The management of soils is an important issue for policy makers in Ethiopia. However, most of the interventions designed to conserve the soil resources have fallen short of the expectations, performing impressively in the short run, but proving unsustainable on a long-term basis. There are no simple explanations for the failure of these interventions to reverse soil degradation, but it has been evident for some time that there is an uneasy connection between 'objective' assessments of the state of the land and the way this information is used in the policy-making processes.

Research was conducted in northern Namibia to document and investigate the value of local knowledge connected with soil and land management, in particular with respect to the cultivation of grain legumes. Participatory approaches were used to describe and map the indigenous land unit (ILU) classification system in four villages. Soil and crop analyses indicated good correspondence between conventional productivity assessments and farmers' more qualitative descriptions of the ILUs.

This study estimates the effects of an urban growth boundary (UGB) on land development decisions in Knox County, TN, using a heteroscedastic probit model. With combined effects of increased land development within the city boundary and decreased development within the UGB and the neighboring town of Farragut after the implementation of UGB, the UGB of Knox County has been successful in urban revitalization within the city boundary and discouraging urban sprawl.

Nine midwestern states have laws that restrict the involvement of publicly held corporations in agriculture. Opponents argue that the laws' direct efforts to regulate ownership structure may have an adverse indirect impact on size structure. Restricting corporate involvement might stifle the emergence and growth of efficient, large-scale establishments if corporations have advantages over other organizational forms in meeting capital requirements. Since 1982, Nebraska has had an anti-corporate farming law that prohibits corporate ownership of feedlots.

In response to the needs of local fire managers, we developed a map of wildfire hazard for La Plata County in southwestern Colorado, USA. Our measure of fire hazard had two components: (i) the probability, should fire occur under dry weather conditions, that fire behavior will be extreme, and (ii) the human values that may be lost or damaged if extreme fire behavior occurs. Using a classification approach in a GIS environment, we developed quantitative indices of potential heat release, flame length, and rate of spread for each vegetation type in the County.

Bij de oprichting van het Lunters Landfonds zijn ter verkenning een aantal landelijke en regionale initiatieven met hun doelen, financiering en onderscheidende kenmerken geïnventariseerd. Het betreft o.a. ‘Boeren voor Natuur' in de polder van Biesland en op landgoed Twickel. In de BD landbouw zijn een aantal bedrijven met een eigen beheerstichting, zoals stichting Loverendale.

Een verkennend onderzoek onder landeigenaren naar hun houding en gedrag ter attentie van Nationale Landschappen (NL). Hiervoor zijn 36 interviews gehouden met landeigenaren (agrariërs, terreinbeheerders, recreatieondernemers, landeigenaren en buitenlui) in acht NL (Achterhoek, Graafschap, Groene Woud, Hoeksche Waard, Noord- Hollands Midden, Noordelijke Wouden, IJsseldelta, Zuidwest-Zeeland). Agrariërs zien de NL-status als een kans om in aanmerking te blijven komen voor vergoedingen voor natuur- en landschapsbeheer.

The paper outlines issues arising in a planning process with a poor tribal group who have no legal title to the land where their homes have been for decades. Families live with the constant fear of eviction, an ever-increasing occurrence in Thane District where land prices are rising rapidly due to proximity to Mumbai. The character of the project was identified and a planning approach and management tool was selected. Six months later, a second assessment was done and project modalities adjusted.

This Working Paper reviews the literature on the equity implications of different arrangements of natural resource management. The focus is on gender, ethnic and economic differences in access to natural resources in Asia, where two-thirds of the world’s poor live. First, the importance of common pool resources for the poor, women and minority groups is set out along with the implications of reduced or lost access to these resources.