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Managing Information for Managing Information for Decision-making in Land Use Decision-making in Land Use

Planning.Planning.

Overview of concerns relating to sustainable land use planning and agriculture (SIDS)

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LIMITS AND CONSTRAINTS TO LIMITS AND CONSTRAINTS TO SUSTAINABLE LAND MANAGEMENTSUSTAINABLE LAND MANAGEMENT

– Shortages of Arable Land– Land Degradation– Loss of Agricultural Land to Urbanization– Water Shortages– Biophysical constraints– Socio-economic constraints– Changing Political climate

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CONCEPT OF CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABLE SUSTAINABLE LAND MANAGEMENTLAND MANAGEMENT

Pillars (UNCED, 1993)– Productivity-Maintain or enhance

production/services .– Security-Reduce the level of production risk.– Protection-Protect the potential or natural

resources and prevent degradation of soil and water quality.

– Viable-Be economically viable.– Acceptability-Be socially acceptable

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Methodological FrameworkBIOPHYSICAL FACTORS SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS

PRODUCTION SYSTEM

SOILWATER

VEGETATIONOTHERS

NATURALINFLUENCES

CLIMATE

USESITE

ACT UALSITUATION

Socio cultural factors

POPULATIONCHARACTERISTICSACCESS TO SERVICES,INFRASTRUCTURE,CREDIT, ETC.

HUMANINFLUENCES

PRODUCTIONSYSTEMS

POLITICALINSTITUTIONAL

Economic Institutional factors

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Overview of the SIDS Overview of the SIDS Agricultural EnvironmentAgricultural Environment

characterized by two distinct categories of farming systems that share symbiotic relationships with each other.– Estate farms on flat to gentle undulating

lands– Subsistence farms on the more marginal

lands.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF CHARACTERISTICS OF ESTATE FARMSESTATE FARMS

Commercial and export oriented Mono cropping system on the same plot of

land for many years Rely heavily on subsistence farm labour to

carry out farming operations Utilizes conventional intensive farming

technology. Influence by the political climate (internal and

external)

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CONCERNSCONCERNS

Degradation: Declining yields Influence of soil borne and other diseases Declining soil fertility (shortening or

elimination fallow periods) Pollution of ground water Soil salinity Globalization

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CHARACTERISTICS OF CHARACTERISTICS OF SUBSISTENCE FARMINGSUBSISTENCE FARMING

Complex farming systems geared mainly at the domestic market

Soil erosion and watershed degradationRelies on commercial farms and other

off-farm activities for employment to supplement farm income

Multiple cropping system which varies according to season.

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TYPES OF SUBSISTENCE TYPES OF SUBSISTENCE FARMERSFARMERS

Business approach type farmersCommercial/subsistence type farmersSerious farmers without the meansFarmers with resources which are not

utilizedFarmers by defaultWay of life farmers

(P. Meikle, 1998)

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ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

INDICATORS (ESDIs)INDICATORS (ESDIs)– Since the concept of sustainable development

cannot be defined, indicators should be developed to determine levels and duration of sustainability (Zinc and Farshad, 1995).

ESDI indicator for Agriculture, land and food Arable and permanent crop land area

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ISSUES AND CHALLENGESISSUES AND CHALLENGES

Climatic databasesClimatic databasesAll countries have a network of meteorological

stations, to observe and document climate and weather conditions.

In areas of difficult access, these stations may be wide apart with a limited number of recording years

Time gaps in recordingIncompleteness in the range of attributes

needed.

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ISSUES AND CHALLENGESISSUES AND CHALLENGES

Soil and TerrainSoil and Terrain Classification criteria and naming of soils

differ among countries, making correlations between classifications and countries difficult

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ISSUES AND CHALLENGESISSUES AND CHALLENGES

Water resources databasesWater resources databases Analysis of data from meteorological stations Repeated measurements of stream flows Assessment of ground water reserves through

borehole analysis Amount and types of actual uses being made of the

water resources. Some countries may not have the equipment or

resources to take these measurements on an on-going basis.

Cost of taking some of these measurements may be expensive.

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ISSUES AND CHALLENGESISSUES AND CHALLENGES

Land cover and biodiversity databases Land cover and biodiversity databases

Geo-referenced information on floral and faunal diversity is scarce

Areas of known or inferred archeological value or reflecting typical past land use systems need to be mapped

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ISSUES AND CHALLENGESISSUES AND CHALLENGES

Land uses, crop and production Land uses, crop and production systemssystems

• Land use information is usually consolidated at district level rather than being fully georeferenced.

• Lack of practical, simple and widely accepted method of describing land uses and production systems is a serious constraint

• Each land use type should be assessed on its inherent sustainability, on the basis of a set of sustainable indicators

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ISSUES AND CHALLENGESISSUES AND CHALLENGES

Land uses, crop and production systems Land uses, crop and production systems

• Basic information on the environmental requirements of new cultivars and non-traditional crops is not widely available or may not be available for the conditions in some SIDS.

• Existing databases are limited with respect to coverage and classes

• Little management information included in maps

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ISSUES AND CHALLENGESISSUES AND CHALLENGES• Economy of inputs and outputs is liable to strong

variability

• Biophysical databases may have a useable lifetime of 20 - 30 years

• Economic and social databases will normally have to be revised every 5 - 10 years.

• Limitation in data availability and data quality at all scales, especially those that require substantial ground truthing

• Lack of METADATA and protocols for data collection.