A-21: LAND RESOURCES
Distr.
GENERAL
A/CONF.151/26 (Vol. II)
13 August 1992
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
REPORT OF THE UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON
ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT
(Rio de Janeiro, 3-14 June 1992)
Chapter 10
INTEGRATED APPROACH TO THE PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT OF
LAND RESOURCES
INTRODUCTION
10.1. Land is normally defined as a physical entity in terms of its
topography and spatial nature; a broader integrative view also includes
natural resources: the soils, minerals, water and biota that the land
comprises. These components are organized in ecosystems which provide a
variety of services essential to the maintenance of the integrity of
life-support systems and the productive capacity of the environment. Land
resources are used in ways that take advantage of all these
characteristics. Land is a finite resource, while the natural resources
it supports can vary over time and according to management conditions and
uses. Expanding human requirements and economic activities are placing
ever increasing pressures on land resources, creating competition and
conflicts and resulting in suboptimal use of both land and land resources.
If, in the future, human requirements are to be met in a sustainable
manner, it is now essential to resolve these conflicts and move towards
more effective and efficient use of land and its natural resources.
Integrated physical and land-use planning and management is an eminently
practical way to achieve this. By examining all uses of land in an
integrated manner, it makes it possible to minimize conflicts, to make
the most efficient trade-offs and to link social and economic development
with environmental protection and enhancement, thus helping to achieve the
objectives of sustainable development. The essence of the integrated
approach finds expression in the coordination of the sectoral planning and
management activities concerned with the various aspects of land use and
land resources.
10.2. The present chapter consists of one programme area, the integrated
approach to the planning and management of land resources, which deals with
the reorganization and, where necessary, some strengthening of the
decision-making structure, including existing policies, planning and
management procedures and methods that can assist in putting in place an
integrated approach to land resources. It does not deal with the
operational aspects of planning and management, which are more
appropriately dealt with under the relevant sectoral programmes. Since the
programme deals with an important cross-sectoral aspect of decision-making
for sustainable development, it is closely related to a number of other
programmes that deal with that issue directly.
PROGRAMME AREA
Integrated approach to the planning and management of
land resources
Basis for action
10.3. Land resources are used for a variety of purposes which interact and
may compete with one another; therefore, it is desirable to plan and manage
all uses in an integrated manner. Integration should take place at two
levels, considering, on the one hand, all environmental, social and
economic factors (including, for example, impacts of the various economic
and social sectors on the environment and natural resources) and, on the
other, all environmental and resource components together (i.e., air,
water, biota, land, geological and natural resources). Integrated
consideration facilitates appropriate choices and trade-offs, thus
maximizing sustainable productivity and use. Opportunities to allocate
land to different uses arise in the course of major settlement or
development projects or in a sequential fashion as lands become available
on the market. This in turn provides opportunities to support traditional
patterns of sustainable land management or to assign protected status for
conservation of biological diversity or critical ecological services.
10.4. A number of techniques, frameworks and processes can be combined to
facilitate an integrated approach. They are the indispensable support for
the planning and management process, at the national and local level,
ecosystem or area levels and for the development of specific plans of
action. Many of its elements are already in place but need to be more
widely applied, further developed and strengthened. This programme area is
concerned primarily with providing a framework that will coordinate
decision-making; the content and operational functions are therefore not
included here but are dealt with in the relevant sectoral programmes of
Agenda 21.
Objectives
10.5. The broad objective is to facilitate allocation of land to the uses
that provide the greatest sustainable benefits and to promote the
transition to a sustainable and integrated management of land resources.
In doing so, environmental, social and economic issues should be taken into
consideration. Protected areas, private property rights, the rights of
indigenous people and their communities and other local communities and the
economic role of women in agriculture and rural development, among other
issues, should be taken into account. In more specific terms, the
objectives are as follows:
(a) To review and develop policies to support the best possible use
of land and the sustainable management of land resources, by not later than
1996;
(b) To improve and strengthen planning, management and evaluation
systems for land and land resources, by not later than 2000;
(c) To strengthen institutions and coordinating mechanisms for land
and land resources, by not later than 1998;
(d) To create mechanisms to facilitate the active involvement and
participation of all concerned, particularly communities and people at the
local level, in decision-making on land use and management, by not later
than 1996.
