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Many regions of the world aim to phase out conventional private gasoline cars within ten years, requiring imminent expansion of the electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure. However, because of high installation and maintenance costs, many landowners (LOs), such as shopping malls and commercial building owners, hesitate to install and operate large-scale EV charging facilities of their own volition. In light of this reason, government-led investment is widely provided in many cities, in which local governments provide subsidies to or directly invest in the installation of EV charging facilities. However, this mode cannot be sustained in the long run. As the charging infrastructure market grows, many charging station operators (CSOs), who specialize in EV charging facility installation and operation, have emerged in recent years. These CSOs rent parking spaces from LOs to operate their charging business, which can potentially benefit LOs by attracting more EV drivers to patronize LOs. This parking-charging integration scheme (P&C scheme) builds a symbiotic relationship between LOs and CSOs. However, such schemes may have negative impacts on LOs. Allocating parking spaces to CSOs will increase the time general consumers without charging needs spend searching for parking, which will reduce the number of general consumers. If the newly attracted EV drivers only charge but do not consume in the LO, the LO might not be better off by participating in this scheme. To analyze the economic viability of the P&C scheme and the resulting impact on consumers, we develop a sequential-move game model, taking into account the responses of general consumers and EV drivers. We analytically prove the existence and uniqueness of the market equilibrium and derive the feasibility conditions for this scheme. Interestingly, we find that when the proportion of charging drivers who choose to patronize the LO is high, the LO is willing to reward the CSO for operating the charging service. A realistic P&C example is also presented to demonstrate our analytical insights. • Develop a sequential-move model to capture interactions between the LO and the CSO. • Analyze the feasibility condition and the PURE-strategy equilibrium solution. • Both the LO and the CSO are better-off in the P&C scheme. • Subsidies for EV drivers patronizing the LO increase the number of e-parking spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farmers' social embeddedness has historically been investigated through agri-industrial modernisation or by post-productivistic rural development. In this paper, we investigate farmers' social embeddedness in five case areas characterised by different types of short food supply chains and contribute with a nuanced perspective on factors influencing different types of social embeddedness. We collect data of the self-reported assessment of farmers' contribution to the activities in the local community using a questionnaire among landowners in rural areas, and the data are analysed using a logistic regression model. We find that farmers' social embeddedness depends on individual farm characteristics in the terms that small and part-time farmers show less social embeddedness than fulltime farmers, and we find an effect from the different case areas. Last, we suggest broadening the social embeddedness into three components: community embeddedness, responsibility embeddedness and the traditional production embeddedness. • Farmers' social embeddedness is investigated using a questionnaire. • Effects of both farm characteristics and case areas are identified. • Social embeddedness encompasses both community, responsibility and production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land is a major part of the total cost of residential development, particularly in advanced economies where significant proportions of economic value resolve to land and where land for development is rationed through planning systems that seek to corral extractable value into specific locations, in support of the infrastructure investment needed to unlock development opportunity. In England, strong markets assign a high value for land allocated for housing in local plans, relative to unallocated land. In England's rural areas, constraints on land development – for reasons of landscape and amenity protection, or to support food security – contribute to significant affordability challenges for households on lower rural wages, who may be out-competed in the housing market by adventitious purchasers, or simply by more affluent buyers bidding for a limited supply of rural homes. Planned development (on sites allocated in a local plan) may not meet the needs of lower-income groups in constrained rural housing markets. For that reason, it is necessary to support housing affordability by granting exceptional permission for development on unallocated land, and then negotiating land sales at a price that will allow a non-profit housing provider (a 'registered provider of social housing') to build affordable rented homes for local households in need. Development on 'rural exception sites' (RES) has a thirty-year history. It is an important means of supporting the development of affordable homes in smaller villages (market-led schemes on allocated sites are the norm in larger settlements, with affordable homes procured through agreement with for-profit developers). The RES approach lays bare the impact of land cost on housing affordability. Only if a sufficiently low price for land, which is well below 'full residential' value, can be agreed will it be viable to develop affordable homes, with rents matching local wages. Where such a price is agreed, it may be possible to build homes without cash subsidy. If the price rises, affordability may be threatened, unless public grant support is more generous or market homes on the RES can be used to mitigate a higher land cost by providing cross-subsidy for affordable homes. This monograph details research exploring the recent granting of exceptional planning permissions in England, the critical relationship with landowners, and how those landowners may be incentivized to sell land at a price that supports affordability. It analyses extant threats to the approach, and therefore the risk that a key mechanism for delivering affordable homes may be undermined by a market logic that continuously questions the efficacy of 'non-market' and 'non-profit' housing solutions in England. • Affordable housing can be delivered on sites allocated within a local plan or on 'rural exception sites' (RES). • The rationale behind RES is that the price of unallocated land will be low enough to support housing affordability. • But landowners' expectations of the future (speculative) value of their land threatens the viability of projects. • We explore the practicalities of developing on RES and the challenges around interactions with landowners, and land price. • We present RES as a lens through which to re-examine the 'land question'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Absentee landholders engage with a diverse range of information sources. • Local NRM agency information was widely used and valued. • Relationships with neighbours represented the strongest connection to community. • Interest in collaborations was mostly related to conservation and amenity. • Diverse motivations should be considered by NRM agencies' future outreach efforts. The population of absentee landholders, in rural areas of Australia and worldwide, has risen over recent decades, underpinning the need to better understand how to effectively engage this stakeholder group, especially from natural resource management (NRM) agencies. Prior research argues that these often difficult-to-reach rural actors play an important role in environmental management, biodiversity conservation and cross property collaborations. Therefore, this paper investigates the ways in which absentee landholders access information on land management practices, the extent of their engagement with government NRM agencies, and the potential for absentee landholders to engage in cross-property collaboration. Focusing on a case study in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, the results indicate that absentee landholders in the case study region access a range of government and personal sources for information, with Local Land Services (a regional NRM agency) and neighbours being the two most commonly used sources amongst survey respondents. Reasons behind the frequent use of Local Land Services include the awareness and trustworthiness that absentee landholders have of this source of information. As for collaborations, most absentee landholders expressed a preference for non-commercial collaborations related to conservation and amenity, as opposed to production-related or other commercial activities. Motivations to collaborate included knowledge-sharing and a collective effort to manage cross-property conservation issues. Hence, it is recommended that NRM agencies recognize the role they can play in adaptive co-management by providing information to absentee landholders, facilitating collaborations around knowledge-sharing and conservation, and continuously adapting their outreach to accommodate for the growing heterogeneity in values and interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Incentives can encourage rural landholders to plant native trees. • Preferences for afforestation and reversion programs differ. • Monetary incentives are key to increasing enrolment in native forest establishment. • The most important non-monetary incentive is providing seedlings. • Property characteristics influence participation in native forest establishment. Native forest establishment is an important mechanism to sequester carbon, increase biodiversity, prevent erosion, and improve water quality. Designing incentive programmes to encourage rural landholders to plant native trees on their land requires knowing what factors influence their decisions. We used a choice experiment to evaluate the impacts of various incentives to encourage native afforestation and regeneration on private lands in Aotearoa–New Zealand. The survey was completed by over 600 rural landholders, including dairy, sheep, beef and other livestock farmers and lifestyle block (smallholding or hobby farm) owners. We estimated a hurdle negative binomial model to quantify the impact of programme attributes and farm characteristics on both the probability of enrolment and the area committed to native forest establishment. Rural landholders showed interest in joining voluntary programmes to establish native forests if provided with appropriate monetary and non-monetary incentives and when native forest establishment aligned with their properties' characteristics. Differences in preferences existed between afforestation/planting and