| United Nations |
|
E/CN.17/1997/2/Add.9 |
Economic and Social Council
Distr. GENERAL
21 January 1997
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Fifth session
7-25 April 1997
Overall progress achieved since the United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development
Report of the Secretary-General
Addendum
Integrated approach to the planning and management
of land resources*
(Chapter 10 of Agenda 21)
(* The report was prepared by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations as task manager for chapter 10 of Agenda 21, in accordance with
arrangements agreed to by the Inter-Agency Committee on Sustainable Development
(IACSD). It is the result of consultation and information exchange between
United Nations agencies, international and national science organizations,
interested government agencies and a range of other institutions and
individuals.)
CONTENTS
Paragraphs Page
I. KEY OBJECTIVES ....................................... 1 - 3 2
II. SUCCESSES ............................................ 4 - 17 2
III. PROMISING CHANGES .................................... 18 - 19 6
IV. UNFULFILLED EXPECTATIONS ............................. 20 - 22 6
V. EMERGING PRIORITIES .................................. 23 - 27 7
I. KEY OBJECTIVES
1. This report reviews progress made in the implementation of the objectives
set out in chapter 10 of Agenda 21 (Integrated approach to the planning and
management of land resources), 1/ taking into account the decisions taken by the
Commission on Sustainable Development on this subject at its third session, in
1995. The principle objective of chapter 10 of Agenda 21 is the promotion of an
integrated approach to the planning and management of land resources. This is
to be achieved by a mix of management-related activities, support of data and
information systems and international and regional coordination and cooperation.
As the chapter deals with an important cross-sectoral aspect of decision-making
for sustainable development, it is closely related to a number of other chapters
of Agenda 21, particularly those in sections II and IV thereof.
2. In more specific terms, the objectives of chapter 10, which were given
time-frames for implementation, 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,
(the terms "land" and "land resources" are here understood to be used in a
general and comprehensive sense, and to include for example, water, flora, fauna
and other natural resources related to land);
(b) To improve and strengthen land planning, management, and evaluation
systems, by not later than the year 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 stakeholders, by not later than 1996.
3. The first of the above objectives is the most important of the four, since
it will perform the key integrative function which ensures that all inputs and
activities are combined. The absence of an integrated approach to land
resources management, both for production and for conservation, is the single
most important failure today, in both developed and developing countries. The
immediate cause of this almost always appears to be institutional, as the
development and evolution of human institutions - for information-gathering and
assimilation, for negotiation and decision-making, for provision of services and
implementation - has seriously lagged behind the growth of populations,
technology, and social and economic needs.
II. SUCCESSES
A. Development of policies and methodology
4. Many countries have developed, or are in the process of developing national
environment policies. However it is necessary that these should not remain as
policies only, but should be translated into practical programmes of
implementation. Assistance in this area has been provided by the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) under a joint project to develop a holistic
structural framework which combines stakeholders, information and institutions
with incentives to produce and to conserve. The starting point is the knowledge
that production will increase in proportion to the extent to which constraints
are removed and incentives are offered, and that users will conserve resources
where it is made in their interests to do so. Secondly, resource use will be
most efficient when it is managed through stakeholder negotiation, and when all
stakeholders are provided with adequate information as a basis for negotiation
and decision-making. For this to take place, appropriate institutional
frameworks and information systems need to be established. In this regard,
special attention needs to be paid to stakeholder groups which are at present
disadvantaged in terms of ability to negotiate on equal terms.
5. It is recognized that decisions and negotiations on the use of essentially
the same basic resources take place at many social and institutional levels,
from farm level to global level, and that the negotiating and decision-making
structures must be integrated both horizontally and vertically in terms of
allocation, needs and objectives. The term "land-use planning", which in the
past has referred mainly to spatial planning of physical resources, and to
planning alone, often in a top-down setting, is in many ways no longer
appropriate or adequate to describe an all-encompassing and holistic framework
which combines all aspects of the process of land (and associated resources)
management for maximum sustainable production and for the satisfaction of all
other human needs, such as shelter and the preservation of biodiversity.