Activities
(a) Management-related activities
Developing supportive policies and policy instruments
10.6. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of regional
and international organizations, should ensure that policies and policy
instruments support the best possible land use and sustainable management
of land resources. Particular attention should be given to the role of
agricultural land. To do this, they should:
(a) Develop integrated goal-setting and policy formulation at the
national, regional and local levels that takes into account environmental,
social, demographic and economic issues;
(b) Develop policies that encourage sustainable land use and
management of land resources and take the land resource base, demographic
issues and the interests of the local population into account;
(c) Review the regulatory framework, including laws, regulations and
enforcement procedures, in order to identify improvements needed to support
sustainable land use and management of land resources and restricts the
transfer of productive arable land to other uses;
(d) Apply economic instruments and develop institutional mechanisms
and incentives to encourage the best possible land use and sustainable
management of land resources;
(e) Encourage the principle of delegating policy-making to the
lowest level of public authority consistent with effective action and a
locally driven approach.
Strengthening planning and management systems
10.7. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of regional
and international organizations, should review and, if appropiate, revise
planning and management systems to facilitate an integrated approach. To
do this, they should:
(a) Adopt planning and management systems that facilitate the
integration of environmental components such as air, water, land and other
natural resources, using landscape ecological planning (LANDEP) or other
approaches that focus on, for example, an ecosystem or a watershed;
(b) Adopt strategic frameworks that allow the integration of both
developmental and environmental goals; examples of these frameworks include
sustainable livelihood systems, rural development, the World Conservation
Strategy/Caring for the Earth, primary environmental care (PEC) and others;
(c) Establish a general framework for land-use and physical planning
within which specialized and more detailed sectoral plans (e.g., for
protected areas, agriculture, forests, human settlements, rural
development) can be developed; establish intersectoral consultative bodies
to streamline project planning and implementation;
(d) Strengthen management systems for land and natural resources by
including appropriate traditional and indigenous methods; examples of these
practices include pastoralism, Hema reserves (traditional Islamic land
reserves) and terraced agriculture;
(e) Examine and, if necessary, establish innovative and flexible
approaches to programme funding;
(f) Compile detailed land capability inventories to guide
sustainable land resources allocation, management and use at the national
and local levels.
Promoting application of appropriate tools for planning and management
10.8. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of national
and international organizations, should promote the improvement, further
development and widespread application of planning and management tools
that facilitate an integrated and sustainable approach to land and
resources. To do this, they should:
(a) Adopt improved systems for the interpretation and integrated
analysis of data on land use and land resources;
(b) Systematically apply techniques and procedures for
assessing the environmental, social and economic impacts, risks, costs and
benefits of specific actions;
(c) Analyse and test methods to include land and ecosystem functions
and land resources values in national accounts.
Raising awareness
10.9. Governments at the appropriate level, in collaboration with national
institutions and interest groups and with the support of regional and
international organizations, should launch awareness-raising campaigns to
alert and educate people on the importance of integrated land and land
resources management and the role that individuals and social groups can
play in it. This should be accompanied by provision of the means to adopt
improved practices for land use and sustainable management.
Promoting public participation
10.10. Governments at the appropriate level, in collaboration with
national organizations and with the support of regional and international
organizations, should establish innovative procedures, programmes, projects
and services that facilitate and encourage the active participation of
those affected in the decision-making and implementation process,
especially of groups that have, hitherto, often been excluded, such as
women, youth, indigenous people and their communities and other local
communities.