reversion/regeneration programmes. Monetary incentives were key to increasing enrolment and area commitment to both afforestation/planting and reversion/regeneration programmes. Providing seedlings or finding seedlings suppliers were the most important non-monetary incentives to encourage enrolment. Help with application and paperwork and help with planning and species selection encouraged enrolment in afforestation/planting programmes but not reversion/regeneration programmes. Property characteristics were important determinants of both enrolment and area commitment to the programmes. These results have important implications for policymakers charged with designing and implementing programmes encouraging native forest establishment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Support vector regression guided genetic algorithm is presented. • The landowners' behavior of participation is considered in the model. • The proposed method can achieve higher energy conversion efficiency. • Representative irregular wind farms are studied, and the impacts are investigated. • The Python code will be made available online. Due to the existence of wake effect that causes the reduction of intake wind speed among wind turbines in the downwind direction, the wind farm efficiency is substantially discounted. An integral question to ask is how to find the optimal wind turbine layout given a wind farm. Inspired by the self-adjustment capability among individuals in the natural evolution process, a new algorithm called support vector regression guided genetic algorithm is proposed to solve the wind warm layout optimization problem which integrates the capability in each individual to adjust itself for a better "fitness" with guiding information sampled from a response surface approximated by support vector regression. It is also interesting to use the new proposed algorithm to evaluate the impact of the constraints imposed by landowners' willingness whether to rent their land to the wind farm company. Extensive numerical experiments under different settings of wind distribution and wind farms with unusable cells are conducted to validate the proposed algorithm, shedding insights on the impact of landowners' participation on the overall efficiency. The experiment showcases that the proposed algorithm outperforms two baseline algorithms under different conditions with improved efficiency. The proposed framework with consideration of landowners' participation decision provide insights for wind farm planner on the different values of farm lands from the landowners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing residential projects has frequently been noticed for unsuccessful delivery a project. It was due to various obstacles to its successful implementation. This study attempted to establish the major factors which delivery a completion of residential project. A multiple research approach involving interviews and a questionnaires survey was adopted for the study. Interviews were carried out amongst purposively selected practitioners (land owner, developer, consultant and contractor) while questionnaire survey was conducted among 120 randomly from primary selected practitioner group to examine the identified factors. The factors identified as barriers to complete a construction and measures to overcome potential barriers to construction were evaluated and ranked according to their mean scores. It was found that operational errors, payment delays, design errors, operating cost fluctuation, delay of development process, interest rate, natural disaster, employment fluctuation, instability in politics and changes in legislation were ten highest risk factor which have impact to performance of management in residential projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Local zoning policy that moves beyond minimum lot sizes can conserve total and core forestland. • If landowners see a scenario as a threat, they may support different forms of land use regulation. • Presenting build-out and impact scenarios may result in more restrictive land use regulation. Wisconsin is known for its extensive forest resources and its attraction to visitors and permanent and seasonal homeowners. Development, due to this attraction, within the state's private forestland has been a growing phenomenon for many years and communities are struggling to implement tools to reduce its negative impact. One group of tools is local land use policies, but many communities are not equipped to regulate more than the basics, such as minimum lot size, and it is not clear that moving beyond the basics would conserve future forest resources or whether or not private landowners would find more restrictive land use policies acceptable. In this paper, we conduct a case study of northern Wisconsin by analyzing two dimensions: the possible effect of local land use policy on forest fragmentation and landowner attitudes to policy. The purpose is to uncover whether conventional or density-based zoning conserves more forestland and which policies local landowners would support. We find that, one, density-based zoning can conserve more total and core forest than conventional zoning. Two, when landowners view a particular scenario as a severe threat, they are more inclined to support some forms of land use regulation over others. These findings indicate that local governments can open up a dialogue for more restrictive local land use policies for conserving forest and limiting forest fragmentation, if landowners understand the impact among various alternatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Three distinct stages can be discerned in sustainable local settlement. • Legal tenure security is not a guarantee of de facto tenure security. • Owning a house in town improves tenure security (a bit) and social status (a lot). • Who owns a plot in the city, belongs to the city. • In absence of the rule of law, real tenure security is difficult to achieve. Sustainable local settlement in the area of refuge is considered one of the durable solutions to displacement, but not so much is known about ways in which internally displaced persons (IDPs) self-settle in urban settings. Based on two qualitative research projects carried out amongst IDPs in an urban setting in the conflict-affected east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), this paper explores the main stages of settlement of IDPs, ranging from being hosted to becoming a formal owner of a plot. Combining theoretical perspectives from refugee studies and land studies, the paper investigates to what extent the different stages of settlement bring tenure security to IDPs. Policy often assumes that formal ownership is desirable as it provides tenure security and subsequently economic investment opportunities. Our data show that even formal ownership does not provide adequate tenure security when the rule of law is lacking and that obtaining 'access' to a property is more critical than obtaining rights. Yet, IDPs nevertheless continue to aspire ownership that is as formal as possible. We argue that this is related to the social status of ownership that helps to transform somebody from an outsider that does not belong in the city to a resident that is entitled to claim her/his right to the city and benefit from the advantages that come with belonging to urban space. There is thus a strong mutual relationship between social status and connections on the one hand and tenure security and access to housing on the other hand that feed into people's sense of belonging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Explore the role of opportunity cost, income and energy in PES participation. • Use GTBP's data in WNNR to study the effect of three factors on PES participation. • There is an inverted U-shaped curve between opportunity cost and PES participation. • The dependence on cropland income is inversely proportional to PES participation. • Fuelwood-based energy structure has an adverse effect on PES participation. Abstract Payments for ecosystem services (PES) have become a valuable policy tool for the conservation and restoration of ecosystems. The central premise of PES success is that landholders are willing to provide ecosystem services. However, previous studies failed to consider this willingness of landholders to participate in PES within the theoretical frameworks of opportunity cost, income structure, and energy structure. This lack results in the deviation of the existing PES project design from market-based incentives and gravitation toward adopting command-and-control subsidies that are typically intended to be replaced. To fill this gap, this study examines the effects of opportunity cost, income structure, and energy structure on the participation of landholders in PES, using the panel data of the household survey of the Grain-to-Green Program in the Wolong National Nature Reserve, China. The obtained findings demonstrate an inverted U-shaped curve relationship between opportunity cost and landholder participation rate, suggesting that the participation of landholders in PES does not always decrease with increasing opportunity cost. The dependence of landholders on cropland income is inversely proportional to their participation in PES. The effects of other agricultural income on the decision-making of householders were not significant. Moreover, the fuelwood-based energy structure negatively affects the participation of landholders in PES. Therefore, we argue that the formulation of PES incentives in line with local socioeconomic conditions and individual preferences can further stimulate the landholder participation in PES. