Managing China's pastoral lands: Current problems and future prospects

China has the second largest area of pastoral land in the world, and these lands and their peoples play a very beneficial role in the global environment. Because of China's huge population, rate of social reform, and economic development, the pastoral ecosystems are at a critical turning point. There is a conflict between national benefit and the land users (mainly herders) benefit. This paper introduces the scale of pastoral land, the history of its management institutions, past and current projects and programs, as well as the current framework of policy and law as relevant to land management. The challenges for pastoral management in terms of institutions, administration, technology and their shifting role in regional economies of scale are also analyzed. Opportunities for sustainable development in China's pastoral lands are presented. Finally, this paper highlights the available approaches for enhancing livelihoods and conserving pastoral land, including establishment of law and policy framework at the national level, redefining use rights for community management, promoting Integrated Ecosystem Management (IEM) as a basis for natural resource utilization, preserving and respecting cultural aspects of pastoral peoples, and shifting the focus from GDP generation to environmental protection.     

Land use conflict in Kajiado District, Kenya

This study explores land use conflict in S.E. Kajiado District, Kenya. The conflict reflects ongoing competition over access to scarce land and water resources between herding, farming and wildlife, that has been conspicuous for over 30 years and is intensifying. While the complexity of the dynamic interactions and land use conflicts can be described, and significant driving forces identified, future outcomes are uncertain. The existing land use pattern represents the contemporary imprint of these interactions and it sets the basis for the future. Understanding the conditions that have created the present should, therefore, assist in devising future development strategies.     

Livelihood roles of cattle and prospects for alternative land uses at the wildlife/livestock interface in South Africa

The emergence of wildlife ranching as an alternative land use option to agriculture, in Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs), has cast renewed interest on the role of cattle farming in rural livelihoods in areas close to wildlife parks. This study analysed the contribution of cattle to livelihoods and relationships between cattle and potential wildlife land uses in rural areas near Kruger National Park. Data were collected through household surveys, key informant interviews and community workshops. About 11% of households studied owned cattle, and cattle income constituted 29% of total household income. Benefits from cattle were also derived by households without cattle. About 71% of households had at least three sources of income, reflecting diversity of livelihoods. Wildlife related land uses were perceived by some households as threatening cattle production, whilst others viewed them as opportunities for alternative livelihoods. We conclude that cattle production has important livelihood roles, but is not sufficient as a driver of economic development in these areas. Incentives to encourage diversification of livelihoods at the wildlife/livestock interface, with possibilities for rural communities to explore wildlife based land uses should be put in place. In addition, land use policy and planning in such areas should focus on creating institutional mechanisms through which programmes integrating conservation and rural development goals can benefit rural communities.     

城镇化中集约用地的影响因素研究

从国家(地区)层面研究城镇化集约用地,不同于单个城市,更不同于单宗土地的集约利用,其影响因素发生根本变化。国家城镇化集约用地,是在一定的城镇化目标下,以每个城市的集约用地为基础,并通过科学合理配置建设用地资源,实现社会综合收益和长远利益最大化的过程。其影响因素包括国家城镇化战略、城市(镇)的具体规划和国家土地制度三个根本方面。我国应借鉴世界城镇化发展的基本经验,重视不均衡发展规律的应用,在提高城镇总体发展效率的基础上,为推进城镇化集约用地创造基本的政策平台。     

山区农村居民点用地的节约集约利用---以广东连山壮族瑶族自治县为例

土地资源紧缺与村镇土地低效粗放利用并存的矛盾已成为可持续发展面临的一个重要难题。节约和集约利用农村居民点用地对缓解建设用地需求,提高土地的利用效率具有重要的现实意义。该文通过分析连山壮族瑶族自治县农村居民点用地粗放利用的本质问题,试图从体制、机制上找准问题的主要症结,从技术和管理,由宏观到微观等不同层面探求解决途径,提出改进措施。     

Stakeholder perceptions and governance challenges in urban protected area management: The case of the Las Piñas – Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area,Philippines

The conservation and management of protected areas in urban settings has become increasingly challenging with dynamics over land use change in adjacent urban areas being highly relevant to, but at times conflicting with, the protected area. This study seeks to better understand the implications of land use change processes to urban protected area management through the case study of the Las Piñas – Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area (LPPCHEA) in Metro Manila, Philippines. Factors and processes influencing land use change and protected area management and the impact of stakeholders’ perceptions on protected area were analyzed. The urban protected area in itself has limited influence on its surrounding urban areas, as land use change in these areas is shaped more by social, economic and policy/institutional factors occurring within the context of urban-regional development. The study also found that land use conflict is evident in an urban protected area due to the competing ecosystem services derived by various stakeholders. This discord is deepened by the lack of coordination between land use planning and protected area management. Integrating protected area management with land use planning through legally binding instruments, specific timeframes and clear internal procedures can help resolve land use conflict for an urban protected area at the strategic or policy level.     