6. Under the joint FAO/UNEP programme, two expert consultations were held
during 1995. The above principles were fully developed, and embodied in
practical proposals. Three publications describing the approach are under
preparation. The new approach is already being discussed, and is beginning to
be adopted by a number of countries. It will be further developed and
publicized at several future workshops and conferences. While it will probably
be a number of years before the principles become universally known, and are
adapted and widely applied, there are good grounds for optimism in this regard.
B. Planning, management and evaluation systems
7. Decisions about land use involve optimizing the match between land
resources and land use. Until now there has been no practical and
internationally agreed system to precisely define land cover, land use, or
production systems. This has been a serious constraint to the development of a
global set of detailed statistics, which in turn has made the monitoring of
changes in land use and land cover difficult. Lack of a conceptual framework to
describe and define land use and cover has also been one of the most serious
constraints in relation to the identification of viable alternatives, or
improvement of present land use and production systems. Three years ago FAO and
UNEP, in collaboration with national institutions, launched an initiative to
develop a logical and practical system, for both definition and classification.
The result of this work is scheduled to be published late in 1996. Software
packages for defining and storing both land-cover and land-use information,
developed under the same initiative, were already available prior to this.
8. Despite these difficulties in definition and concept, however, a number of
land resources information systems, particularly with respect to forest
resources, have been developed. Geographical information systems, interfaced
with databases containing information on land resources as well as social and
economic information, are also being increasingly established in both developed
and developing countries, sometimes even at the village level. Progress over
the next few years in this area is likely to be rapid, although more so in those
economies having greater access to financial and technological resources. Two
aspects are at present driving the process: the rapid digitization of thematic
maps at all scales and the linking of subject-matter to specific institutional
databases. At the same time, availability to the public is sometimes limited by
government regulations and by commercial enterprises wishing to sell
information.
9. In relation to information, three key aspects need to be clearly
understood. The first is that information to enable stakeholders of all classes
to make rational decisions comprises more than just soil, climate and other
physical data. It must also include information on potential markets, varieties
of alternative crops, production systems, laws and regulations, availability and
prices of inputs, and a number of other factors. Secondly, the information must
be regularly available to all stakeholders, including those at the grass-roots
level. This requires innovative thinking about development of appropriate
information dissemination systems. Thirdly, availability of information must be
combined with appropriate education and training on how to use and analyse it,
and on how to negotiate on a more equal basis with other classes of
stakeholders, such as commercial interests.
10. Governments need to be aware that they cannot by themselves shoulder the
entire task of providing the whole range of necessary information at all levels.
A very significant part has to be played by private sector organizations, such
as commercial radio and television, newspapers, and stakeholder associations.
The present rapid spread of information networks and Internet linkages
throughout the world presents an opportunity to actively and purposefully
disseminate the information and data necessary for logical decision-making and
negotiation to all classes of stakeholders, including those who, up to now, have
not been recipients.
11. The need for training and education in this general area needs to be
emphasized. This includes training in the use and interpretation of
information, as well as in the operation of information systems. An increasing
number of computer software packages are becoming available for monitoring,
mapping, and analysing land resources and land-use data at all levels. There is
also an increasing availability of remotely sensed data to serve as inputs and
raw material for thematic mapping, land-use mapping, and environmental
monitoring.
C. Institutions and coordinating mechanisms
12. The conception and implementation of land resources planning and management
are complex undertakings requiring the participation of several ministries at
the national level as well as of regional and local authorities and the private
sector. Many of the existing institutional arrangements do not provide
conditions which facilitate joint public-private activity or improve citizen
participation and transparency in land management.
13. Much more progress is required in this general area, particularly with
regard to the structure of government institutions. A first step would be the
establishment of further horizontal linkages, which would promote the exchange
of information and help to ensure a more integrated approach.