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Decisions to participate in reforestation programs are strongly influenced by pro-environmental motivations. • External support from conservation organizations play a significant role in landowner's decision to plant trees. • Contextual factors, including farm size and length of residency, influence the decision to plant trees. • Lack of knowledge, unsuccessful past experiences, and upfront financial investments are barriers to planting trees. Abstract Reforestation programs are being implemented across the globe to address the decline in global forest cover. This research examines the role of motivations, external support, and barriers on farmer participation in reforestation in the tropics. Eighty-five household surveys and 18 in-depth interviews were conducted with farmers and organizations in Costa Rica. To measure motivations, we asked farmers' their perceptions of environmental, social and financial outcomes of reforestation. External support was measured as perceived support from conservation organizations. Regression models were used to determine the significance of motivations and external support, controlling for household and biophysical characteristics, on reforestation behaviors. External support and environmental motivations both had a positive and statistically significant effect on reforestation. Farm size and the number of years spent on the property also positively influenced the decision to plant trees. Farmers identified instrumental pro-environmental values, such as water regulating ecosystem services, as their primary motivations for planting trees. Barriers to reforestation included a lack of technical skills for planting trees, unsuccessful past experiences, a lack of trust in external organizations and initial reforestation costs. Overall, this research indicates that environmental motivations influence the decision to participate in reforestation, but that external support is critical for overcoming initial participation barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Major challenges are emerging to integrate private lands into whole-of-landscape conservation policy, especially if definitions of biodiversity and conceptions of conservation alienate farming communities. Insufficient attention has been paid to the way that farmers perceive and value biodiversity. By undertaking 'walk-and-talk' in-depth interviews with leading farmers in the South Australian viticultural region of the McLaren Vale, seven important narratives were identified on the way that farmers conceive of and exploit biodiversity on-farm. Farmers' conceptions of biodiversity challenge traditional policy divisions between 'natural' and anthropogenic biodiversity and represent a sophisticated understanding of agricultural and regional ecology. While farmers clearly recognise and prioritise important biodiversity values, the dominant policy frameworks are not effectively defining, quantifying or supporting that biodiversity which is constantly being regenerated through farming practices. A range of opportunities for better conservation emerge from a recognition that productive farming activities and associated agricultural biodiversity form a vital part of the region's biocultural heritage. Of particular importance is the need for farmer definitions of biodiversity to be included in policy both to guide new connections between private landowners and biodiversity conservation, and to normalise goals of sustainable environmental management across rural landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This study measures efficiency of collective floodplain aquaculture enterprises (FPAs) practiced in floodplains composed of private lands in Bangladesh using data envelopment analysis (DEA). We concentrate on a management system that was initially developed by landowners in the Daudkandi sub-district in 1984. With gradual spread of this management system two important internal variations have emerged in terms of (1) organizational composition that resulted from the investment-based participation of an NGO, and (2) mode of managing aquaculture operation that resulted from leasing out the aquaculture operation instead managing it by themselves in some FPAs. Taking consideration of these two variations, and using four inputs and one output, we measure the technical, scale, mix and overall efficiency of 15 FPAs selected from five districts. While 11 FPAs are technically efficient, only six are overall efficient. On average, NGO-collaborated FPAs (NFPAs) are more efficient (78.27%) than landowners-managed independent FPAs (IFPAs) (75.96%). However, IFPAs are only found in the Daudkandi region, where there are more efficient IFPAs than NFPAs. On the other hand, while lease-based operations show better average efficiency (79.56%), self-managed operations have more efficient units. We also find that the intensive use of inputs in most older FPAs does not make them more efficient, despite their higher fish yield, than relatively newer FPAs. Given the poverty, food security and nutrition linkage of floodplain aquaculture and continuous attempts to increase fish yield, the FPAs along with development partners and government agencies, should take account of efficiency-related aspects in policies and practice. Highlights • Introduces the Data envelopment analysis (DEA) in efficiency measurement of floodplain aquaculture enterprises (FPAs). • FPAs are found to be less efficient in scale and mix performances than pure technical performance. • Although the feeds are the largest employed input in monetary terms, the largest slacks are found in land use. • Recently formed FPAs are more efficient than older FPAs in terms of input use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Among bioenergy feedstocks, timber and crop residues offer low marginal cost of production and low risk of indirect land use change that can boost greenhouse gas emissions. The potential economic supply depends on the willingness of producers to make residues available. Previous studies show that willingness to supply annual crop residues depends upon prices, attitudes toward bioenergy, biophysical setting, and demographic traits. For timber residues, a smaller literature on non-industrial private forest owners found similar results, but little is published about what drives the availability of timber residues from large public and commercial forests. Combining survey data on small-scale forest owners with interview data on managers of large-scale commercial, public and conservancy-owned forests, we find that willingness to provide timber residues varies by landowner type. At prices of $4-11 Mg−1, most commercial forest managers are willing to permit residue removal at timber harvest. At higher prices of $13-26 Mg−1, up to half of non-industrial private forest owners are also willing. However, among managers of large-scale public and conservancy forests, environmental conservation rules and/or insufficient motivation largely prevent the removal of timber residues at harvest. Future projections of timber residue supply should explicitly account for differences in the willingness of each type of forestland owner to supply residues as a bioenergy feedstock. Highlights • Willingness to supply timber residues for bioenergy varies by type of forest landowner. • Commercial, industrial timberland owners will supply timber residues at $4-11 Mg−1. • Up to half of non-commercial, private forest owners will supply timber residues at $13-26 Mg−1. • Owners of public and conservation forests are largely unwilling to supply timber residues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This research re-examines the nature and intensity of losses, associated with the compulsory acquisition of private land for public projects, through the lens of the 'capability approach.' Through in-depth interview of forty-seven landowners in and around Bengaluru city, whose land is currently under notification for compulsory acquisition for the Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project, this research identifies eighteen functionings of land which are crucial to the well-being of the landowners. Together these functionings encompass the financial, social, political and personal aspects of landowners wellbeing and are grouped under five heads: (i) being able to secure basic necessities for life, (ii) being financially secure, (iii) being able to protect oneself from discrimination, exploitation, violence, and assault, as a fundamental human right, (iv) being able to establish social associations and harness personal, familial, and societal interests through these associations, (v) being able to maintain and enhance self-respect and identity. The role of land in providing access to food, shelter, income, and credit, for the poor and agriculturists, is identified as the most valuable functioning. Financial security arising out of using or leasing land is another very important functionings, particularly for those who are financially dependent due to physical disability, poor education, lack of employment, social discrimination, and other reasons. Among other most valuable functionings of land is the financial autonomy and physical security it grants to the women and Dalits, who are vulnerable to homelessness, landlessness, and physical violence. This research also brings out the crucial role of land ownership in safeguarding self-respect and self-identity of the landowners. Findings from this research pave the way towards designing a fairer mechanism of compensation through which all the valuable functionings of each affected landowner can be satisfactorily reconstructed or replaced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Perceptions of wind energy remain steady post-construction for roughly half of nearby landowners. • Among those that change, in aggregate, results are mixed and conflict with theory. • Paths diverge based on residents' perceptions of procedural justice. • Paths also diverge based on residents' financial relationship to the project. • Future research and policy should account for procedural and distributive justice. Abstract Researchers have suggested that residents' acceptance of wind turbines follow a U-shaped curve over time, starting with generally positive attitudes about wind energy, dipping once a project is proposed, and then rebounding after construction. This research considers how residents' perceptions of the benefits and negative impacts of wind turbines shift post-construction by surveying the same individuals (n = 520) at two time periods after a nearby wind project became operational. We find that residents' perceptions follow two separate trajectories based on their perception of the fairness of the wind siting planning process and—to a lesser extent—whether they have a direct financial stake in the wind project. Residents who perceived a fair planning process tended to perceive greater benefits of wind turbines, job creation, and revenues for landowners specifically, while residents who perceived an unfair process perceived significantly greater negative impacts, including visual and noise problems, reduction of nearby property values, and human health problems. These results suggest that while energy business models that extent direct financial compensation to more landowners impact the attitudes of residents in the short-term, resident attitudes about procedural justice may have implications that extend well beyond the project planning stage, impacting long-term support for adding new and repowering old turbines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public agencies and organizations often deliver financial assistance through cost sharing, in which recipients contribute some portion toward total costs. However, cost sharing might raise equity concerns if it reduces participation among populations with lower incomes. Here, we revisit a past study using a richer dataset (n=1,689) to assess whether stated income levels affect survey respondents' willingness to participate in a cost share program for vegetation reduction to mitigate wildfire risk in western Colorado. Results show that residents with lower incomes