Urban spill over vs. local urban sprawl: Entangling land-use regulations in the urban growth of China's megacities

Rather than a bad case of urban sprawl, the physical expansion of China's megacities may be viewed as a combination of ‘urban spill over’ and ‘local urban sprawl’. This paper reviews land use regulations in their institutional context and argues that conflicts in land use regulation are related to ideologies of land ownership and embedded in different planning doctrines. These hypotheses are investigated with special reference to Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province in southern China. The evidence suggests that entangled land use regulations for “urban” and “rural” land have imposed serious constraints on urban growth, while the contradictions of different policies and regulations in the use of rural lands for urban construction have led to intensive and unhealthy competition among stakeholders. As a result, not only have the costs of land conversion from rural to urban uses increased, but the spatial development of Guangzhou has been distorted. The implications of these failures for future policy are discussed with emphasis on the reform of the land use regulation system.     

Patterns of development and conservation in agricultural lands—The case of the Tel Aviv metropolitan region 1990–2000

Until the 1990s Israel was implementing a strict agricultural land preservation policy program, rooted in Zionist ideology. This was changed when shifts in Israeli planning and land policy towards the end of the 20th century brought about accelerated growth and sprawling development in agricultural lands at the urban–rural fringe, particularly in the Tel Aviv metropolitan region (TMR). In this article we describe the background for policy shifts and the resulting impact on metropolitan growth, and then proceed to identify patterns of development in former agricultural lands and their impact on conservation, based on a study of statutory land use plans converting agricultural land to built-up uses within the TMR. It was found that most of the plans were converting large tracts of agricultural land to residential uses, characterized by low-density suburban-type family housing, thus reducing considerably the spatial conservation potential. In addition, only relative small portions of land were conserved as public open space within plans’ boundaries, and even then only about half of that was actually effective for active open space uses.     

工业用地集约利用评价指标体系初探

采用对比分析法和归纳分析法,对工业用地集约利用的概念和内涵进行了初步探讨,通过研究得出:(1)工业用地具有以新增建设用地为主、对基础设施和交通条件依赖性强、行业内部用地指标差异大的特点;(2)目前工业用地存在着闲置浪费、结构布局不合理和利用效率低下等问题;(3)工业用地集约利用内涵应理解为以布局合理、用地结构优化和可持续发展为前提,通过增加投入,取得较好的综合效益;(4)工业用地集约利用评价指标包括投入程度、使用强度、利用效率与利用结构和布局四个因素8个因子.通过构建一套城市工业用地集约利用评价的指标体系,与土地集约利用综合评价相比,工业用地的评价指标更能突出反映工业用地的特点,对制定土地利用政策具有较好的针对性和实用价值.     

Using participatory mapping and a participatory geographic information system in pastoral land use investigation: Impacts of rangeland policy in Botswana

Since the 1980s, the spatial extent of communal grazing lands in Botswana has been diminishing due to rangeland privatisation and fencing associated with animal health policies. Spatial comparisons of pastoral land use transformations are particularly important where accessibility to grazing and water resources remains at the core of sustainable pastoralism policies. Achieving success in pastoral development research requires a sound understanding of traditional pastoralists’ information systems, including the nature of local spatial knowledge. This study explores local spatial knowledge through participatory mapping and a Participatory Geographic Information System to understand and analyse pastoralists’ grazing patterns, spatial mobility and the impacts of subdivisions and privatisation policies in Botswana’s Ngamiland rangelands. The study uses focus group discussions, historical analysis through key informant interviews, and participatory mapping exercises along with community guided transect walks. The resulting maps provide insights into the traditional tenure patterns of land use and the impacts of rangeland policy on traditional livestock spatial mobility and access to grazing lands. Privatisation and rangeland enclosures have resulted in the restricted movement of livestock and overstocking of floodplains and riparian rangelands, with some natural water pans becoming inaccessible to local communities. We conclude that the integration of local spatial knowledge can be used to foster better articulation and understanding of pastoralists’ tenures, which are often lacking in communal land administration systems. Such integrated analysis can contribute to sustainable pastoral land management policy toolkits in semi-arid rangeland environments and enable better land tenure and management decision making for sustainable land management.     

