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This paper sheds light on the broader impacts of high-value commodity crops in the tropics by examining critically the rapid expansion of Hass avocado plantations (HAP). Using Salamina as a case study, this paper provides empirical evidence of local impacts and highlights the need for more sustainable and equitable governance strategies to manage emerging socio-economic and environmental challenges. HAP are transforming Salamina's traditional landscape by seizing considerable areas for avocado cultivation in response to the ongoing coffee sector crisis. Since 2018, the region has transitioned from a coffee-centered economy to one dominated by capital- and labor-intensive avocado production. While HAP has become a significant economic driver, it has also exacerbated social grievances and inequalities among local communities. This paper stresses the economic shift, environmental disturbances, and comments on governance policies for inadequately addressing sustainability and social issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the dynamics of collaborative rural planning through an in-depth single case study of participatory land consolidation. It argues that while complete consensus might be considered a utopia, effective collaboration among stakeholders requires a certain degree of alignment in perspectives. By analyzing how stakeholders’ perspectives evolve, this study investigates how this convergence occurs. Furthermore, it explores how planning professionals try to promote convergence, focusing on a project manager’s approach and insights from a focus group. The findings emphasize the complexity of achieving joint understanding for fostering cooperative decision-making. The paper proposes clear process parameters to stimulate this convergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why are some countries able to go ahead with comprehensive top-down local government amalgamation reforms, despite the many challenges such a reform entails? So far, we have limited theoretical and empirical understanding of how central governments manage to adopt such reforms. Drawing on different theoretical frameworks around public policy as well as research into territorial reforms, this article presents key political and institutional factors that are likely to facilitate top-down municipal mergers and examines whether these theoretical propositions help to explain the adoption of comprehensive top-down municipal amalgamation in four cases: Denmark, Estonia, Ireland, and Portugal. Key political and institutional factors identified in existing frameworks provide a useful starting point for understanding and explaining top-down comprehensive municipal amalgamation reforms, such as the role played by the breaking up of existing policy monopolies and emergence of new venues for discussing the reform. At the same time, the cases also reveal some important nuances that at times run counter to theoretical expectations. Our cases also reveal further factors, including the "bundling" of amalgamation reforms with other wider initiatives, and the potential effect of "distracting events" that should be taken into account in the further development of theoretical frameworks concerning top-down amalgamations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper utilizes both the national statistics and the survey data from the China Household Income Project to explore the characteristics of land transfer as well as the current state of farmland concentration in rural China. The findings suggest the following. First, China has seen a steady rise in land concentration since the 1990s, and the rapid increase in land transfer since the 2000s has contributed to the rising concentration of land. Second, the rural cadres play an important role in the process of land consolidation and they have rented significantly more land than others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the long history of planned water and landscape management in China, focusing on the Tai Lake Basin located in the southern part of the Yangtze River Delta. To position this polder landscape within the broad spectrum of water heritage in China, the paper examines the historical perceptions and symbolism of water and its decisive role in shaping Chinese outlooks on empire, urban settlements and landscapes. It then delineates the evolution of polder landscapes in the Tai Lake Basin, which has been recurrently transformed since the fifth century BCE through to their contemporary condition. Despite changing material forms, the polder landscapes in the region evidence continuous endeavour to manage water for both productive (food) and preventive (flood) purposes. The latter part of the paper considers to what extent these polder landscapes might now be considered as a 'continuing landscape' – an organically evolved cultural landscape reflecting the changing needs of society, economy, government as well as flood prevention. Today, with few features that are materially historical, their continued existence has been threatened by urbanization, land consolidation and agricultural modernization. The paper advocates historically informed landscape planning to safeguard these dynamic and adaptive agricultural landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land consolidation is one of the essential tools to increase productivity in agricultural production. The most important, complex, and time-consuming step is land allocation among the land consolidation stages. For these reasons, it is inevitable to use computer technology to optimize this process. This study used reallocation models based on PESA-II and NSGA-II optimization algorithms to solve the reallocation problem. The methods were compared with the optimization algorithms in the literature and the conventional method obtained by the technician. The applied algorithms have achieved successful results by parcel number, average parcel size, and reallocation cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automatic determination of shape parameters is still a current issue due to the dynamic development of technologies requiring image or geometric data analysis. The research described in this paper presents a new approach to the estimation of shape elongation and the calculation of lengths of shapes whose boundaries may be represented by polygons. The proposed algorithm is based on the Delaunay triangulation. The new approach may play a significant role in practical applications concerning spatial pattern analysis, land fragmentation and efficiency of projects focused on land consolidation and landscape fragmentation analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Along