are less likely to participate even though they can choose to contribute 0% toward a cost share. Residents reporting incomes less than $50,000 are 11 percentage points less likely to participate than those reporting incomes of $200,000 or more. They also are willing to pay a lower share (26 percentage points less) if they do participate. Results indicate potential economic equity concerns from the use of such programs. [Display omitted] • Cost-share programs for wildfire mitigation on private lands might have equity implications. • We analyze survey data from western Colorado residents exposed to wildfire risk. • Lower-income respondents are less likely to participate in a cost-share program. • Parcel-level wildfire risk influences participation but not willingness to pay. • Heterogeneity not only between communities but also within them matters for equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • FUTURES-ABM, a hybrid ABM-CA model building on existing models and frameworks is presented. • FUTURES-ABM introduces a diverse agent typology and uses peer-influence for decision-making. • A sensitivity analysis embedded in a simulation experiment was carried out for a rapidly urbanizing area. • The new decision-making components generated qualitatively different landscape patterns. Abstract Population growth and unrestricted development policies are driving low-density urbanization and fragmentation of peri-urban landscapes across North America. While private individuals own most undeveloped land, little is known about how their decision-making processes shape landscape-scale patterns of urbanization over time. We introduce a hybrid agent-based modeling (ABM) – cellular automata (CA) modeling approach, developed for analyzing dynamic feedbacks between landowners' decisions to sell their land for development, and resulting patterns of landscape fragmentation. Our modeling approach builds on existing conceptual frameworks in land systems modeling by integrating an ABM into an established grid-based land-change model – FUTURES. The decision-making process within the ABM involves landowner agents whose decision to sell their land to developers is a function of heterogeneous preferences and peer-influences (i.e., spatial neighborhood relationships). Simulating landowners' decision to sell allows an operational link between the ABM and the CA module. To test our hybrid ABM-CA approach, we used empirical data for a rapidly growing region in North Carolina for parameterization. We conducted a sensitivity analysis focusing on the two most relevant parameters—spatial actor distribution and peer-influence intensity—and evaluated the dynamic behavior of the model simulations. The simulation results indicate different peer-influence intensities lead to variable landscape fragmentation patterns, suggesting patterns of spatial interaction among landowners indirectly affect landscape-scale patterns of urbanization and the fragmentation of undeveloped forest and farmland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Investor can achieve its maximum interest through incentive coordination in REDD+. • Landholders will not suffer any losses after incentive coordination in REDD+. • Incentive-coordinated contracts can improve the efforts to reduce emissions. • Landholder with better capability is more likely to improve its efforts in REDD+. • Incentive coordination is interpreted as a techne of neoliberal environmentality. Abstract The complexity and profound spatial effects of incentives in the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) contracts make them an ideal case for applying neoliberal environmentality theory, as they provide a special lens to closely observe how incentive coordination, as a techne of neoliberal environmentality, shapes individual behavior in reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation. This paper introduces some political and economic arguments related to the issue of incentive coordination in REDD+ contracts from the perspective of neoliberal environmentality. According to the efforts of landholders to reduce emissions, this paper conducts a game model of payments for ecosystem services to describe the dynamic interaction behavior between an investor and several landholders in the current REDD+ contract and an incentive-coordinated REDD+ contract. In the theoretical framework, the effects of incentive coordination on the landholders' efforts to reduce emissions are analyzed. A numerical simulation is adopt to examine the changes in the efforts of landholders to reduce emissions and in the benefits of stakeholders under two REDD+ contracts. The results demonstrate the following: First, the investor can maximize benefits without losing the landholders' interests via designing incentive-coordinated REDD+ contracts. Second, extra incentives can improve landholders' efforts to reduce emissions, which contributes to achieving the goal of the REDD+ scheme. Third, landholders with stronger capabilities are more likely to reduce emissions, thus receiving more extra incentives. Incentive coordination has become a neoliberal environmentality; it can impact a landholder's use of forest resources by changing the benefits of reducing emissions in the REDD+ scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Landowners and farmers of rented farmland face several barriers to conservation. • Some of these barriers are unique to the role of the landowner or farmer. • Improving communication and sharing of risks/rewards are important. • Conservation programs should continue to offer communication & lease tools. Abstract Agricultural conservation programs often focus on farm operators when promoting conservation practices. However, much of U.S. farmland is owned by landowners not directly involved in farm operations. Rental arrangements on these lands can dis-incentivize the adoption of conservation practices that could improve soil health, water quality, and land values. To date, agricultural conservation policy has largely ignored the role of non-operating landowners (NOLs) and rental arrangements. We help improve the evidence-base for policy by identifying barriers to adoption of conservation practices on rented farmlands. Analysis of forty interviews with NOLs, operators, farm managers and university extension personnel in Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana revealed five categories of barriers: cash rent lease terms, rental market dynamics, information deficits/asymmetries, cognitive/interpersonal, and financial motivations. Some barriers, such as risk aversion and farm aesthetics were expressed by both NOLs and operators, while other barriers, such as status quo bias and annual renewal of leases were only expressed by NOLs and operators, respectively. To overcome barriers to conservation, interviewees recommended improving communication between NOLs and operators and modifying cash rent lease terms in order to build in flexibility for equitable sharing of risks and rewards. Agricultural conservation programs could readily apply these results—possibly working with intermediaries (e.g., farm managers, lawyers)—to offer communication and lease tools and assistance to NOLS and operators. Future research should evaluate the efficacy of these conservation interventions and how intermediaries affect the balance of power between NOLs and operators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This article considers the social drivers that shape beekeepers' lost access to floral resources, and how this contributes to honey bee and beekeeper vulnerability. Most large-scale beekeepers in the United States are migratory and depend on access to private land to produce honey and healthy bees—a surprisingly tenuous arrangement for producers who add over $17 billion to U.S. agriculture. This dynamic often places beekeepers in asymmetrical power relationships with both landowners and state entities that tend to favor property owners and farmers over migrant beekeepers. Consequently, land use policies often do not favor beekeepers or honey bees. Through three empirical cases in the Midwest, I show the varied processes and mechanisms that play a role in excluding beekeepers from floral resources. As beekeepers lose access to forage for honey production and face greater precarity, they increasingly turn to commercial pollination and manufactured pollen inputs—both of which can have negative impacts on honey bee health. Highlights • Most commercial beekeepers do not own the land they need to produce honey. • Forage access is shaped by political, economic, social, and ecological processes. • The migratory nature of commercial beekeeping also contributes to lost access. • Exclusion from forage can have negative impacts on honeybee health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract There is contentious debate in the literature regarding the conservation efficacy of the international rhinoceros horn trade ban. Because the ban has been in effect for 40 years, it is unclear how potential legal horn trade should be structured to attain rhino conservation on private lands. We sought to fill this gap by eliciting the preferences of South African private wildlife industry members (who conserve a third of South Africa's rhinoceroses) for international trade in rhino horn. We used a combination of best-worst scaling and dichotomous choice experiments to determine wildlife industry members' preferences for three features of legal trade: market structure; payment/kg horn; and whether landowners should be required to conserve a minimum amount of land per rhino before they may enter the market. Results indicate that respondents preferred payments of at least ZAR 150,000/kg (USD $11,500) and that legal trade not be regulated by government organizations. Respondents did not have clear preferences about whether market participants should be required to meet a minimum land requirement per rhino. Our results provide insights into how potential horn trade policy may be structured to meet the financial needs of private landowners, while securing the conservation of rhinos on private lands. Highlights • Novel wildlife trade application of the best-worst choice methodology • Horn trade market structures and payment amounts affect market participation. • Market attributes can be strategically designed to increase participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Using publicly-owned lands as assets for urban infrastructure financing considers one of the most ambitious and encouraged approaches to finance urban infrastructure since this approach would provide the needed financing to different types of infrastructure without depending on the government or on the low-income groups. This financing approach is based on obtaining revenues from private developer's and high-end land owners through publicly-owned land selling or leasing to capture the increment in land value as a result