How feasible is regional integration for reconciling land use conflicts across the urban–rural interface? Evidence from Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei metropolitan region in China

Competition among different uses for land is becoming acute under the process of urbanization, and conflicts related to this competition are becoming more frequent and more complex. This article presents a methodology for confronting this issue. By applying an integrated framework, we explore the implicit role of the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Regional Integration (BRI) policy in land use conflicts by focusing on the urban-rural interface, and try to address the research question: “How feasible is BRI for reconciling land use conflicts across the urban-rural interface?” An original structure of the analysis is developed based on the identification of three types of conflicts, namely, conflicts over land use structure, conflicts over land conversion and conflicts over landscape pattern. According to the interactions and relationships among these conflicts, we define broad categories of land use conflict areas. Indeed, these conflicts are all related to the unplanned use of agricultural land reserves, which competes with other more immediate uses, and the over-exploitation of land resources caused by unsustainable urban practices. This policy is clearly a critical objective for optimizing the land use structure. It, however, fails to reconcile the conflicts over land conversion and landscape pattern, especially for considerable agricultural land conversion to non-agricultural uses, and low-density development pattern with mixed residential and industrial land uses. Hence, alternative strategies involving public participation, spatial equity, rural revitalization, land-use system reform, and new type of urbanization, can be identified as viable solutions for land use conflict management, which may be complementary to regional integration. The findings of our paper may also contribute to the policy debate on BRI concerning land use planning and regional sustainability.     

Is there decentralization in North Korea? Evidence and lessons from the sloping land management program 2004–2014

In the 1990s, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) suffered from severe food shortages and large-scale deforestation, which triggered a stage of rural conservation reform. Since 2004, with support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), North Korea’s Ministry of Land and Environmental Protection (MoLEP) has implemented a Sloping Land Management Program (SLMP). The SLMP established sloping land user groups and granted these groups the right to use marginal land for agroforestry development. This devolution of land rights from state control onto local groups is a landmark in North Korea, and this decentralization initiative has now expanded to over eight counties to involve thousands of households. It has also led to the launch of a National Agroforestry Policy and Strategy. Drawing from both qualitative and quantitative data collected from 2008 to 2014, this paper documents the process and effects of the SLMP. It argues that the decentralization reform in land management has contributed to not only food security with increased food crop diversity and productivity, but also notably forest recovery through an expansion of tree plantations and agroforestry practices on degraded sloping lands. However, an insufficient power transfer in the form of a lack of timber rights granted to the local user groups has hampered the effectiveness of the SLMP. There are also institutional and geopolitical challenges that are limiting further scaling-up of land-use decentralization across the country. The policy implication calls for more international investment as well as national land-use policy reforms in order to promote and facilitate further decentralization of sloping land management and to secure greater use rights for sloping land user groups.     

Agricultural land use sustainability in Southwest Iran: Improving land leveling using consolidation plans

In recent years, sustainability has always been one of the most important approaches in policy making and program development in general, especially in the agricultural sector. On the other hand, land leveling and consolidation programs are usually implemented as the development programs of the agricultural sector in different regions of Iran. Thus, the aim of this study was to compare the agricultural sustainability in two different regions (with and without land leveling and consolidation) in Zarghan District, Fars Province, Iran. In this research, a quantitative research approach has been used, and data were collected in two phases using a researcher-made questionnaire. The results of the first phase of the study showed that in the leveled and consolidated lands, the ecological dimension is potentially in a good status of sustainability, but social and economic dimensions are in a moderate status. In the unleveled and unconsolidated lands, the ecological dimension is potentially in a good status, while the social dimension is in a moderate, and economic dimensions are in a potentially weak status of sustainability. In addition, comparing the results of the two groups of lands demonstrated that there is a significant difference between them in terms of ecological and economic sustainability, and in consolidated and leveled lands, ecological and economic sustainability are in a more favorable status. Furthermore, the results of the second phase of the research indicated that agricultural activities in both categories of land are beneficial. However, the net present value of agricultural activities revenues in the leveled and consolidated lands is higher than those of the areas outside the coverage of this plan. Therefore, it can be concluded that agricultural activities in leveled and consolidated lands, not only have a better status in terms of sustainability but also have a higher economic justification.     