with colonization, land consolidation was the other great instrument of Francoist socio-structural policy. Land consolidation policy began with the 1952 legislation. It addressed land fragmentation into small plots whose extension, according to the Law, was uneconomic while creating notable obstacles to the development and modernization of agriculture. Land consolidation is a restructuring of territory into fewer and larger plots that allow roads or paths between them. In contrast to the Second Republic (1931–1936) agrarian reform, it avoided the matter of large-scale land ownership and its necessary redistribution. Through a micro-historical approach, this paper aims to investigate changes in the developmental model of the dictatorship, by incorporating the local actors and their resistances in the historical interpretation. This perspective will reveal the conflict between subaltern and dominant reasons. We will rely on the analysis of documentary sources of a legislative and regulatory nature, local documentation, as well as oral interviews with peasants and agricultural technicians who worked in Galizan rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on archival research and interviews with state officials and state-affiliated academics, this article argues that the Chinese state's decision to slow down rural land transfer since 2017 is a Polanyian countermovement against the adverse consequences of earlier, excessive labor and land commodification. The central government's drive for land consolidation is contingent upon and structurally constrained by the process of rural labor commodification. By focusing on connections between land and labor and situating agrarian transformation under the context of national capital accumulation, this study examines land beyond agriculture and argues for the continued importance of the classical Agrarian Questions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rational planning of soil resources based on their capabilities are needed for the sustainable use of agricultural lands. Land suitability classification is an important evaluation tool for the management of soil resources. This study aimed to evaluate the land suitability for wheat (Triticum aestivum) cultivation using an approach that integrates multi-criteria decision making (MCDA) analysis and geographic information systems (GIS). The study area cover 21146 ha land and is located within the land consolidation area in the Çumra Plain, located in Central Anatolia of Turkey, The physical, chemical and fertility properties of the soil samples collected from 342 points in the study area were used as parameters in the wheat suitability assessment. The relative weight values of the soil parameters were determined by the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Literature and expert opinion were used in the creation of the AHP matrices and the determination of the sub-criteria. The criteria with the highest weight values or which have the highest impact on wheat growth were soil texture (0.30) and pH (0.16), while the lowest weight values were given for micro elements (0.02). Land Suitability Assessment was applied to the maps of soil variables using weighted overlay analysis in the GIS environment by using the relative weights. Thus, the suitability of the study area for wheat cultivation was mapped. The results revealed that 74% of the study area was highly suitable (S1) and 24% was moderately suitable (S2) for wheat cultivation. The coefficient of determination (R2) was 0.81, which indicated a successful prediction of the GIS-MCDA hybrid approach for wheat suitability assessment. Integration of land suitability analyzes specific to plant variety in land consolidation projects can provide a more detailed perspective on the land in the design of planning studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From Eastern bloc to European Union: comparative processes of transformation since 1990: edited by Günther Heydemann and Karel Vodicka, New York, USA and Oxford, UK, Berghahn Books, Berghahn Series Contemporary European History, 2020, xvi, 397 pp., $135.00/£99.00 (hardback), ISBN: 978-1-78533-317-0, $29.95/£23.95 (paperback), ISBN: 978-1-78920-821-4, $29.95 (eBook), eISBN: 978-1-78533-318-7 I From Eastern Bloc to European Union i tells the story of how Central and Eastern European countries bridged the divide to effect an unprecedented political and economic convergence with their Western neighbors. Between August and November 2020, twenty-seven years after the Maastricht Treaty came into force, the European Commission announced a series of vaccine procurement contracts signed on behalf of "all EU Member States". [Extracted from the article]

This study examines the impacts of the adoption of three mechanized farming strategies (no-mechanized, semi-mechanized, and full-mechanized farming) on cropland abandonment, using the 2016 China Labour-force Dynamics Survey data. An innovative multivalued treatment effects model is employed to address sample selection bias. The results show that relative to no-mechanized farming, the adoption of semi-mechanized farming increases the probability of cropland abandonment. However, relative to either no or semi-mechanized farming, the adoption of full-mechanized farming significantly decreases the likelihood of cropland abandonment. Thus, farmers' decisions of cropland abandonment depend on whether mechanization can partially or fully substitute farm labour. Our findings suggest that promoting agricultural mechanization via scale and topography-appropriate farm machines and enhancing land transfer for consolidation can help alleviate cropland abandonment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the Sustainable Livelihood Framework, the vulnerability of rural households is closely related to external risks and their responsibility. Recently, land consolidation has been widely implemented throughout China, which is supposed to boost livelihood capital and thereby improve rural households' vulnerability. In order to examine this initiative, a case study was carried out in Central China. A matched Differences-in-Differences specification was adopted to estimate the effect of land consolidation. The results demonstrate that (1) land consolidation significantly reduces vulnerability by enhancing the quality and quantity of natural and physical capital, (2) the impact is highly spatially distributed, varying with the distance to the water source, and (3) the proposed model appears robust enough to explain the impact mechanism after a couples of robustness check. Finally, several suggestions are advised, including upgrading of infrastructure and facilities, reducing land fragmentation and adjusting