of public investment in infrastructure. However, the usage of this financing approach in the Egyptian new cities had and will expose the government to many negative financial instability risks due to the current used policies. The main objective on this research is to explore, describe, and identify all the threats of using publicly-owned lands as an asset for urban infrastructure financing and to deduce and conclude their root causes. Accordingly, the research methodology includes literature review and qualitative analyses of some local and international failure cases in an attempt to deduce these threats and their root causes. On conclusion, using publicly-owned lands as assets for infrastructure financing ineffectively carries huge socio-economic and political negative risks for government, business and the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract A growing body of literature is studying how real estate markets are recovering in the post-crisis context. Within this literature, it is often assumed that the extraction of derivative rents from real estate assets has increased since 2008. This article argues that the role of derivative rents in the broader post-crisis dynamics of land rent extraction needs to be more carefully scrutinized. Using as a case study the Spanish hotel-backed non-performing loan market, this article argues that such an increased prominence of derivative rents may not always occur in post-crisis real estate markets. As the paper unveils the different strategies that have allowed a transformation in the performance of loans, the shifts in how rents are extracted from hotel assets and who is extracting rents from hotels are scrutinized. The main findings of the paper are the following. First, as the crisis unfolded, derivative rents lost prominence vis-à-vis other forms of land rents, even if derivative rents still play a key role in the circulation of capital from and to the built environment. Second, there has been since 2008 a shift in the typologies of landowners and rentiers: from national actors such as hotel corporations or banks, there has been a transition towards global actors such as REITs or private equity funds. Third, monetary policies are boosting a shift in the ownership and mechanisms of rent extraction from hotel assets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Spatial determinants of residential intention to adopt GSI varied among practices. • Household and neighborhood problems predicted intention to adopt infiltration trenches. • Intention to adopt diversion of roof runoff show association with broader green actions and norms. • Residing in a town with stormwater permitting may influence one's intention to adopt rain gardens. Abstract Improved stormwater management for the protection of water resources requires bottom-up stewardship from landowners, including adoption of Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI). We use a statewide survey of Vermont paired with a cross-scale and spatial analysis to evaluate the influence of interacting spatial, social, and physical factors on residential intention to adopt GSI across a complex social-ecological landscape. Specifically, we focus on how three GSI practices, ("rain garden (bio retention)," "infiltration trenches," and "actively divert roof runoff to a rain barrel/lawn/garden instead of the street/sewer") vary with barriers to adoption, and household attributes across stormwater contexts from the household to watershed scale. Private landowners, who may be motivated more by on-site and neighborhood stormwater problems, may gravitate toward practices like infiltration trenches compared with practices (e.g., rain gardens) perceived to serve stormwater function over larger areas. Diversion of roof runoff was found to be more likely to be a part of a larger assembly of green behaviors. Improved stormwater management outcomes at the watershed, town, neighborhood, and household levels depend on adaptive approaches and adjusting strategies along the rural-urban gradient, across the bio-physical landscape, and according to varying norms and institutional arrangements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The concept of ecosystem services is applied to consider the broader impact of the land management in Cameroun. • Provision of six cultural and provisioning ecosystem services was assessed in two peripheries of Yaoundé in 2000 and 2018. • A sharp decrease in the provision of six ecosystem services was found at both sites. • Provisioning areas hotspots have almost disappeared due to high urbanization rates. • The current land tenure system is a driving force in changes in ecosystem services provision. Abstract In Africa, cities are unable to accommodate population growth within their current administrative limits, putting pressure on ecosystem services (ES) in peripheral areas. Existing ES related studies in the region were conducted in East and South Africa, and rarely focused on cultural ES in peri-urban areas. This study aimed to assess changes in the value of cultural ES in two peripheral areas of Yaoundé, Cameroun. It applied the concept of ES through participatory geographic information systems (PGIS) to understand how the value of cultural ES has changed over time and how residents perceive it. It also considered the impact of land management by relating changes in ecosystem service provisioning areas (SPA), with the current land tenure system. We focused on two study areas, Mbalngong and Nkozoa, which were selected for their high urbanization rates. PGIS activities were conducted during twenty semi-directive interviews and one workshop per site. We found that the provision of ES decreased by more than 90% within an 18-year period, from 2000 to 2018. The lack of randomness in the distribution of ecosystem services showed that SPA had distinct functions for residents, but that this was not taken into consideration in planning decisions. We showed that current land management strategies are influenced by the land tenure system and do not incite landowners to preserve their parcels and associated SPA. While direct subsidies may not be appropriate, other approaches such as community land trusts may be more advisable for the preservation of SPA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper examined the impacts of large-scale land holdings on Fulani pastoralists' livelihoods in Agogo, Ghana in the light of questions of Fulani citizenship and increased violent conflicts between farmers and pastoralists. The study is theoretically conceptualized within issues of belonging, citizenship and legitimacy, which have heralded pastoralists' quest for land. We studied pastoralists land acquisitions in comparison with large land acquisitions of ScanFarm (Gh.) Ltd, Nicol-Miro Plantation Ltd and Bernard Kojo Ofori Teak Plantation Ltd as case studies. The study found increased competitions and demand for land by smallholder farmers, Fulani pastoralists and large-scale companies in the Agogo area. These competitions for land by large landholding companies and farmers alike have affected pastoralists' livelihoods negatively; which has pushed pastoralists to marginalized lands while crops are grown along pasturelands and livestock migratory corridors. Consequently, there is increased destruction of crops by cattle, leading to violent conflicts. Besides, pastoralists face high land tenure insecurity as local farmers and landowners seize their leased lands and reallocate them to large agro-companies, partly because of their lack of first-comer claims to land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent developments in drilling technology promise significant benefits from extraction of unconventional gas. At the same time, the deployment of this technology creates serious concerns about the negative effects it may have on agriculture and on the environment. This paper applies a behavioural approach to explore possibilities for improved negotiation outcomes between unconventional gas developers and host landowners using economic experiments in the laboratory. The paper specifically focuses on the role that security bond could have in resolving some of the conflicts surrounding unconventional gas development. The empirical findings from the economic experiments show that a security bond deposited by a developer prior to the commencement of the gas extraction can result with improved negotiation outcomes between developers and host landowners. Our findings suggest that the security bond is effective because it mitigates the effects of loss averse behaviour by landowners that do not hold sub-surface extraction rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Political factors are significant drivers of deforestation. • Regulation reduced deforestation inconsistently across forests types and regions. • Policy uncertainty increased deforestation, particularly in remnant forests. • Perverse outcomes delayed forest transition and may reverse further transition. • Focusing on forest gains will ignore biodiversity threats of remnant forest loss. Abstract Policy-driven shifts from net deforestation to forest expansion are being stimulated by increasing social preferences for forest ecosystem services. However, policy uncertainty can disrupt or reverse the positive effects of forest transitions. For instance, if the loss of remnant (primary) forest continues, the ecological benefits of net forest gains may be small. We investigated how peak periods of uncertainty in forest conservation policy affected forest transition outcomes in Queensland, Australia, as well as a globally-relevant biodiversity hotspot in the state, the Brigalow Belt South (BBS) bioregion. Political, socioeconomic, and biophysical factors associated with net forest cover change and remnant forest loss from 1991 to 2014 were identified through spatial longitudinal analysis. This informed a Bayesian structural causal impact assessment of command-and-control regulation and policy uncertainty on remnant and non-remnant forest cover. The results indicate that forest cover was negatively influenced by increasing temperatures, food prices, and policy uncertainty, and positively influenced by strengthening regulation. Regulation during 2007–2014 avoided 68,620 ± 19,214 km2 of deforestation (with 18,969 ± 10,340 km2 of this in remnant forests) throughout Queensland, but was ineffective on remnant forests in the BBS. For state-wide remnant forests, perverse effects from policy uncertainty (e.g. pre-emptive deforestation) were strong enough to negate regulatory impacts. This study reveals a cautionary tale for conservation policy: despite strict environmental regulations, forest transition can be delayed (or reversed) when political inconsistency or instability provoke unintended reactions from landholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In developing countries, the protection of biodiversity and ecosystem