Multifunctional Rural Land Management

Multifunctional Rural Land Management
Economics and Policies
Edited By Floor Brouwer and C. Martijn van der Heide

'This very timely and eclectic collection of chapters extends the concept of multifunctionality in important new ways. The volume will be of great value to researchers and policymakers everywhere who are concerned about the future of food production and natural resources, as well as rural areas generally.'
Stephan J. Goetz, Pennsylvania State University, USA

$127.00
Hardback

March 2009 • 384 pages • 234 x 156mm • ISBN 9781844075775

The increasing demand for rural land and its natural resources is creating competition and conflicts. Many interested parties, including farmers, nature conservationists, rural residents and tourists, compete for the same space. Especially in densely populated areas, agriculture, recreation, urban and suburban growth and infrastructure development exert a constant pressure on rural areas. Because land is a finite resource, spatial policies which are formulated and implemented to increase the area allocated to one use imply a decrease in land available for other uses. As a result, at many locations, multi-purpose land use is becoming increasingly important. This notion of multi-purpose land use is reflected in the term 'multifunctionality'.

This volume provides insights into viable strategies of sustainable management practices allowing multiple functions sustained by agriculture and natural resources in rural areas. It shows how the rural economy and policies can balance and cope with these competing demands and includes numerous case studies from Europe, North America and developing countries.

'As a rock hard economist I do not share all the perspectives presented in this timely book, but the analyses are insightful and well put together. A must for everyone who wants to know more about multifunctionality.'
Eirik Romstad, Senior Research Fellow, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, and Past President of the European Association of Agricultural Economists

'This is a timely analysis the highlights a key problem in rural land management, that of clashes between human demands and productive capacity as multiple agents seek to exploit the multiple functions of rural areas. Set against a background of continuing local spatial dominance of agriculture and its declining economic importance while global food security is being undermined by fundamental shifts in land use, these chapters provide a coherent multidisciplinary perspective on the economic and political dimensions of multifunctional land management that sets the scene for analyses of emerging problems in this area such as the impact of climate change.'
Noel Russel, University of Manchester, UK

CONTENTS (Expand Contents)

Preface

1. Natural Resource Management; Globalization and Regional Integration

Part I Setting the Stage; Challenges and Reviews

2. The Biodiversity Policy Context of Multifunctional Rural Land Management
3. The Further Development of Agri-environment Schemes; Extending and Defending Conservation Values
4. Economic Issues Surrounding Nature Conservation in Rural Areas

Part II Appreciate the Prerequisite; Perspectives on Land

5. A Sustainable Management of Nature Reserves
6. Farmland Conservation in the Netherlands and British Columbia, Canada
7. Economic Development and Biodiversity: The Environmental Kuznets Curve in a Policy Assessment Tool

Part III Reorientations and Openings; Agri-environmental Programmes

8. Factors Influencing Private Transaction Costs Related to Agri-environmental Schemes in Europe
9. Compensation or Conservation Payments for Farmers? Exploring Opportunities for Agri-environmental Schemes in the Netherlands
10. The Provision of Public Goods from Agriculture: Observations from Agri-environmental Policies in the US

Part IV Creating a Common Currency; Landscape Values

11. Changing Rural Landscapes: Demand and Supply of Public Services in The Netherlands
12. How do Farms Economic and Technical Dynamics Contribute to Landscape Patterns?
13. When Rural Landscapes Change Functionality: Examples from Portugal and Denmark
14. Historical Perspectives on the Development of Multifunctional Landscapes: A Case Study from the UK Uplands

Part V Outlook; Emerging Perspectives of Resource Management in Rural Areas

15. Multifunctional Towns; Effects of New Retail Developments in Rural Areas
16. Rural Areas in Transition; A Developing World Perspective
17. Conclusions and Prospects

Index

ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)

Floor Brouwer is Head of the Research Unit on Management of Natural Resources at LEI, Wageningen University and Research Centre, The Hague, The Netherlands. Martijn van der Heide is Research Scholar at the Research Unit on Management of Natural Resources, LEI, Wageningen University and Research Centre, The Hague, The Netherlands.

RELATED TITLES

Natural Resource Management

Related Subject Areas
Natural Resource Management
Agriculture and Food
Economics