the distance between cropland and the water source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land consolidation project has many stages. Land reallocation is the most considerable stage in which many factors play a role and forms the basis of this project. In this study, a new optimisation-based reallocation model has been developed to realise block reallocation by evaluating the requests of landowners. The reallocation according to the developed method also reset the block spaces automatically. The most powerful aspect of the method is that while the reallocation phase in land consolidation projects takes weeks and months, this method can be done in minutes. This method contributes to projects in terms of time and cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is focused on understanding sources and patterns of vulnerability of wheat smallholder farmers in Northeast Iran. We conducted a farm household survey and recorded multiple environmental and socio-economic attributes of 391 wheat smallholder farmers. A Vulnerability Scoping Diagram and Principal Component Analysis served to identify key factors determining wheat farmer's vulnerability. Also, we performed a cluster analysis to classify wheat farmers into three vulnerability types. Although drought affects all types as main environmental stressor, only for Cluster 2 was it the key vulnerability factor. For Clusters 1 and 3 socio-economic vulnerability components prevailed: for farmers categorized in Cluster 1 land consolidation was the main problem, while the current wheat import policy was the key problem for Cluster 3 farmers. Multiple tailored policies are needed that reduce the vulnerability of wheat farmers in all clusters. Supportive government policies should for example focus on avoiding price distortions from wheat imports for Cluster 3, land consolidation for Cluster 1 and collective tackling of pests and weeds for Cluster 2. Simultaneous provision of farm advisory services will benefit farmers of Clusters 1 and 3, while availability of improved seeds (drought-tolerant varieties) and other inputs will lower the environmental vulnerability of all farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's environment suffers from severe overuse of agricultural chemicals in recent decades. A popular opinion among policymakers and researchers is that land consolidation and larger farms will be instrumental in bringing down the consumption of fertilizer and improve the environment. By examining the relationship between farm size, capitalist production, and fertilizer intensity, we argue that larger and more capitalist farms in China do not necessarily have lower fertilizer intensity. I further argue that under capitalism a lower fertilizer intensity often induces an even higher level of fertilizer consumption. A substantial reduction in fertilizer consumption runs against the vested interest of capitalism. The problem of chemical overuse lies in the capitalist market economy which pushes both small and large farms to keep increasing fertilizer consumption. Only a society free from profit motive and exploitation can provide space for a truly sustainable and "rational" agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The potential evaluations of land consolidation projects (LCPs) are core in ex-ante evaluations to ensure that resource allocations are effective for achieving sustainable development. There are some problems with the unrealistic assumptions of the real world in these evaluations, such as the assumed independence of the criteria/dimensions in real-world problems. In this research, to fill this performance gap, a new hybrid modified MADM model was developed to construct an evaluation framework for comprehensive LCPs, covering three dimensions and ten criteria. Two LCPs real cases were used as empirical cases. The results of the DEMATEL method indicate that to achieve sustainable rural development through LCPs, "Production dimension (D1)" and "Ecological dimensions (D3)" having the characteristics that affect others should be the focus, although the DANP suggests that the "Life dimension (D2)" has the highest influence weight. The modified VIKOR suggests that Case A has more potential than Case B. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The book "Enclosed Landscapes as Part of the European Agricultural Heritage" edited by Alexandra Kruse focuses on the physical and ecological impact of enclosure in a European context. It includes analyses and case studies from seventeen contributors across ten European countries, providing historical and developmental perspectives on enclosed landscapes. The book highlights the diminishing extent of enclosing walls and semi-natural vegetation in Europe due to modern agricultural development. It also compares the patterns of land enclosure in different regions, such as England, France, and the Netherlands. The book offers classifications, maps, and illustrations to aid in understanding the diverse landscapes and their evolution. [Extracted from the article]

For land reclamation using the conventional surcharge preloading method, a sand cap layer is often fully placed at the ground surface of ultra-soft compressible estuary or marine clays. A novel strategy of distributed sand caps is proposed to save cost associated with sand materials. At an early stage of consolidation, the drainage capacity of distributed sand caps is less than the drainage demand, whereas at a later stage, the capacity exceeds the demand. Hence, the overall drainage capacity of distributed sand caps is equivalent to the drainage demand. A numerical model is developed to study the effectiveness of the proposed technique, and calculations are compared against theoretical solutions. A parametric study is conducted to optimize design parameters. It has been found that distributed sand caps should be uniformly placed with a size of 3% of the total width and a spacing of 1 times the size, such that sand materials can be saved by up to 50% without compromising the consolidation efficiency (an increase of consolidation time by less than 5%). The use of distributed sand caps will be effective regardless of soil properties, including hydraulic conductivity, elastic modulus and Poisson's ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this contribution, a simple way of assessing land ownership fragmentation by evaluating land consolidation projects on the basis of multiple criteria is proposed. Obviously, for the criteria that describe fragmentation directly (number of plots, co-owners per plot and plots per owner), minimum values are regarded as favourable. Average size of the plot in a low-fragmentation situation is, of course, higher and is an