Friday 19 October 2018

Land Use Planning

 Land Use Planning questions


  1. Answer :
    Land use planning in the context of development cooperation is an iterative process based on the dialogue amongst all stakeholders aiming to define sustainable land uses in rural areas.
  2. Answer :
    “Land use planning creates the preconditions required to achieve a type of land use that is environmentally sustainable, socially just and desirable and economically sound. It thereby activates social processes of decision making and consensus building concerning the utilization and protection of private, communal or public areas” 
  3. Answer :
    Based on the definition and the objective presented above, land use planning should be based on the following principles:
    1. Land use planning aims at sustainability balancing social, economic and environmental needs; 
    2. Land use planning results in a legally binding land use plan
    3. Land use planning is integrated into state institutions having the official mandate for inter-sector planning.
    4. Land use planning is a dialogue.
    5. Land use planning is an all inclusive process.
    6. Land use planning is based on stakeholder differentiation and gender sensitivity.
    7. Land use planning promotes civic engagement.
    8. Land use planning is realistic and oriented to local conditions.
    9. Land use planning is based on a “light” methodology
    10. Land use planning in terms of methodology and content differs
    11. Land use planning considers and valorises local knowledge.
    12. Land use planning takes into account traditional strategies for solving problems and conflicts.
    13. Land use planning follows the idea of subsidiarity.
    14. Land use planning integrates bottom-up aspects with top-down aspects (“vertical integration”).
    15. Land use planning is based on inter-disciplinary cooperation and requires sector coordination (“horizontal integration”).
    16. Land use planning is a process leading to an improvement in the capacity of stakeholders.
    17. Land use planning requires transparency.
    18. Land use planning is future-oriented (“visionary”).
    19. Land use planning is an iterative process.
    20. Land use planning is implementation oriented.
    21. Land use planning is linked to financial planning.
    22. Land use planning relates to spaces and places (“spatial orientation”).
  4. Answer :
    The Types of Land Use Planning:
    1. Integrated Participatory Land Use Planning
    2. Integrating Spatial Planning into Existing Development Planning
    3. Local Agreements
  5. Answer :
    Land use planning results in a legally binding land use plan and/or legally binding land use rules. Formal recognition of the land use plan or land use rules is crucial for its implementation. Otherwise, key players such as sector ministries or private investors do not respect them;
    1. Answer :
      This can be realized in different ways. The planning can be initiated and facilitated by a local administrative body. The planning can also be done by local or traditional chiefs and later formalized through the signing by a regional or national officer. In the later case, these higher level officers need, however, be involved from an early stage on;
    2. Answer :
      A central part of any land use planning is the initialization of a communication process that allows all stakeholders to express their interests and enables them to agree on future land uses that respect all positions in a fair and adequate way;
    3. Answer :
      Land use planning is an all inclusive process. This requires that all stakeholder groups are represented: local direct and indirect users, public authorities, private investors, NGOs and CBOs. Depending on the level on which land use planning is done, stakeholders’ participation can be direct or indirect;
    4. Answer :
      Land use planning is based on stakeholder differentiation and gender sensitivity. To identify all relevant stakeholders, a gender differentiated analysis of all actors should be done in advance;
    5. Answer :
      Land use planning promotes civic engagement. The population should actively participate in the land use planning. The results of planning and the implementation of measures can only be sustainable if plans are made with and by the people, not behind or even against them. Planning is, therefore, not just a matter for experts, but should be carried out together with those affected by it;
      1. Answer :
        Land use planning is realistic and oriented to local conditions. Not only has the content of a land use planning to be adapted to local conditions. The methods too have to fit the technical, economic and organizational capacities of the local population as well as administration;
      2. Answer :
        Land use planning is based on a “light” methodology avoiding unnecessary data collection resulting in “data graveyards”;
      3. Answer :
        Land use planning in terms of methodology and content differs e.g. in scale, specificity, form of participation (direct vs. indirect), and technology at village, municipal and regional level;
      4. Answer :
        Land use planning considers and valorises local knowledge. Rural societies or groups often possess a complex autochthonous knowledge of their natural environment. They can contribute valuable information and should, therefore, be mobilized during the land use planning;
      5. Answer :
        Land use planning takes into account traditional strategies for solving problems and conflicts. Traditional rural societies have their own way of approaching problems and settling conflicts concerning land use. In the process of land use planning, such mechanisms have to be recognized, understood and taken into account;
      6. Answer :
        Land use planning follows the idea of subsidiarity, i.e. all functions from planning to decision-making, implementation and monitoring are assigned to the lowest appropriate level of government in order to be responsive to the needs of citizens and to ensure effective control from below;
      7. Answer :
        Land use planning needs to combine local needs and interests with provisions made by higher levels. This can only be achieved in a sustainable way if stakeholders from all levels participate in the process and directly talk and listen (!) to each other;