services (ES) rests on the hands of millions of small landowners that coexist with large properties, in a reality of highly unequal land distribution. Guiding the effective allocation of ES-based incentives in such contexts requires researchers and practitioners to tackle a largely overlooked question: for a given targeted area, will single large farms or several small ones provide the most ES supply? The answer to this question has important implications for conservation planning and rural development alike, which transcend efficiency to involve equity issues. We address this question by proposing and testing ES supply-area relations (ESSARs) around three basic hypothesized models, characterized by constant (model 1), increasing (model 2), and decreasing increments (model 3) of ES supply per unit of area or ES “productivity”. Data to explore ESSARs came from 3384 private landholdings located in southern Chile ranging from 0.5 ha to over 30,000 ha and indicators of four ES (forage, timber, recreation opportunities, and water supply). Forage provision best fit model 3, which suggests that targeting several small farms to provide this ES should be a preferred choice, as compared to a single large farm. Timber provision best fit model 2, suggesting that in this case targeting a single large farm would be a more effective choice. Recreation opportunities best fit model 1, which indicates that several small or a single large farm of a comparable size would be equally effective in delivering this ES. Water provision fit model 1 or model 2 depending on the study site. The results corroborate that ES provision is not independent from property area and therefore understanding ESSARs is a necessary condition for setting conservation incentives that are both efficient (deliver the highest conservation outcome at the least cost) and fair for landowners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The “4 per Thousand” initiative was launched at the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) in December 2015 to address global climate change through the aspirational goal of increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) stock of the world to 40-cm depth by an average annual rate of 4%. Small landholders (SLHs), often faced with difficult bio-physical and socio-economic conditions, are the principal managers of soil in India. There are 117 million SLHs representing 85% of the total operational holdings, cultivating over 72 million ha of land, and meeting 50–60% of India's food requirement. The agricultural soils of SLHs are strongly depleted of SOC and nutrient reserves. Therefore, the challenge of feeding 1.7 billion people in India by 2050 will depend on increasing the current productivity levels by restoring the depleted soils of SLHs. According to our estimates, soils of SLHs currently contain 1370–1770 Tg C and, which can be increased to 2460–2650 Tg C by 2050 through large-scale adoption of best management practices (BMPs) including balanced application of nutrients, compost, agroforestry, and conservation agriculture. A wide spread adoption of these practices can enhance C sequestration by 70–130 Tg CO 2 e per annum and produce 410–440 million Mg of food grains accounting for 80–85% of the total requirement by 2050. In this paper we propose strategies for achieving the dual objectives of advancing food security, the “4 per Thousand” target and mitigating climate change in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complexity and deeply spatial effects of incentives in REDD+ make it a good case study for the application of governmentality theory, as it provides a special perspective to observe how REDD+ incentives shape individual conduct. This paper describes political and economic arguments related to incentives associated with the REDD+ mechanism from the perspective of governmentality. This paper conducts a theoretical analysis of policymaker, landholder, and developer strategies under different market power structures. The goal is to explore the optimal incentives and efforts for REDD+ through two-stage game models. A numerical simulation is applied to examine the effects of changing the parameters associated with each stakeholder’s strategies. The results demonstrate the following. First, the conduct of landholders and developers in reducing carbon emissions is unrelated to the market power they own. Policymakers need to consider market power structures when designing REDD+ incentives. Second, policymakers need to consider multiple factors to design heterogeneous REDD+ incentives under different market power structures. These factors include the price of carbon emission credits, opportunity costs, output elasticity of effort, cost coefficients and total factor productivity. Third, variations in compensation payments do not affect landholder and developer efforts to reduce carbon emissions, but would affect the REDD+ incentive design. Finally, REDD+ incentives have become hybrid neoliberal governmentality; they are consistent with the characteristics of neoliberalism, but are also instruments for serving state policy goals. All these factors need to be considered in designing future REDD+ incentives that achieve an incentive-compatible REDD+ mechanism and realize appropriate governance in forest conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acacia plantations have an important role in increasing the reforestation rate and fulfilling the market demand for processed timber in some Asian countries. This study investigates the factors affecting the time-to-adoption of Acacia spp. by smallholders in different landscapes of Indonesia. We use discrete time duration analysis and data on time of first adoption by 430 landholders from Yogyakarta and the outer regions of South Sumatra and West Kalimantan. Results show that, on average, the time to adoption among smallholders in Yogyakarta was 3.1 years, while that for the outer regions was considerably longer at 10.8 years. Faster rates of acacia adoption were associated with smallholders growing other timber species, having larger land holdings, land acquired from inheritance (compared to via the market), being younger, having an on-farm occupation, and having experience of contracts used in commercial forestry. Changes in the reforestation schemes had limited impact on the adoption rate of acacia, although some schemes marginally decreased or increased the adoption rate. This could be associated with limited availability of acacia seedlings provided by government, which prioritizes seedlings of other commercial tree species, and changes in the contract mechanisms. The mode of extension, such as farmer-to-farmer learning and forest extension agents, also affected adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the U.S. the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) administers the Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) that funds the restoration of wetlands on privately-owned lands under conservation easements. These programs provide a number of potential benefits to landowners along with the wetland including access roads and reduced property taxes on the easement land. To receive these benefits, landowners agree to limit development opportunities on their land but can continue to use it for other activities such as hunting, fishing, viewing wildlife, haying, or extracting wood for personal use. We surveyed 35 participants in the NRCS program in northeastern New York State to measure factors associated with willingness to enroll land in the WRP program beyond direct monetary incentives. In addition, we conducted follow up interviews with eight program participants to enhance our understanding of landowners’ motivations to participate in the programs. We found that valuing the conservation aspects of wetlands, being retired and a female respondent were associated with willingness to enroll lands without compensation. In addition, qualitative interviews provided context to these findings such that landowners enrolled land due to 1) lived experience with wetland use and preservation; 2) a conservation ethic in regards to preserving nature; and 3) the desire to use the restored wetland as a ‘showcase’ for family and community members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land consolidation is one of the important tool of increasing productivity in agricultural production. Land consolidation not only consolidates fragmented land, but also improves the standards of landowners in agriculture, technical, social and cultural areas. Land consolidation projects consist of various stages. The most important, complicated and time-consuming part of these stages is land reallocation. Land reallocation is a process which requires a long time and high operating costs and in which there frequently arise disputes between landowners. For these reasons, it is inevitable to use computer technology to optimize this process. In this study, a hybrid method including genetic algorithm and fuzzy logic techniques which enable reallocation to be done automatically in land consolidation has been used. The crossover rate and the operation of the genetic algorithm (GA) method have been realized as a self-adaptive structure using fuzzy logic techniques. A similar study used for the land reallocation problem in the literature, the results of reallocation plans obtained by the technician and the results obtained by the hybrid method have been compared. When the experimental results are evaluated, it has been found that the hybrid method used is more successful and efficient than similar studies in the literature and also has a better reallocation plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A major critique of large scale biomass production is the land competition between food and energy crops. A commonly suggested solution is to limit energy crop production to marginal lands. Physical marginality is often used when discussing marginal lands. However, as important is the socioeconomic marginality. This research fills this gap by evaluating willingness to supply bioenergy crops for landowners who have marginal lands. We conducted contingent valuation surveys at study sites with three model crops: switchgrass, miscanthus and willow. Random utility theory is applied to evaluate factors influencing decision maker's choice to plant energy crops. The results indicate that landowners who own marginal lands are more likely to plant energy crops and they require a lower willingness to accept price compared with landowners who do not have marginal lands. At the same time, we noticed that landowners are unfamiliar with these new crops. Economic concerns are the top reasons preventing them from planting energy crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we aimed to investigate the uncertainty events affecting small-scale salt producers and find out how small-scale salt producers were responding to the