expected benefit. Distances in spider/radar plots (star coordinates) or the Euclidean distance from an 'ideal point' are used as well to measure the (de)fragmentation. Post- and pre-consolidation ratios reflect the changes. Rankings based on the calculated values help to identify problematic cases. Thus proposed system takes into account not only the ownership fragmentation, number and size of plots, but also the co-ownership shares. Its application is demonstrated using the data on 50 finished projects of land consolidation in Slovakia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate the contribution of leading key players for maintaining and increasing the quality of paddy industry in Malaysia. The Ministry of Agriculture and Argo-based Industry (MOA) plays a key role in improving the production of paddy and welfare of the farmers in this country by doing the transformation within the agricultural sector. Hence, in order to ensure the successful implementation and fulfilment of direction from Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), Federal Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority (FELCRA), Department of Agriculture (DOA), Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) and Farmers Organisation Authority (FOA) involve greatly in Malaysian paddy production chain with each agency playing different roles. BERNAS acts as the main regulatory body in the production chain. It does so by ensuring the stability of rice trade within the country as well as its distribution. By way of qualitative methodology, this study conducted in-depth interviews with six key informants on their respective agency's contribution to paddy industry in Malaysia. We also conducted a review of the agencies' web page and previous literature on respective agencies. This research found that the farming area is divided into two major sections; the granary area and non-granary area. The granary area is the area recognized by the government as the main paddy production area and the non-granary area is the opposite of this recognition. This research provides substantial information about the roles of key players in Malaysia paddy value chain, especially MADA and Farmers Organisation Authority and discusses current issues, initiatives and suggestions in relation to the paddy industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through the example of Canada’s 2007 Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement (IRSSA), this article explores the work of settler biopower within seemingly progressive policies of inclusion. The IRSSA catalyzed a range of policy initiatives, aimed at the reconciliation of Indigenous/settler populations as well as the constitution of a national redress climate, together with a relatively private, unprecedented compensatory regime. The management and regulation of Indigenous populations to the ends of dispossession and displacement - via genocidal practices or amalgamation - are characteristic of settler biopower. This article explores the Canadian discourse of reconciliation and the logic of ‘healing’ as biopolitical technologies of settler governmentality. In the context of the IRSSA, settler biopower works to ‘make heal’ Indigenous populations and ‘let die’ pathologised Indigenous refusal. The products of the IRSSA’s work of statement gathering, regulating compensation, national event planning, and history making are both ephemeral and material. The engagement of participants, both Indigenous and settler, results in psycho-affective yields; these emotions, experiences, and new memories ossify into the new, shared archive of the settler state. This generative mode of settler biopower perpetuates settler primitive accumulation of Indigenous lands via dispossession, working beyond land, toward the dispossession of Indigenous bodies and the yields therein: desire, affect, and imaginaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we develop a framework for an approach that assigns values to customary rural farmland parcels based on the local people’s view of land value to support land consolidation. In a case study of Nanton, Ghana, key land value factors were identified and weighted by the local community. The weights were integrated into the framework that produced a Land Value Index for each farmland parcel. Though the strength of the approach is found in scenario and sensitivity analyses. However, the prime weakness of this framework is that it is more expensive to use than automatic valuation models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study discusses the amalgamation of local governments as a method of creating larger and more effective local governments that place fewer burdens on central government budgets. Beyond economies of scale, our findings from a case study of Israel’s 2003 amalgamation plan support the democracy claim. This study reveals that amalgamation reduces local democracy in terms of voter turnout and representation. The likelihood of having a greater level of local democracy increases in smaller local governments, in terms of population. The new efficiency and democracy approach suggests that a new amalgamated local government must be sufficiently small to maximize local democracy. At the same time, new amalgamated local governments need to be sufficiently large to maximize economies of scale. This study uses field research with in-depth interviews to enhance the findings of the empirical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Violation of correct specification may cause some undesirable results such as biased logistic regression coefficients and less efficient test statistics. In this paper, asymptotic relative efficiency (ARE) of various coefficients of determination in misspecified binary logistic regression models is investigated. Seven types of misspecification have been included. ARE of test statistics for exponential and Weibull distributions as a method of calculating optimal cutpoints is derived to demonstrate misspecification. Theoretical relationships between coefficients of determination have also been analyzed. Extensive simulations using bootstrap method and a real data application reveal more efficient one under various modeling scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Lessons for designing fit-for-purpose land administration and land management activities, where the stated purposes are poverty alleviation, food security, and good governance, are provided. Contemporary developments from urban and rural Ethiopia provide the empirical basis: data is synthesised from fieldwork and other research activities undertaken between 2011 and 2013. With its large population and important geopolitical location, Ethiopia will continue to