      8. Answer :
        Land use planning is based on inter-disciplinary cooperation and requires sector coordination (“horizontal integration”). The diverse functions and (potential) uses of land make it necessary to apply an interdisciplinary approach involving all sectors that have a stake in that area. This generally requires a longer support in institution building and improving cooperation between different sector ministries/ agencies;
      9. Answer :
        The participatory methods used in all steps of land use planning promote the technical and organizational capabilities of all participants, thereby improving their capacity to plan and act. In the medium term, this leads to an improvement in the capacity of local groups or administrative entities (such as municipalities, districts and provinces) for self-determination;
      10. Answer :
        Land use planning requires transparency. If there is no transparency on decisions about future land uses, risks are high that some people will be deprived of their rights and/or that future land use will not be sustainable;
      11. Answer :
        Land use planning is future-oriented (“visionary”). Land use planning is not only about mapping the current land uses or land covers. Land use planning determines how the land will be used in the future. This may differ more or less from today’s utilization of the land;
      12. Answer :
        Land use planning is an iterative process. Land use planning is more than the preparation of a planning document; it is an iterative process. Iteration is both the principle and the method. New developments and findings are specifically observed and incorporated into the planning process. It may lead to the revision of decisions and the repetition of steps already taken;
      13. Answer :
        Land use planning is implementation oriented. Land use planning has to consider how the negotiated decisions and the solutions identified are to be implemented. It does not end with the land use plan. The implementation of limited measures right at the beginning of the process or parallel to it plays an important role in establishing villagers’ confidence in the planning process;
      14. Answer :
        Land use planning is linked to financial planning. This is crucial for implementation. Land use planning needs to be aware of the designated uses of sector budgets as well as of the financial planning cycles of the relevant sector ministries (including their deadlines). At the same time, land use planning should influence the composition and intended purposes of budgets and funds;
      15. Answer :
        In most countries many forms of planning and quite a number of plans exist. What most of them are lacking is the relation to space. Many development plans, for instance, state what has to be developed (mainly in terms of infrastructure) but don’t indicate where. Land use planning puts the focus on spatial relations and differences. The spatial orientation of planning ensures the optimum distribution of investments and the most adequate use of any place and avoids (land use) conflicts.
      16. Answer :
        Integrated participatory land use planning generally aims to introduce or improve a complete spatial planning approach at local level. In cooperation with existing institutions the whole approach from preparation to evaluation is designed, tested, institutionalized and exercised in a number of pilot villages.
      17. Answer :
        There are situations in which local institutions do not have the capacity to introduce a complex land use planning. In that case, an alternative is to simply include some spatial aspects into their development planning activities. If so far local representatives have only prepared a “shopping list” for their government and donors, they could now map where they actually want these developments (mainly infrastructure) to happen. If this is done in a participatory way and involves a discussion on the already existing infrastructure, their distribution and conditions, this already represents a significant improvement in the planning process. An example is the recently introduced spatial planning into communal development planning in Mali.
      18. Answer :
        Local agreements (or local conventions) on the utilization and protection of natural resources which regulate use and access are important tools for the decentralized management of natural resources. They have been promoted in West Africa since the 1990s. They encompass all kinds of formal or informal regulations between all resource users. They can be applicable to the inter-village or communal level as well as to wider spatial management units. Responsibility for the use of common pool resources is assigned to a group. The government takes a hands-off approach, no longer influencing matters directly. It retains a supervisory role, however, ensuring that the user associations comply with certain basic conditions in order to be viable. In addition, it enables groups to carry out their functions, especially regarding technical matters and the enforcement of legal claims such as sanctions for violations of standards.
      19. Answer :
        Local agreements have the following advantages:
        • In terms of organizational and political change: through the decentralization of resource management;
        • In terms of economic impact: through income diversification and the emergence of new sectors related to sustainable exploitation of natural resources;
        • In terms of social cohesion: through the development of consensual solutions;
        • In terms of conservation: through the conciliation between exploitation and conservation of natural resources.
      20. Answer :
        Two conditions must be met if planning is to be useful:
        • the need for changes in land use, or action to prevent some unwanted change, must be accepted by the people involved;
        • there must be the political will and ability to put the plan into effect.
        Where these conditions are not met, and yet problems are pressing, it may be appropriate to mount an awareness campaign or set up demonstration areas with the aim of creating the conditions necessary for effective planning.

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