Spatial and temporal analyses of potential land use conflict under the constraints of water resources in the middle reaches of the Heihe River

With the rapid urbanization in China, land resources are becoming increasingly scarce. Identifying and resolving land use conflict is essential for reasonably using land resources and achieving land sustainability. Taking the middle reaches of the Heihe River as an example, we included the constraints of local water resources to construct a multi-criteria evaluation system for assessing land use competitiveness in 2000 and 2015 based on land use, socio-economic, and nighttime light data. By comparing the competitiveness of cultivated land, construction land and ecological land, we then derived the spatiotemporal patterns of potential land use conflicts. Actual land use changes supported the hypothesis that land use tended to convert into the type with higher competitiveness at areas with intense conflict, which better indicated that our assessment model was effective. The results showed that the potential land use conflict was more acute in the central and northwest but weak in the southeast and northeast, and its pattern showed a significantly positive spatial autocorrelation. The conflict between cultivated land and construction land was most prominent and mainly occurred in the transitional zone from urban to rural areas. Rapid urban development and water shortage were the main causes of the potential land use conflict. Assessing land use multi-functions and making a tradeoff among ecological, economic, and social services will be an effective way to guide future land use to solve land use conflict. Our research provides scientific evidence for sustainable land use planning and management in the arid areas.     

The application of the social tenure domain model (STDM) to family land in Trinidad and Tobago

Family land is a form of communal tenure found in some of the countries of the English-speaking Caribbean inclusive of Trinidad and Tobago. It has been problematic to administer, is sometimes the source of land conflict and litigation, it has been seen as the cause of many land-related problems such as land degradation and fragmentation, and has therefore been targeted for eradication by land title registration programmes. Informal occupation of many years standing on state and private land is also widespread in Trinidad and Tobago. Recording the existence of these extant extralegal but legitimate rights would go a long way to improving the land administration and the security of tenure on these lands.     

The ‘squeezed middle’: Identifying and addressing conflicting demands on intermediate quality farmland in Scotland

The growing demand for a wide range of private and public goods and services from a finite land resource is increasingly challenging for planners at local, regional, national and international scales. The Scottish Government's development of a Land Use Strategy has given salience to resolving conflicts and enhancing synergies in land use. In Scotland, the poorest quality farmland is often designated for nature and landscape conservation and the highest quality farmland often protected for food production. This means that many of the competitive pressures on land are experienced in what we term the ‘squeezed middle’. The paper identifies the multiple (and not exclusively economic) drivers of land use choices and, through an ecosystem services lens, explores three particular areas of land use conflict. These are (i) the continued high level of public support for farming, which has done little to address the problem of low farm incomes; (ii) the pressure to increase woodland planting on farm (and other) land; and (iii) conflicts associated with intensive game management, especially on sporting estates. Using the Scottish situation as an example, the heterogeneity of land use pressures means that there is a danger of the principles of the Land Use Strategy becoming lost in translation from national policy to practical land use decision-making. The appropriate scale for delivery of integrated ecosystem services may therefore be more local than current pilot projects, and may require more active participation of land managers. It may also require policy instruments that are more flexible in adapting to the local context, including payments for ecosystem services.     

A model for big spatial rural data infrastructure in Turkey: Sensor-driven and integrative approach

A Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) enables the effective spatial data flow between providers and users for their prospective land use analyses. The need for an SDI providing soil and land use inventories is crucial in order to optimize sustainable management of agricultural, meadow and forest lands. In an SDI where datasets are static, it is not possible to make quick decisions about land use. Therefore, SDIs must be enhanced with online data flow and the capabilities to store big volumes of data. This necessity brings the concepts of the Internet of Things (IoT) and Big Data (BD) into the discussion.Turkey needs to establish an SDI to monitor and manage its rural lands. Even though Turkish decision-makers and scientists have constructed a solid national SDI standardization, a conceptual model for rural areas has not been developed yet. In accordance with the international agreements, this model should adopt the INSPIRE Directive and Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS) standards. In order to manage rural lands in Turkey, there are several legislations which characterize the land use planning, land classification and restrictions. Especially, the Soil Protection and Land Use Law (SPLUL) enforces to use a lot and a variety of land use parameters that should be available in a big rural SDI. Moreover, this model should be enhanced with IoT, which enables to use of smart sensors to collect data for monitoring natural occurrences and other parameters that may help to classify lands.This study focuses on a conceptual model of a Turkish big rural SDI design that combines the sensor usage and attribute datasets for all sorts of rural lands. The article initially reviews Turkish rural reforms, current enterprises to a national SDI and sensor-driven agricultural monitoring. The suggested model integrates rural land use types, such as agricultural lands, meadowlands and forest lands. During the design process, available data sets and current legislation for Turkish rural lands are taken into consideration. This schema is associated with food security databases (organic and good farming practices), non-agricultural land use applications and local/European subsidies in order to monitor the agricultural parcels on which these practices are implemented. To provide a standard visualization of this conceptual schema, the Unified Modeling Language (UML) class diagrams are used and a supplementary data dictionary is prepared to make clear definitions of the attributes, data types and code lists used in the model.This conceptual model supports the LPIS, ISO 19156 International Standard (Geographic Information: Observations and Measurements) catalogue and INSPIRE data theme specifications due to the fact that Turkey is negotiating the accession to EU; however, it also provides a local understanding that enables to manage rural lands holistically for sustainable development goals. It suggests an expansion for the sensor variety of Turkish agricultural monitoring project (TARBIL) and it specifies a rural theme for Turkish National SDI (TUCBS).     