act as a yardstick for measuring the success of the global development agenda, particularly in Eastern Africa. Observations from training sessions conducted with cadastral and urban planning experts in Addis Ababa reveal challenges and opportunities regarding capacity development for urban land administration, urban land markets, and state land management. From the city of Bahir Dar, an alternative perspective of urban land administration is provided: the presented results shed light on the varying quality of cadastral development, but also the positive and negative impacts of cadastral implementation. Meanwhile, results from Dilla Town reveal the opportunity to link cadastral development to other infrastructure development activities (e.g. road construction and upgrade). The case also reveals the ongoing tension between ensuring adequate compensation payments relating to land acquisition, whilst also delivering a broader community benefit. Outputs from exploratory design work on the potential for land consolidation in the Amhara region are also articulated. The status of cadastral development in rural areas is revealed, along with future challenges for using cadastral data in land consolidation activities. Overall, the synthesised studies expose how fit-for-purpose ideologies are increasingly informing Ethiopian cadastral design, and under what conditions these designs can support poverty alleviation, food security, and good governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this manuscript is to test two competing hypotheses from the regionalism/localism literature regarding local government size. The Leviathan hypothesis argues that fragmentation induces lower spending through more decentralised government structures which are smaller relative to the size of the local economy. This argument is in sharp opposition with the supporters of regionalism who argue that territorial centralisation can produce economies of scale and significant cost savings, reduce overlaps and promote a more efficient local government. These competing hypotheses derived from the literature are tested using data collected from all 278 local governments of continental Portugal. We measure local government size as both per capita total expenditures and per capita grant transfers to sub-city governments and territorial fragmentation as the number of sub-city governments per 1,000 individuals. Our findings indicate that higher levels of sub-city fragmentation lead to increased municipal government spending and transfers to sub-city governments, thus suggesting that the amalgamation of sub-city governments required by the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in 2011 by the Portuguese government, the International Monetary Fund, the European Union and the European Central Bank and mandated by national legislation has the potential to induce cost savings and to improve financial sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Functional advantages and drawbacks are commonly mentioned to rationally justify or condemn municipality amalgamations. However, many consolidation projects are resisted by local governments or citizens on the grounds that amalgamation would dampen local identity. A municipality’s name change is probably the most visible sign of the loss of community bond experienced by citizens at amalgamation time. This article aims to put a value on this loss by measuring citizen willingness to pay for their city name. This methodological approach innovates upon the literature on municipal amalgamation and place branding by exploiting the versatility of the so-called contingent valuation method (CVM). CVM confronts respondents, in a survey setting, with a hypothetical market in which a characteristic of interest is exchanged. Here the characteristic is the possibility to retain one’s city name for an amalgamated jurisdiction. The article presents the estimates provided by a survey conducted in four Swiss cities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Social provisioning is an amalgamation of social processes within a broader culture-nature life process. This article contributes to the literature on developing the concept of ‘social provisioning' and explores its scope by presenting theoretical and methodological contexts for social provisioning. Then it delineates three categories of processes: biological and geographical processes, processes that are usually analyzed as personal characteristics or social categories (e.g., gender), and processes defined around social activities (e.g., consumption). The system of processes presented allows for diverse entry points to an analysis of social provisioning beyond consumption, production and distribution. Further, the system of processes transcends the culture-economy, nature-economy, nature-culture and micro-macro dualisms in heterodox economic theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development of Transit Oriented Development (TOD) precincts in the Australian context has been hindered by several obstacles. The main challenges to be addressed are land amalgamation issues around train stations and the lack of governance arrangements to facilitate the delivery of TODs. This article identifies the main factors contributing to the effective delivery of three Australian TODs. The article is based on the analysis of case studies in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. Based on semi-directed interviews with urban stakeholders (planners at the council level and state level, and developers) for each case study and on the analysis of official planning documents, we analyse the governance arrangements, the planning frameworks and the financial mechanisms that have facilitated the delivery of the case study TODs. We also survey stakeholders to assess the general TOD delivery process and outcomes on different criteria, to better inform TOD policymaking. We find that large sites in single ownership and special state government measures to facilitate development approvals have been critical factors in TOD success. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Information about the final annual conference of the Western Balkan Rural Extension Network (WBREN) TEMPUS project at the at the Faculty of Agriculture of Novi Sad University in Serbia from November 25-27, 2013 is presented. Among the topics discussed include the use of servant leadership, land consolidation, and role of green and livestock markets for rural areas. The conference featured several speakers including Fatbardh Sallaku, Harri Westermarck, and Chris Garforth.

