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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  
.  
=====RRojas Research Unit/1996======================================
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  Table of contents     10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
                        19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 
                        28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 
                        37 38 39 40

   Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (1992)

   Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

   UNDP: Growth as a means for development (1996)