D. People's participation
14. The need for the involvement of all those concerned with land use and
management, particularly communities and people at the local level, is becoming
more widely accepted day by day. A useful body of experience is being built up
by Governments, non-governmental organizations, and development agencies in
developing countries, and this is now beginning to be collected and analysed
from the point of view of the types of structures that are the most successful
in representing stakeholder interests in the long term, and how these can best
be established. In some developing countries, limits on government resources
have led to a devolution of responsibility from the central level, giving
greater control to communities over the management of their local resources.
Overall, the past few years have seen the establishment of a large number and
wide range of local-level organizations active in the area of land (and
associated resources) management.
15. An increasing number of practical programmes designed to involve local
populations in resource management or to actually make them responsible for the
process (as opposed to simply providing the opportunity for "consultation" in
relation to programmes designed and implemented by Governments) are now being
implemented. Some of the more successful original approaches, largely, though
not entirely, occurring in developing countries, are now being fine-tuned and
improved, and applied in a wider range of circumstances. Since the United
Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), national-level
programmes designed to encourage greater local participation in land-use
planning and resource management, particularly with respect to forests, have
been initiated, consolidated, or significantly expanded. Among them are the
Model Forests Programme in Canada, Joint Forest Management in India, the
Community Forestry Programme in Nepal and the Land Care Programme in Australia.
16. The World Bank's experience in Africa suggests that land resources should
be managed at the lowest possible level, using demand-based approaches and
involving stakeholders, particularly women, in decision-making. The Bank also
makes the point that land should be treated as both a social and an economic
resource. Many other organizations have come to the same conclusions, both on
the African continent and in other parts of the world.
17. In a number of countries a greater effort has been made in recent years to
provide the means for people to express their views on plans related to the use
of public land or for regulating the use of private land. In addition, the past
five years have produced a rapid increase in the number and strength of
non-governmental organizations worldwide, many of which provide a means for
reflecting local interests at the national and even international levels.
III. PROMISING CHANGES
18. In including chapter 10 in Agenda 21, UNCED participants accepted the
importance of promoting an integrated approach to all aspects of land resources
management; since 1992, at the national level, the need to take action to
implement this commitment has been increasingly recognized. Over the past few
months alone, over 30 Governments have requested assistance in this area from
FAO. National authorities are also becoming more open to discussing and
considering more fundamental and radical options to land management, which may
involve changing existing institutional structures which can often be a major
constraint to effective action. The growing dialogue with interested
Governments provides an ideal opportunity to further develop and test the
proposed integrated approach to all aspects of land resources management put
forward by FAO and UNEP, referred to above, and to draw donors, development
agencies, and recipient countries into a partnership dialogue.
19. A number of countries have made practical and significant progress in the
decentralization of power and the devolution of decision-making to levels that
facilitate the involvement of the local population. This is resulting in
greater accountability of government institutions at this level, and the
beginnings of a demand-driven approach to the provision of services. There are
also indications of a growing partnership between Governments and non-government
organizations in development and land resources management, and a growing mutual
understanding of the respective strengths and weaknesses of each side.
IV. UNFULFILLED EXPECTATIONS
20. There is already considerable awareness of the importance of an integrated
approach to the planning and management of land resources, and the rapidly
growing interest in the proposals being developed jointly by FAO and UNEP on the
basis of existing knowledge and past experience has been encouraging. It is to
be expected, however, that a different approach to land resources planning will
take some years to be disseminated and implemented worldwide, particularly since
it may involve significant institutional change. The world community should
therefore take a realistic attitude in terms of the necessary time-scale for the
programme. Progress towards widespread adoption of the approach will, moreover,
be affected by a lack of sufficient resources. The harsh economic climate in
the period since UNCED has meant that available professional and monetary
resources have actually decreased drastically over the period, rather than
increasing to reflect the extra efforts implicit in the follow-up to the
Conference. It has also affected the ability of the United Nations
organizations concerned to develop the institutional linkages necessary for a
more rational combined approach to this work.