Land consolidation is the most effective land management approach to optimize land-use structure and improve the natural environment. This study aims to shed light on land consolidation planning processes in China, and to highlight the characteristics and contents of thematic maps in provincial-level planning. The study area, Hubei Province, has an area of 1,85,900 km2and is located in Central China. The land consolidation potential, that is, the net increase area of arable land was calculated according to the land consolidation types in each county. The spatial characteristics of land consolidation potential, key areas, and key engineering and projects were presented on a scale of 1: 5,00,000 utilizing counties as evaluation units. The thematic maps can provide important information for policymakers and planning workers, and guide any subsequent land consolidation planning at the county level in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article draws from a major research project examining the impact of various forms of municipal consolidation in Australia and New Zealand. Its wide-ranging research involved studies of 15 cases of different forms of consolidation, including amalgamation, together with a series of interviews with senior practitioners from the local government sector. Data revealed little evidence of consistent economies of scale from consolidation, however both case studies and interviews indicated that consolidation generated economies of scope and what may be termed ‘strategic capacity’. While it was not possible to disaggregate the data for particular sizes of local authority, enhancement of strategic capacity was more obvious through processes of consolidation in larger ones and less so in smaller, more remote ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional methods in agricultural economics and agricultural engineering have yielded mixed results when specifying the costs of an unfavourable parcel structure. Concepts related to travel costs and the production function are frequently applied when the costs of farming distant parcels are examined. However, farmers’ perspective regarding preferences for land use is ignored or partly overlapped by predictions made by researchers. Based on applied econometric models fitted to stated preference data, we revealed that the proximity of a field plot is a relevant factor affecting land-use decisions. One-fourth of landowners would change the use of a field plot if the condition of distance was changed. Landowners would continue farming a field plot if its distance from the farm compound was reduced, being willing to accept on average €79.60 less in net income per ha per year. The effect of a greater proximity of field plots to the farm compound following land consolidation was heterogeneous, particularly depending on the farm size and its location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The initial goals of land consolidation (LC) in China were to increase cropland areas, reduce fragmentation, and promote agricultural productivity. The goal of improving environmental quality was overlooked, which damaged the sustainability of LC (SLC). Thus, constructing an evaluation system of SLC, could improve the methodological principles underlying LC, and provide support for the decision-making processes of the LC authorities. Based on the criteria of SLC, a total of 15 indicators were selected and the integrated index of SLC (ISLC) was defined to evaluate the SLC on enhancing agricultural productivity, strengthening disaster bearing capacity, improving ecological environment, and being economically viable and socially acceptable. The Xiaojing land consolidation project (LCP) in Shandong Province of North China was chosen as a case study. The results of the case study showed the total score of ISLC was 63.19 before LC and 80.55 after LC in the Xiaojing LCP, indicating that the SLC was increased after LC. The results indicated that changes of agricultural productivity, disaster bearing capacity, ecological environment, and economical viability and social acceptance were the positive contributions to improve the sustainability of LC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Development Studies is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Development Studies is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this article we investigate the potential for and limitations of land consolidation as a tool for rural development in transitional environments, focusing on the Khorezm region in Uzbekistan, Central Asia. We frame our analysis in a broader evaluation of land consolidation as a tool for economic development based on European experiences. It is argued that both the European tradition and the Uzbek case indicate that land consolidation as an isolated measure may trigger many unfavourable side-effects, and that in a transitional environment it requires even more careful tailoring of measures and embedding in various institutional settings. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Understanding farmers’ attitudes and responses to agricultural risks is important for designing financial support services and effective extension activities. Risk attitudes of farmers are also one of the critical barriers for conversion to organic agriculture. Few studies have been conducted to explore and compare risk perceptions between organic and conventional farmers. The purposes of this research were to elicit and compare the risk attitudes of organic and conventional Turkish hazelnut producers and to determine the barriers additional to their risk attitudes toward conversion to organic agriculture in the Terme district of Samsun, Turkey. The Equally Likely Certainty Equivalent (ELCE) model was used to elicit responses from producers. The data used in this study were collected by using a structured questionnaire administered to both 64 randomly selected conventional hazelnut producers and all organic hazelnut producers (39) in the research area. Research results revealed that organic hazelnut producers were less risk averse than conventional producers. It was also found that the variables of education level of operators, farm income, total assets, time allocated outside the farm, farm land area, size of hazelnut orchard, number of hazelnut plots, and total information score were other barriers for conversion to organic hazelnut production, in addition to the producers’ risk attitudes. Providing better extension services and farmers’ training activities relating to organic agriculture and land consolidation, focusing on raising the educational level of producers, facilitating producers with greater access to credit to increase farm land and to enhance farm assets are factors that may accelerate the process of conversion to organic hazelnut production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In