(b) Data and information
Strengthening information systems
10.11. Governments at the appropriate level, in collaboration with
national institutions and the private sector and with the support of
regional and international organizations, should strengthen the information
systems necessary for making decisions and evaluating future changes on
land use and management. The needs of both men and women should be taken
into account. To do this, they should:
(a) Strengthen information, systematic observation and assessment
systems for environmental, economic and social data related to land
resources at the global, regional, national and local levels and for land
capability and land-use and management patterns;
(b) Strengthen coordination between existing sectoral data systems
on land and land resources and strengthen national capacity to gather and
assess data;
(c) Provide the appropriate technical information necessary for
informed decision-making on land use and management in an accessible form
to all sectors of the population, especially to local communities and
women;
(d) Support low-cost, community-managed systems for the collection
of comparable information on the status and processes of change of land
resources, including soils, forest cover, wildlife, climate and other
elements.
(c) International and regional coordination and cooperation
Establishing regional machinery
10.12. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of regional
and international organizations, should strengthen regional cooperation and
exchange of information on land resources. To do this, they should:
(a) Study and design regional policies to support programmes for
land-use and physical planning;
(b) Promote the development of land-use and physical plans in the
countries of the region;
(c) Design information systems and promote training;
(d) Exchange, through networks and other appropriate means,
information on experiences with the process and results of integrated and
participatory planning and management of land resources at the national and
local levels.
Means of implementation
(a) Financing and cost evaluation
10.13. The Conference secretariat has estimated the average total annual
cost (1993-2000) of implementing the activities of this programme to be
about $50 million from the international community on grant or concessional
terms. These are indicative and order-of-magnitude estimates only and have
not been reviewed by Governments. Actual costs and financial terms,
including any that are non-concessional, will depend upon, inter alia, the
specific strategies and programmes Governments decide upon for
implementation.
(b) Scientific and technological means
Enhancing scientific understanding of the land resources system
10.14. Governments at the appropriate level, in collaboration with the
national and international scientific community and with the support of
appropriate national and international organizations, should promote and
support research, tailored to local environments, on the land resources
system and the implications for sustainable development and management
practices. Priority should be given, as appropriate, to:
(a) Assessment of land potential capability and ecosystem functions;
(b) Ecosystemic interactions and interactions between land resources
and social, economic and environmental systems;
(c) Developing indicators of sustainability for land resources,
taking into account environmental, economic, social, demographic, cultural
and political factors.
Testing research findings through pilot projects
10.15. Governments at the appropriate level, in collaboration with the
national and international scientific community and with the support of the
relevant international organizations, should research and test, through
pilot projects, the applicability of improved approaches to the integrated
planning and management of land resources, including technical, social and
institutional factors.
(c) Human resource development
Enhancing education and training
10.16. Governments at the appropriate level, in collaboration with the
appropriate local authorities, non-governmental organizations and
international institutions, should promote the development of the human
resources that are required to plan and manage land and land resources
sustainably. This should be done by providing incentives for local
initiatives and by enhancing local management capacity, particularly of
women, through:
(a) Emphasizing interdisciplinary and integrative approaches in the
curricula of schools and technical, vocational and university training;
(b) Training all relevant sectors concerned to deal with land
resources in an integrated and sustainable manner;
(c) Training communities, relevant extension services,
community-based groups and non-governmental organizations on land
management techniques and approaches applied successfully elsewhere.
(d) Capacity-building
Strengthening technological capacity
10.17. Governments at the appropriate level, in cooperation with other
Governments and with the support of relevant international organizations,
should promote focused and concerted efforts for education and training and
the transfer of techniques and technologies that support the various
aspects of the sustainable planning and management process at the national,
state/provincial and local levels.
Strengthening institutions
10.18. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of
appropriate international organizations, should:
(a) Review and, where appropriate, revise the mandates of
institutions that deal with land and natural resources to include
explicitly the interdisciplinary integration of environmental, social and
economic issues;
(b) Strengthen coordinating mechanisms between institutions that
deal with land-use and resources management to facilitate integration of
sectoral concerns and strategies;
(c) Strengthen local decision-making capacity and improve
coordination with higher levels.
END OF CHAPTER 10
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=====RRojas Research Unit/1996======================================
