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Abstract Despite the vast literature on planning discourse at the regional level or heritage studies at the site level, lesser known are the trends and rationales of the redevelopment-versus-conservation tension generalised from development sites. In Macao, following its World Heritage inscription, mandatory public consultation and the increased authority of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (Instituto Cultural, IC) over development controls and urban design requirements have introduced a new dynamic to the constant conflict between redevelopment and conservation. This study focused on public consultation exercises for site-level urban condition plan (UCP) applications from 2014 to 2018. A mixed-methods approach was adopted to examine two interrelated aspects of public feedback: intensity (examined from a spatial perspective) and diversity (examined from a discursive perspective). The quantitative results of global and geographically weighted logistic regression analyses (n = 562) showed variegated spatial patterns of the likelihood of high public feedback, and the presence of IC recommendations had a positive effect on these patterns. Moreover, despite a downward trend of intensity over the years, the qualitative results of the content analysis (n = 55) showed that argumentative diversity remained strong with debates regarding various redevelopment/conservation methods and appeals on not only instrumental-technical but also moral-ethical and emotive-aesthetic grounds. Drawing attention to the procedural inclusiveness of UCP consultation and the de facto softening of conservation area boundaries, our empirical study engages with urban policy discourse by accentuating the theoretical and practical affinity of collaborative planning for historic urban landscapes.

Global attention has focused on how to utilize wood resources with less impact on ecological services generated by forests, and governments are restructuring the subsidy system to achieve effective resource governance. We examined (1) the changes in wood utilization against growing wood stock among highincome countries; (2) regional differences in the Norwegian wood stock and its utilization and (3) the allocation system of public subsidies for forestry under the request of balance between wood production and conservation of forests in Norway. The utilization rate of wood differed significantly between the eastern and central-western regions of the country (P < 0.01), but there was no significant difference in the growing wood stock per ha (127.7 ± 10.9 m3 ha-1 in the eastern region and 119.2 ± 21.1 m3 ha-1 in the central-western region). The difference in utilization status was significantly correlated with the share of harvestable forest areas located in steeper slopes (r = -0.935, P < 0.001) and the forest road density (r = 0.735, P < 0.01). The government strategically implemented both financial support and regulations in each region on the basis of regional differences in wood resource conditions. As is the most of the western countries, Norway faced the competition between conservation and production of forests, and terminated public subsidy for forest in 2003. However, because a change in utilization of Norwegian wood stock (-2.2% yr-1) was one of the lowest values among the high-income group between 1990 and 2005, the subsidy was recovered and targeted to galvanize wood production with guidelines of mitigating environmental degradation. The proper allocation of both incentives and disincentives for forest management is pivotal to achieve the sustainable utilization of wood resources in developed countries, which might alleviate the transfer of environmental burden to developing nations through trade.

In China, land tenure security refers to the stability of land management rights in the context of the Three Rights Separation Policy, according to which rural land ownership rights, land contract rights, and land management rights can be separated and land management rights can be freely transferred. We apply endogenous switching probit models to a dataset of 443 family farms in Shandong and Henan Provinces to investigate the influence of social capital and land tenure security on family farms’ adoption of green control techniques (GCTs). We develop simplified equations to verify whether social capital strengthens the positive effect of land tenure security on family farms’ GCT adoption. Specifically, we focus on the different effects of embedded and disembedded social capital. Our findings show that both social capital and land tenure security have significant positive effects on family farms’ adoption of GCTs. Furthermore, social capital strengthens the positive effect of land tenure security on GCT adoption, but the effects of embedded and disembedded social capital are different. Government policies should strengthen the stability of land management rights and cultivate the social capital of family farms, especially disembedded social capital.

Abstract This study examined the trends, driving factors, and implications of land use/land cover (LULC) dynamics over the past 35 years (1982–2017) in three watersheds of the drought-prone areas that represent different agro-ecologies of Upper Blue Nile basin, Ethiopia: Guder (highland), Aba Gerima (midland), and Debatie (lowland). The changes in LULC were analyzed by integrating field observations, remote-sensing data (aerial photographs [1: 50,000 scale] and very high resolution [0.5–3.2 m] satellite images), and geographic information systems. The drivers of LULC were explored using key informant interviews and relevant literature reviews. The implications of LULC change on soil erosion and surface runoff responses were also evaluated. A minimum of four and maximum of six LULC classes were identified in each watershed over the study period. The study revealed that forest land was the dominant LULC class accounting for 40.9% and 32.0% in Guder and Aba Gerima, respectively in 1982. While in the same period, bush land (36.6%) was the dominant LULC class in Debatie watershed. From 1982 to 2016/2017, forest land, bush land, and grazing land respectively decreased by about 70%, 50%, and 27% in Guder; 65%, 49%, and 63% in Aba Gerima; and 63%, 59%, and 38% in Debatie. During the same period, cultivated land increased by approximately 40%, 129%, and 704% in Guder, Aba Gerima and Debatie, respectively. In contrast, between 2012 and 2017, plantation cover increased by about 400% in the Guder, mainly at the expense of cultivated land, which decreased by 40% for the same period. Population growth and associated changes in the farming practices were the major driving forces for the observed LULC changes in the study watersheds. The traditionally deleterious impacts of human activities on the environment have been recently reversed at an unprecedented rate, particularly at Guder and to a lesser extent at Aba Gerima, following the shift from the traditional annual cropping to more economically attractive tree-based farming practices such as Acacia decurrens plantation in Guder and khat (Catha edulis) cultivation in Aba Gerima. The continued expansion of cultivated land combined with population growth positively linked to the increase of gully erosion and surface runoff potential in the study watersheds particularly, in Aba Gerima and Debatie watersheds. The Upper Blue Nile basin is currently experiencing both positive and negative socio-economic and environmental consequences of LULC dynamics. Hence, the present study can help form a basis for the appropriate development of land management policies and strategies in this and other basins experiencing similar problems.