combinations of climatic and socioeconomic uncertainty they had experienced. We divided the salt producers into three categories based on land ownership: (1) land owner; (2) wage laborer; and (3) tenant. We examine their perceptions of the problems and their adaptive responses at the household and aggregate levels. Based on fieldwork in salt production areas in rural Sampang, Indonesia. First, we find that the effect of uncertainty events does affect salt producers unequally. This, depending on resources and power within the community. Second, there are advantages and disadvantages of each adaptation. This is representing dilemma of salt producers that shape how adaptation practices are negotiated in order to respond the combinations of climatic and socioeconomic uncertainty. Finally, our finding underlines the challenges of developing an integrated approach to mitigating these uncertainty events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The success of bioenergy efforts will depend, in part, on interested, engaged, and informed landowners who are willing and equipped to grow the appropriate feedstocks. We surveyed landowners in Washington State to gain insight on their knowledge of and interest in bioenergy crops, with a special focus on growing hybrid poplar for bioenergy. The responses indicate that the majority of landowners surveyed are not familiar with bioenergy crops and almost half of the respondents are not interested in growing a bioenergy crop. The most important consideration for growing any type of crop is profit, followed by soil preservation and land conservation. Linear regression analysis showed that interest in growing bioenergy crops is correlated with the perceived importance of profit, tradition, soil preservation and a way to make money specifically from bioenergy crops in cropping decisions. An interest in growing bioenergy crops is the primary landowner attitude connected with the likelihood of growing a bioenergy crop and willingness to specifically grow poplar. The results suggest that increased education about bioenergy crops targeting certain types of landowners may generate greater interest and willingness to grow bioenergy crops, should a market develop. The study findings will help shape outreach efforts and communication with landowners about bioenergy crops, as well as provide increased understanding of the perceived challenges and advantages to growing bioenergy crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Voluntary incentive programs are widely used to generate conservation actions on private land. Although there is a growing body of research about factors that influence landholder participation in incentive programs, studies generally conceptualise landholders in agricultural landscapes as owner-occupier, farming individuals or families. Few studies have considered participation by absentee landholders and fewer still have recognised group landholders (e.g. non-government organisations or community groups) as potential incentive program participants. We examined participation in a conservation stewardship tender (reverse auction) in South Australia to identify the diversity within participants, and particularly to evaluate the extent of participation by absentee landholders and groups. A diverse set of landholders participated, where nearly a quarter of participants were absentee landholders, and a small component were groups. Although small in number, groups were shown to be important because they were likely to offer larger land areas in the stewardship tender. With very little known about how absentee and group landholders may differ from their counterparts, further research is recommended to inform incentive program design. We recommend that incentive programs consider landholder diversity in order to achieve effective conservation in agricultural landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stemming from the theoretical concepts worked out in detail in Paper I, this paper demonstrated in empirical terms on two major fronts. First, the redevelopment trajectory of industrial land in Nanjing was identified and was shown to consist of the dilemma of firm migration and the puzzle of space transformation. Second, the multiple rounds of bargaining between original land user and land owner were analyzed, and it was shown in particular how the industrial land of local state-owned enterprise (SOE) can be redeveloped under the control or intervene of urban government. Finally, we argued that the disputes between original land user and land owner on the sharing of redevelopment cost and the distribution of potential benefits constituted a potent system of explanatory coordinates that effectively reveals the hidden logic of industrial land redevelopment in urban China. And the carrot-and-stick approach employed by local authorities is the key to breaking that deadlock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given land owners’ resistance to the compulsory acquisition of land and the recurring debate on inadequacy of compensation, this research re-examines losses of landowners in terms of loss of functionings offered by land. The aim of this research paper is to understand the relationship between land ownership and well-being when seen through the lens of Sen’s (1979) ‘capability approach’ and to identify fundamental functionings associated with land that are generalizable at global level. The relationship between wellbeing and functionings offered by commodities is the focus of Sen’s (1979) ‘capability approach’ Understanding functionings of land required inductive approach and primary investigation was performed through focus group discussions with participants from eleven different countries, who are currently pursuing doctoral research at the University of Melbourne. A holistic list of nine fundamental functionings of land was obtained towards the end of these discussions, which are: (i) Secure means to basic ends; (ii) Self-identity; (iii) Social capital; (iv)Social equity; (v) Political empowerment; (vi) Power to take decisions on land matters; (vii) Family’s wellbeing; (viii) Personal comfort and convenience; and (ix) Psychological wellbeing [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines emergent engagements between state and customary actors in planning and land delivery in Tamale, Ghana. In the context of a resurgence of traditional authorities in many African countries and the resulting hybrid and multiple governance arrangements that emerge, the article questions the potential of co-production practices to promote equitable land delivery. In many rapidly urbanising cities in Ghana, increased demand and value for land has precipitated the conversion of peri-urban and hitherto rural lands into urban uses. Consequently, various forms of functional interfaces, formal, semi-formal, and informal negotiations have evolved and flourished in land delivery. These largely take the form of local chiefs making various payments (in cash and kind) to cover the cost of surveying, planning, and sub-dividing customary lands. Drawing on the concept of co-production in public services delivery, we analyse in this paper the drivers and conditions under which chiefs and public servants engage with each other in local planning and land delivery in Ghana. The evidence gathered suggests that although locally adaptive, these emergent engagements are not the panacea to the challenges of land management in Tamale, Ghana. The case studies contradict the largely theorised positive outcomes of co-production as they are driven by motivations that are unduly self-serving, resulting in modest positive and largely negative and inequitable outcomes for indigenous landholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flood damages are increasing and thus flood resilience is gaining importance. Various definitions of resilience and the identification of different resilience dimensions have been the focus of past research, but there is a lack of understanding how these dimensions systemically interrelate. Using an exploratory research design, this study examines multidimensional resilience in the context of flood recovery on private land. The results show that physical, social and financial resilience dimensions are part of the recovery process. The dimensions can have conflicting impacts on each other, meaning that a trade-off has to take place between two dimensions. Further, dependencies have been detected, the increase of one resilience dimension depends on others. In the case study there are also projects being implemented that create synergies between different resilience dimensions. This requires coordination between the involved stakeholders. Only limited attention has been put on the interrelations between different resilience dimensions, increased coordination is therefore necessary. Applying a multidimensional resilience understanding allows the inclusion of different perspectives, which helps to reach an understanding on flood resilience of a whole system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is now widely acknowledged that one of the ways to protect biodiversity in the UK is through a landscape scale management approach towards conservation. Achieving this will require future agri-environmental schemes to foster better opportunities for landscape scale collaboration amongst landholders – a limitation of previous agri-environmental schemes. With the UK's new Environmental Land Management schemes reflecting a stronger emphasis on collaborative management at a landscape scale, the extent to which landowners are willing to collaborate must be better understood. This will enable the potential for a collaborative Nature Recovery Network - set out in the UK's 25 Year Environmental Plan – to be fully realised. Findings from our case study in Bonhurst Farm, UK suggest that while the scenario with the highest connectivity was the preferred choice amongst participants, several barriers stand in the way of implementing it; not least the uncertainty of how it might impact the operation of their farm business. Additionally, concerns around funding, and the lack of clarity and flexibility, of future scheme could potentially hinder uptake. This is in spite of respondents' strong inclination towards environmental conservation and increasing landscape connectivity. To address these barriers, future policies must not only involve landholders earlier in the development process of these schemes but also consider how their involvement contributes to the formulation of these schemes. Moreover, our findings also indicate that facilitators and advisors serves as key driver to the success of collaborations, with their ability to organise and implement collaborative schemes, along with their expertise knowledge, being seen as invaluable. • Emphasis on landscape scale crucial for future conservation endeavours. • Participants in our study chose scenario with