rapidly developing nations, industrialization and urbanization result in an urban-rural development gap whereby the standard of living in rural areas lags behind urban areas. This may cause further urbanization and a relative decline in rural areas. Governments have used many strategies to challenge this trend. Using the Republic of Korea as a case study, this paper investigates whether land consolidation, a place-making instrument that may be used to empower rural stakeholders through improving the structure of their properties, might become an instrument of rural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Wassa West District of the western region of Ghana is noted for a large deposit of gold ores. As a result, there is a lot of mining activity in the district, which include both legal and illegal miners. A large number of illegal ('galamsey') miners employ mercury in the amalgamation of gold, whereas some of the mining companies use zinc dust (with associated cadmium impurities) in the extraction of gold. Due to the potentially toxic and adverse effect of mercury and cadmium on humans, livestock, and aquatic organisms, this research seeks to determine the concentration of mercury, cadmium, and zinc in the topsoil (up to 30cm), which constitutes the absorption zone of most food crops grown in the district, and compares these levels with literature values as well as control samples taken from other non-mining districts, thus assess the pollution due to these metals. The results for mercury gave a peak average concentration of 2.8 mg/kg around Aboso and decreased to 0.41 mg/kg at Dompem to the south and 0.33 mg/kg at Huni Valley to the north. All these concentrations were higher than those found in the control samples as well as the standard (0.3 mg/kg) found in literature. The contamination of control samples with mercury suggests aerial distribution of the metal. Zinc concentrations, however, did not show any trend that could be due to anthropogenic sources or natural deposition of the metal. However, high concentrations of 387 mg/kg at Aboso, 170 mg/kg at Tarkwa, and 221 mg/kg at Dompem give an indication of the use of zinc dust in the extraction of gold. The research, however, did not detect cadmium above the detection limit of the instrument used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper critically reviews current spatial planning of urban consolidation in South East Queensland. It does this at two spatial levels. The first is the allocation of urban consolidation dwellings at the region-wide scale. The potential mismatch between latent urban consolidation demand in inner areas and the lack of nominated activity centres in those areas is critiqued. The second spatial focus of the paper is the way in which consolidation is being planned within Brisbane's central and inner city zone, using West End as a case study. Criteria used to assess the scale and location of planned consolidation within West End include public transport access and related traffic issues, open space access, issues concerning locality character and creative industry potential, and building scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Territorial fragmentation has been viewed as a problem in several countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Georgia is one of very few cases which has introduced an amalgamation reform dealing with this issue. The paper analyses the process of preparation and implementation as well as the consequences of the reform. It shows alternative reform proposals and discussions around them, which led to the selection of the most radical option of territorial consolidation. The paper briefly discusses the role of international aid programmes and especially of the Council of Europe (and the European Charter of Local Government) in structuring the discourse of the reform. On the basis of a public opinion survey and interviews, it shows that in spite of radical character of the reform it did not attract much of public attention, which is related to the fact that local government is not seen as an important element of the Georgian political system. In spite of initial declarations of the goals of the reform, the actual change was limited to the redrawing of administrative boundaries by the omnipotent (Leviathan) state and was not accompanied by parallel functional or fiscal decentralisation. According to some interpretations, the reform led to an even more centralised power structure. The price of the negative consequences of the amalgamation (such as local government being more distant from the citizens) has been paid, but the potential positive results of more capable and powerful local governments have not been achieved. Unreformed financial system has not allowed to reduce regional inequalities in capacity to finance local services either. Central government is afraid that decentralization may strengthen separatist tendencies undermining unity of the country and that is why the government is hesitant to introduce more decentralization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Turkey, the scattered, fragmented plots in agricultural areas are one of the major problems preventing agricultural efficiency. Land consolidation is an effective tool in improving efficiency, but the success depends greatly on farmers' satisfaction and adoption. Therefore, determination of issues important to farmers can positively influence future land consolidation projects. As such, land consolidation studies must be accelerated and extended nationwide in countries where land fragmentation is common and rural development is essential. This study determined the effects of changes in farm structures and agricultural activities on satisfaction with land consolidation. Nine villages in the Bursa-Karacabey (Turkey) plain irrigation area were selected as study sites, and the logit model was used to analyse survey data including 190 respondents. Our results indicate that farmers' age (AGE), easiness in crop pattern planning (CRPT), reduction in distance between farmstead centre and plots (DFCP), reduction in time consumed in accessing the plots (TIMES) and improvement in working conditions in the fields (WORC) significantly affected the satisfaction with land consolidation. All of these factors except farmers' age (AGE) are related to consolidation of scattered, fragmented and tiny parcels into larger plots with suitable shape and size for agriculture. Consolidation also increased production and further improved working conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the institutional and organizational foundations of rural planning in the Netherlands. The key objective of the study was to understand the background to and