Abstract Since 1950, the Amazonian and Brazilian transportation complex has prioritized the model of road transport. This model does not adequately consider the singularities of each site, especially the potential for waterway transport in the Amazon. This fact probably contributed to the unsustainable local development, even though it implemented various large projects of integration, hydroelectric, mineral and agroindustry. Past studies point out that the regular roadway system that is integrated into a clandestine roadway complex is strongly related to Amazon forest deforestation. Thus, the objectives of this work are 1) investigate the influence of clandestine and regular roadway network on the deforestation of the Amazon forest and 2) to develop an approach to deforestation forecast, utilizing a time series of 30 years (1988–2018). We used machine learning in the modeling of the quantitative variables related to the transportation infrastructure, social variables and economic variables, e.g., the deforested area. The geographical study area is the state of Para, located in the Oriental Amazon, the second largest state of Brazil in territorial extension and the most deforested. The random forest model presented the best performance with a mean absolute error (MAE) of 2534.06 and a standard deviation (STD) of 2347.67 km2, pointing to a strong relationship and showing a very strong tendency. We used sensitivity analysis to evaluate the effects of regular roadway network and clandestine roadway network on deforestation. With the generated function (using the least squares method), the deforested area was estimated for the years 2020, 2030, 2040 and 2050. The results show that given the same scenario, deforestation tends to continue intensively in the next three decades. The total loss is more than 72,417.93 km2 (25.77% increase compared to the current deforested area). The results show an increasing curve, although with decreasing rates of forest loss in ten years, on average from 7.80% to 0.80% per year.

To achieve sustainable use of cultivated land in China, it is important to consolidate the achievements of the large-scale program to leave cultivated land fallow. However, conflicts of interest among the participants make it difficult to achieve the expected goal. In this study, we first analyze the differences in the interests of the three main participants in the process of protecting cultivated land, that is, the central government, local government, and peasants. Then, we construct two evolutionary game models to examine the dynamic changes of their strategies and we compare the impacts of external factors on their strategies under different conditions using simulation analysis. The results show that, to stimulate peasants to protect cultivated land, the government should apply a relatively advanced dynamic subsidy strategy, which is able to make peasants more enthusiastic about protecting cultivated land using less time and money. The central government should provide better promotion opportunities for well-behaved local government officials, and appropriately punish uncooperative peasants and officials.

Abstract This paper examines conflicts in northern Uganda over land rights and land demarcation between neighbours who returned from absence due to displacement caused by armed conflicts. It uses detailed parcel-, household-, and community-level data collected in 2015 from villages in northern Uganda. The results are noteworthy: households that were displaced to locations far from their homes are more likely to have new land conflicts and more likely to be concerned about land conflicts. Household number of years spent without doing farming in the home village and weakening informal land governance institutions appear to be the main mechanisms of the above results. Furthermore, land conflicts are found to have a negative effect on agricultural productivity because they reduce farmers’ incentive to invest in their plots due to insecure land rights.

In this study, we explore the possibility of “collective auction” of conservation contracts, and related issues, through a social experiment. We then propose an alternative policy to achieve both collective action in irrigation management and cost-effective water environment conservation. In a “collective auction”, individual farmers as well as farmers’ groups are allowed to participate. Communication and coordination among farmers and farmers’ groups are allowed. Based on our participant survey and comparison with environmental payments for similar, previous conservation activities, the auction result shows that contract prices could be, at the very least, cost-effective. Moreover, collective irrigation management is not negatively affected owing to the auction. We find evidence of group participation and price coordination, which result in saving auction transaction costs, among local communities active in collective action in local resource management. Conversely, we find that bidding occurred at the individual farmer level as well. This difference in approach depends on the extent of the auction coordinators’ commitment to the auction, reflected by their risk evaluation of unsuccessful bids. In either case, the auction coordinators could manage to minimize the likely unfairness arising from the auction. Although establishing a competitive environment to prevent possible collusion in such auctions is challenging, this study provides empirical evidence that collective action in pre-existing local resource management can reduce auction transaction costs. Utilizing local communities’ abilities to organize collective action can reduce these costs and minimize the possible unfairness arising from the auction, thus facilitating compatibility between cost-effective conservation owing to the auction and local resource conservation by collective action. Finally, we suggest that (1) the transaction cost of such an auction could be reduced by allotting adequate time for collective decision making, and (2) conservation programs should be designed to minimize their impact on production bases.

Abstract In 2013, the Constitutional Court of Indonesia ruled that customary forest areas (hutan adat) should not be included in state forest areas. This decision permitted customary communities to claim land rights in Indonesian state forests for the first time. This change required formal legal institutions to recognize forests managed by adat rules (customary, informal institutions) by granting property rights. This study considered two villages in Kerinci District to clarify how customary forests were recognized by district and central governments with support from non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The researchers surveyed documents referencing customary forests and interviewed local residents, NGOs, and other government sectors. The World Wildlife Fund and a local NGO helped to protect both the environment and villagers’ rights by developing a formal recognition system of customary forests as district-level institutions, as well as by reinforcing village-level institutions. NGOs’ critical support of local communities’ field activities strengthened the maintenance of customary forests recognized by the district government. The recognition of customary forests in Kerinci (to which NGOs contributed significantly) has become an antecedent to the national-level customary forest scheme.