撤县设区提升城市土地利用效率了吗？ ——基于全国261个城市的实证研究

研究目的：探究撤县设区政策对于不同城市土地利用效率的影响,以期为下一步撤县设区调整找准有效空间提供决策依据。研究方法：理论分析、DEA模型、多时点双重差分模型。研究结果：（1）从全样本回归结果来看,撤县设区政策对于城市土地利用效率具有提升作用,表现为实验组城市在撤县设区后较对照组土地利用效率显著提高0.031;（2）根据城市人口规模进行分类回归发现,撤县设区政策对特大城市、大城市和中等城市的土地利用效率具有明显提升作用,而对于小城市的政策评估结果并没有表现出显著影响;（3）撤县设区政策对于城市土地利用效率的提升作用具有短期滞后性和影响长期性的特点。研究结论：撤县设区政策可有效提升城市土地利用效率,并具有城市异质性特点。当城市亟需获得未来发展空间载体时,撤县设区政策可以从中发挥正向推动作用。     

北京市朝阳区第一道绿化隔离带政策实施评价

以北京第一道绿隔所占面积最大的地区朝阳区1997、2001和2006年3个年度的土地变更调查数据为数据源,采用地理信息系统的方法,在对第一道绿化隔离带的土地利用变化特点和景观格局变化进行时空变化分析的基础上,对绿化隔离带在控制城市蔓延及改善景观生态格局这两个主要功能进行了政策实施评价。结果表明,通过第一道绿化隔离带政策的实施增加了林地的面积,在一定程度上控制了北京中心城市的蔓延,改善了城市生态环境,但是控制和改善的程度与预期比尚有一定的差距,绿化隔离带的相关政策仍需要进一步完善。     

Quantifying and understanding land cover changes by large and small oil palm expansion regimes in the Peruvian Amazon

With rapid increases in global food demand and production, oil palm expansion constitutes a major emerging challenge for forest conservation in Amazonia and other tropical forest regions. This threat is evident in the Peruvian Amazon, where local and national incentives for oil palm cultivation along with growing large-scale investments translate into accelerated oil palm expansion. Environmental sustainability of oil palm cultivation in the Peruvian Amazon is contingent on policy incentives for expansion onto already-cleared lands instead of biodiverse, high carbon primary rainforests. Previous research indicates that while industrial plantations use less land area than local smallholders, companies have a higher tendency to expand into primary rainforests. However, the motivations behind these differing expansion scenarios remain unclear. In this study we combine data from optical and radar satellite sensors with training information, field discussions, and review of public documents to examine the policy incentives and spatial patterns associated with oil palm expansion by smallholders and industries in one of Peru’s most rapidly changing Amazonian landscapes: the Ucayali region of the city of Pucallpa. Based on our satellite-based land cover change analysis, we found that between 2010 and 2016, smallholders utilized 21,070 ha more land area for oil palm than industries but industrial expansion occurred predominantly in old growth forests (70%) in contrast to degraded lands for smallholders (56%). Our analysis of national policies related to oil palm expansion reveal policy loopholes associated with Peru’s “best land use” classification system that allow for standing forests to undergo large-scale agricultural development with little government oversight. We conclude that both sectors will need careful, real-time monitoring and government engagement to reduce old-growth forest loss and develop successful strategies for mitigating future environmental impacts of oil palm expansion.