21. As noted above, while there has been a rapid development of land-related
information systems in those economies having access to adequate financial and
technological resources, information systems in many developing countries have
been severely limited by the non-availability of basic natural resource data and
information, by undeveloped market infrastructure, and by a lack of
institutional capability. Furthermore, during recent years there has been a
swing away from basic resource mapping, both on the part of the countries
themselves and on the part of donors. There is now a need for such information
for decision-making, by land users as well as by Governments, but it is in many
cases not available. This, and the provision of equipment and training for
information collection, including mapping, and system development, is an area in
which donors could make very positive contributions.
22. In addition, for all countries, more complete information and the
definition of several important concepts are required to accurately monitor the
health of natural systems, or to design and apply land-use and management
systems which are sustainable and appropriate under the different sets of
physical, social and economic conditions which exist in the world. Two areas in
which no international agreement has yet been reached are:
(a) Ecozones of the world, and their components, as a basis for monitoring
environmental change and development of broad management guidelines and
policies;
(b) Environmental condition indicators, which are not the same as
sustainability indicators, but refer to the current status (or "health") of an
environmental unit in the sense of its degradation or productivity status.
V. EMERGING PRIORITIES
23. Increased population levels and unsustainable resource use have produced
social and environmental problems which are among the most serious that society
now faces. While global population growth rates seem to have stabilized in
recent years, these pressures are still increasing, particularly in many parts
of Africa and Asia, regions where food production requirements will likely be
greatest over the coming half century. They argue for the need to devise and
apply more efficient systems of resource management as the greatest emerging
priority facing the world.
24. With the initial conceptualization phase of the FAO/UNEP joint initiative
well on the way to completion, there is now a growing need for funding to
support dissemination and discussion of the proposed integrated approach through
conferences and workshops, and to support a rapidly expanding field programme of
implementation. While it is recognized that donors have their own financial
constraints, it is hoped that they will recognize the potential of an integrated
over a dispersed approach, and will enter into a dialogue concerning the
methodology which is being developed, in order to be apprised of its potential.
25. Chapter 10 has special relevance to all 14 chapters of section II of
Agenda 21, and more than half of all the chapters of Agenda 21 mention or stress
the need for land-use planning in one form or another. Other chapters, for
example 28, 38, 39 and 40, have special relevance for chapter 10. In the case
of chapter 40 there are large areas of overlap and a particular need for an
integrated approach, which is at present lacking.
26. Continuing rapid urbanization in developing countries is resulting in
substantial land-use changes in the urban, peri-urban and even rural areas. The
inability of planning functions and provision of services to keep ahead of urban
population growth is manifested in the development of squatter settlements and
slums; problems of pollution, water supply and waste disposal; and a host of
social and economic problems. There is a growing need to integrate urban needs
with those of the surrounding rural, or once rural areas; to assess changes in
the peri-urban areas in response to rapid urbanization; to prepare strategies to
meet the concentrated demands for food, energy and various material goods; to
ensure that urban development proceeds in an environmentally sound manner; and
to involve all stakeholders in urban development projects.
27. The need to prepare and continuously update plans to address the effects of
natural disasters is also emerging as a priority. Such occurrences often result
from the impact of local concentrations of human populations where activities
such as deforestation trigger land slides or flooding. Alternative causes may
relate to the more long-term effects on global systems and the environment.
Notes
1/ Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development,
vol.I, Resolutions Adopted by the Conference (United Nations publication,
Sales No. E.93.I.8 and corrigendum), resolution 1, annex II.
-----
This document has been posted online by the United Nations
Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). Reproduction and dissemination of the
document - in electronic and/or printed format - is encouraged, provided acknowledgement
is made of the role of the United Nations in making it available.
Date last posted: 10 December 1999 17:25:35
Comments and suggestions: DESA/DSD
|