Modelling Development, Territorial and Legislative Factors Impacting the Changes in Use of Agricultural Land in Slovakia

Lucia Palšová,Katarína Melichová,Ina Melišková

doi:10.3390/su11143893

Lucia Palšová, Katarína Melichová + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su11143893

Copy DOI

Journal: Sustainability	Publication Date: Jul 17, 2019
Citations: 3	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Slovak University of Agriculture

Abstract

The conflict of interests in agricultural land use based on the diversity of needs of private and public interest is the main problem of the current protection of agricultural land in Slovakia. Therefore, the aim of the paper is to identify factors affecting the withdrawal of agricultural land, i.e., conversion of the agricultural land to non-agricultural purposes, and to initiate a professional discussion on the concept of protection and use of the agricultural land in Slovakia. Through panel regression models, the developmental, territorial, and legislative factors affecting land withdrawal for the purpose of housing, industry, transport, mining, and other purposes were analyzed. Research has shown that developmental factors, compared to legislative ones, affect the total volume of agricultural land withdrawn in bigger scope. From the perspective of the conflict of interests between the individuals and state regarding land protection, the private interest prevails over the public one. As a consequence, agricultural land is withdrawn in suburbanized and attractive areas, where the land of the highest quality is mostly located. In accordance with the precautionary principle, the state should adopt a long-term conceptual document defining the areas of agricultural land use taking into account the impact of the developmental factors on the land protection.

Highlights

The competition for land resources creates serious risks of geopolitical imbalances in the European Union and worldwide [1]
As the impacts of the state land policy on the sustainable use of agricultural land have never been comprehensively examined in Slovakia, the aim of the article is to identify development, territorial, and legislative factors affecting the loss of volume of agricultural land in Slovakia due to its withdrawal
In terms of the developmental factors, we examine the impact of foreign direct investment flows—FDI_POP, and domestic business growth—DBUS_POP

Summary

Introduction

The competition for land resources creates serious risks of geopolitical imbalances in the European Union (hereinafter as “EU”) and worldwide [1]. Land use for non-agricultural purposes has resulted in impermeable coverage of the land as an irreversible process leading to the loss of soil resources [3,4,5,6,7,8]. The emphasis had been on the impermeable coverage of land in general [9,10,11], currently more important is the examination of the factors causing the land withdrawal. The withdrawal of agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes will often irreversibly depreciate the most productive soil in the area, and there is an emphasis put on the support for the rational decision-making process of the administrative authorities [12,13,14]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion