curtailed, the overall supply of developable land, and policies relating to development densities.The case studies demonstrate more stringent control on the location, timing, and density of development in Britain and Japan, with shorter time horizons and tighter development boundaries than in Canada. The Canadian cities, however, are moving towards higher densities, to enable transit-oriented development.     

关于土地开发整理项目实施管理措施研究——以辽宁某县土地开发整理项目为例

土地开发整理项目实施管理是项目进入建设阶段后对建设过程中的各个环节所进行的控制,是保证项目计划、质量标准、进度安排、预算执行顺利实现的保证。文章按照国家投资要求的管理原则,就如何科学地对土地开发整理项目实施管理进行研究,并结合辽宁某县实际情况提出探索性的管理措施。     

水电开发企业治理结构法律保障机制研究

以制约水电开发的市场、社会和生态问题为切入点,对水电开发企业构建利益相关者协调治理法律保障机制的必要性进行说明,进而对法律保障机制构想做了阐述,并着重研究了水电开发企业公司利益相关者协调治理的信息披露法律保障机制。     

Balanced national development strategies: The construction of Innovation Cities in Korea

Korea has had a long tradition of centralized planning systems for national development. National spatial planning has played a crucial role in achieving the rapid economic growth and in stimulating the regional development that have been achieved over the last 40 years. However, as the national spatial planning has mainly been concerned with the creation of effective physical environments for economic development in certain areas, the concentration of political, economic and social activities has intensified in those areas, especially in the capital region. Despite the implementation of various policy measures, attempts to mitigate this concentration in the capital region have not been successful in achieving balanced national development.     

平顺太行水乡景区旅游发展对社区的影响

社区参与是旅游可持续发展的重要内容。本文基于社区居民感知的视角研究了平顺太行水乡景区旅游发展对社区的影响。结果表明：社区居民参与旅游业的愿望较强,大多数居民认为旅游发展增加了就业机会和收入、改善了当地的基础设施和乡邻关系,但并未引起物价上涨和贫富分化,未干扰居民生活,没有明显导致当地大气污染、污水和垃圾增多。这说明太行水乡景区发展旅游业并未导致明显的社会、经济和环境问题。     

茶园生态旅游开发研究--以信阳市为例

茶园生态旅游是近年来新兴的农业生态旅游项目。我国的茶园旅游资源非常丰富,但由于缺乏科学的指导,其开发还存在一些问题。本文以信阳市为例,介绍了信阳茶园旅游资源特征,分析了信阳茶园生态旅游开发现状,探讨了茶园生态旅游开发模式,提出了开发模式实施的保障措施。     

Economic development and farmland protection: An assessment of rewarded land conversion quotas trading in Zhejiang,China

Facing a substantial loss of farmland in the reform era, the Chinese central government established a highly centralized land management system in 1998 to guarantee its capacity to meet the domestic food needs. In order to maintain high-speed economic growth, local governments in China made great efforts to circumvent the stringent constraint on land use by launching various innovative land management schemes, among which Zhejiang's rewarded land conversion quotas (RLCQ) trading scheme, a program similar to the transfer of development rights (TDR) in Western countries, has attracted a lot of policy and scholarly attention. In this research, we first provide an overview of China's farmland protection policy and the RLCQ trading scheme in Zhejiang Province. Then, using the system GMM estimator for economic growth models and a panel dataset of 69 local jurisdictions in Zhejiang Province covering the period of 1989–2008, we assess the impacts of RLCQ trading on local economic growth. The empirical results corroborate our hypotheses that participation in land quota trading in general led to faster local economic growth, and that the trading had a stronger and more lasting impact on the economic growth of the quota buyers than on that of the sellers. The analysis suggests that in order to balance the competing goals of economic development and farmland protection, market-based land management tools have a good potential for further development in China and other countries confronting similar challenges.     

水电开发管理中激励机制对于合作关系的作用机理研究

我国水电企业如何与众多利益相关组织合作以顺利实现项目目标是需要解决的关键问题。基于我国水电开发现状的调研,研究了伙伴关系管理模式和激励机制的应用现状和作用机理。结果显示,水电企业与不同组织的合作重要程度和工作联系紧密程度呈正相关,且合作表现与合作重要程度具有一致性;建立合作伙伴关系能够为企业提供可持续发展空间、帮助企业树立良好形象、整合产业链资源、提高决策价值和加强组织间学习等效益;激励可以成为继信任之外另一个维持伙伴关系的重要手段,即通过合理的利益分配机制,能够减少项目参与组织间的目标差异性,从而使得伙伴关系得以建立和维系。