highest level of connectivity. • However, impact on farm business limits preference for landscape-scale collaboration. • Lack of clarity and flexibility in future scheme design may also limit uptake. • Facilitators and advisors are found to be key to the success of such collaborations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest certification is considered a viable market-based strategy for promoting sustainable forest management by providing landowners with financial incentives and social recognition for responsible forest practices. In China, it is an issue of international as well as domestic concern, especially considering the magnitude of country’s wood exports. To examine landowners’ perceived barriers to and interests in forest certification in China, we conducted a landowner survey in Shandong province in 2016 and analyzed whether and how landowners’ ownership motivations, management objectives, sociodemographics, and perceptions about benefits and drawbacks associated with certification schemes influenced their willingness to participate in certification programs. Results indicate that the majority of landowners in Shandong province are not currently familiar with forest certification programs but are willing to consider participating when provided with pertinent information. There may be a potential market for certification programs in China with appropriate outreach and extension. In addition, landowners’ willingness to participate in certification programs is significantly affected by the expected benefits and limitations associated with certification schemes, landownership motivation, management objectives, and characteristics of the forestland and households. Findings will be useful to institutions and policy makers interested in understanding and promoting the market for forest certification in China and other developing countries with similar circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing popularity of private land conservation (PLC) globally has quickly translated into an array of polices and programs aimed at achieving ecological benefits. The growth of PLC is entwined with the rise of neoliberal governance, with private land proving congruous with the promotion of market-based instruments (MBIs) and the reliance on private protected areas for conservation in lieu of government investment in public lands. Despite a growing literature on the implications of neoliberal environmental governance, there remains a need for specific insights into the way that individual landholders and ecologies can co-opt or resist the rationalities of MBIs in the practice of private land conservation. Through semi-structured interviews and property walks with 18 landholders, this research examines the implementation of a reverse-auction tender scheme called ‘EcoTender’ in Victoria, Australia. We uncovered four main tensions between the market logic of the program and conservation practice: 1) some landholders used the payment scheme to increase regulatory protections on their property through covenants/easements; 2) many landholders struggled to conceive of their stewardship practice as contractual labour; 3) landholders were producing novel ecosystems that challenged land management focused at the property parcel scale when EcoTender encouraged a return to historical benchmark ecologies, and; 4) many landholders wanted social collaboration when the program required competition for cost efficiency. Our insights show that PLC must create room for a diverse trajectory of conservation practice in dynamic socio-ecological contexts. This means careful reflection on the validity of assumptions underpinning MBIs, the trade-offs that come with applying market logic to conservation and the long-term implications of these instruments for policy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is growing concern that Agri-environment Schemes (AESs) may not be effective in conserving the countryside. Particular concern has arisen around whether the current approach of individual, farm-level, AES agreements are sufficient to offer landscape-scale environmental protection and enhancement. Whilst recent additions to AESs have sought to encourage more joined-up thinking by offering payments to farmers to form collective agreements, uptake is low and there is very little known about farmers’ (non)resistance to such collective conservation. Drawing on in-depth qualitative research with 74 farms across 5 sites in the UK, this paper provides new data on the barriers to farmers’ uptake of collective AESs and offers a new formulation of how we understand farming cooperation. The paper advances Bourdieusian-inspired ideas of the cultural construct of ‘good farming’ by synthesising these with recent reconceptualizations of ‘trust’ in order to provide a more contextually grounded and temporally-inflected understanding of farmers’ cooperative activities. The findings reveal that whilst working relations between farmers are often collegiate, and in places collective, several watershed events over past decades have led to a shift from community-level to process-based (peer-to-peer) trust and a move toward land management being depicted as a squarely individual rather than collective issue. Conceptually, the paper moves beyond the current limitation of viewing trust, and the associated development of social capital – seen as a prerequisite for more collective AESs – as cumulative and one-directional to highlighting their multiple, issue-specific, nature which may become eroded and (re)developed over time. Alongside this, the paper offers a new way of understanding the good farmer by shifting the focus from the individual farm/farmer level to a more fine-grained and contextualised issue-centered notion of good farming. This is then used to explain the seeming reluctance of land holders, evidenced in official statistics, to engage in collective AESs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a land consolidation project, preparation of the reallocation plan is a crucial and challenging stage with many factors playing a role. It is quite difficult to identify these factors and their contributions. The most important element in the allocation stage is the opinions of the landowners regarding the new location of their parcels. Projects are more successful when landowners’ opinions are evaluated and considered. Current technological developments may facilitate the inclusion of the landowners’ requests in the project. The land consolidation and reallocation phase is time-consuming and complex and forms the basis of the project. The biggest problem at that stage is block balancing. Therefore, in this study, we evaluated the performance of a reallocation model to perform block distribution by evaluating landowners’ requests. The model was tested in four villages (Baharlar, Calikoy, Hirka, and Sofular) of the Denizli province, Tavas district (Turkey) where land consolidation work had been done before. Using the model, the excess distribution rates in the blocks were reduced to between 0.03% and 2.09%. In addition, the fulfillment ratio of first requests was 80–90% using the model; while, it was only 66–83% when the work was done without the model. The most powerful part of the model is to process the data within minutes compared with weeks or months for the project engineer. Thus, the model should save time and improve results for future land consolidation projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landowners are the key players in bioenergy production on wasteland; such as cutaway peatlands. In this study, the landowner’s interest to use cutaway peatlands for bioenergy production was investigated using a survey and GIS (Geographic Information Systems) methods in an area in South Ostrobothnia, Finland. The focus was to identify which different bioenergy production chains are preferred by the respondents: combustion, gasification or biogas production from agriculture, energy-willow short-rotation forestry or forestry based energy crops. Also, the influence of personal environmental values on the selection was measured and the future impacts and barriers for the land use were assessed. Afforestation was the most popular after-use method among the landowners. The next most favorable method was energy crop cultivation but it was highly dependent on economic profitability and subsidies. Currently, approximately 8.2% or 500 ha of the total peat extraction area could be used for bioenergy production in the region by 2035. Based on the survey, forest based biomass is the best option if bioenergy is to be produced. The next choice was agro biomass and the least favored plant was willow. This study suggests that the biggest cutaway peatlands will be converted to forest energy in the future. Suggestive results were that the owners with high environmental values are especially interested in agro biomass growing and the landowner having a distant home place does not have a negative influence on bioenergy production. Altogether, land use and biomass production of cutaway peatlands is connected with the demands of the Finnish bio-economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Brazilian native vegetation supports essential ecosystem services and biodiversity for the global society, while land use competition may intensify around the increasing needs for food, fibre and bioenergy. The Brazilian Forest Act of 2012 amplified a market-based mechanism for offsetting native vegetation deficits in private farmlands. This mechanism enables a large-scale trading system allowing landholders to offset their own deficits of native vegetation by purchasing certificates associated with a surplus of native vegetation from other landholders. This mechanism is an alternative for the more expensive restoration of native vegetation on own land. The launching of the mechanism now depends on specific regulations at state level, which may include geographical restrictions for offsetting deficits. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects in nature protection and socio-economic development of different offsetting implementation alternatives. Our findings suggest that in a business-as-usual scenario the offsetting mechanism may have little or no additional effects on protection of native vegetation, because most of the offsetting is likely to take place where native vegetation is already protected by prevailing legislations. We concluded that it is possible to maximise environmental and socio-economic returns from the offsetting mechanism without undermining productive land. This would be possible if regulations ensure additionality in nature protection while enabling a self-sustaining mechanism for income generation for small-scale family farmers in the poorest region of Brazil, protecting biodiversity and counteracting major trade-offs between ecosystem services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]