determining factors in the development of land consolidation (ruilverkaveling) as an instrument of rural planning. Dutch rural planning, as a constituent part of spatial planning in the Netherlands, developed quite separately from urban planning. This article traces the roots of this separate development back to the period 1890-1940. At the end of the nineteenth century, reformist liberals argued for a legislative framework for the rational reallocation of land parcels to consolidate fragmented land holdings. The early initiatives came to nothing because of the prevailing rigid distinction between public and private interests. The First World War changed this situation. The decline in world trade forced the government to make the national economy more self-sufficient. Land consolidation was embraced as a means for supporting the agricultural sector by improving land drainage and bringing land into cultivation. From the beginning of the 1930s agricultural politics and rural planning grew closer together, and took off rapidly in the post-war decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land consolidation is generally considered to be a slow planning instrument that does not fit with the present-day dynamics of green areas within the metropolitan domain. Other instruments are now being launched to plan metropolitan green areas. However, the land consolidation approach has been used in the Midden-Delfland region, and has made it possible to preserve and improve this metropolitan green area. This shows that “slow planning” can be an asset for preserving green areas. Moreover, the Midden-Delfland case exhibits a promising combination of collaborative planning and top-down project planning, indicating that different ways of influencing spatial developments, such as supporting spatial quality by carrying out contract works and maintenance, changing zones, and modifying land ownership, can be beneficial in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current debate about the future of the Dutch countryside, more and more attention is drawn to the role of landscape heritage. Spatial designers are asked to translate historic identities into spatial forms in order to bridge the gap between past and future. Special cultural heritage policies are developed to stimulate a shift in design practice and to increase awareness of the value of cultural landscapes. Because interpretation of the rural landscape is often rooted in nostalgia, most conservation efforts are directed at old historical landscapes and rural scenes. But what about modern rural landscapes? How do these landscapes relate to the emerging issue of heritage protection and development? To answer this question the historical significance of these landscapes was examined by analyzing their design in the slipstream of post-war reconstruction. Attention was also given to their possible future in a planning and management context that is increasingly influenced by a public and professional demand for landscape conservation and heritage. We argue that these landscapes are at odds with the values and core convictions of the current heritage policies and merit recognition in their own right. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a web-GIS based support system for rural residential land consolidation in China was designed to evaluate the potential and objectives for rural land consolidation. It was developed using ASP.NET. ArclMS, ArcSDE and SQL Server technologies. The results show: (I) that according to the potential evaluation, the major rural consolidation areas are concentrated in the north-east of China, east China, north China and Inner Mongolia. These account for 65% of the total potential area in 2010; (2) that based on the rural consolidation objectives analysis, the major rural consolidation areas are concentrated in north-east China, east China, north China, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang province. These account for 75% of the total consolidation objective area in 2020; (3) that the data can be shared and transported by the system on the internet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Field survey is a very important step in the process of land consolidation and rehabilitation. Traditional methods of field survey take much time and effort and it is difficult to locate facilities of projects, to measure area or length and to spot and record problems quickly and accurately. A global positioning system (GPS)-based field survey system is introduced. Firstly, the framework of the system is described. Secondly, the key technologies are shown. including data preparation, locating accurately, coordinate transformation, field measuring and field editing. Finally, further applications are discussed. The major result of this study is a GPS-based field survey system which will promote the application of GPS-personal digital assistant (PDA) technology in the field of land consolidation and rehabilitation, creating an effective method for improving field survey. In this paper, the authors analyse the demands of field survey and introduce the basic ideas of system design and the major functions of the system. This paper also focuses on the implementation of key technologies which are expressed by unified modelling language (UML) figures and tables, such as data preparation, field positioning, coordinate registration, field measurement and recording. It has been shown that the GPS-based field survey system can greatly enhance the quality and efficiency of field survey, help solve many technical problems and make field survey more straightforward. Widespread adoption of GPS-PDA technology is important to improving land and resource management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intense financial pressure and threats of dissolution through amalgamation in local government structural reform programs have forced regional and rural councils across Australia to consider new organizational arrangements for service delivery. As a consequence, an ingenious array of institutional models has been developed and implemented over the recent past. However, the very spontaneity that has engendered this remarkable process has meant that it has occurred across non-metropolitan Australia often with councils or groups of councils arriving at similar solutions to common problems in ignorance of the efforts of other local authorities. This paper seeks to place selected new models of municipal service delivery in New South Wales in the analytical context of the taxonomy of alternative generic models and then assess their main characteristics as well as their ability to meet the needs of rural constituents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]