Land Tenure Structure Research Articles

Rice Farmers’ Agrarian Dynamics, a Historical Perspective

Abstract: As the staple food of Indonesians, rice has become an economic and political commodity in the country. This study aims to analyze the agrarian dynamics of rice farmers from a historical perspective, focusing on studying how the agrarian change affected the rice production mode in the present situation. The historiography approach used to produce critical analysis was complemented by tracing literature studies, especially in West Java, one of the main rice producers in Indonesia. The results showed that the structure of land tenure and ownership in rice farming had undergone a fundamental change. The dynamics that appear in rice can be seen at the level of agricultural technology intervention and local and national policies, which have experienced changes due to pressure from the agricultural production input sub-system. This pressure led to a change in peasant institutions that shifted from informal to formal, which was not in line with the structure of land tenure and ownership, which was still dominated by petty commodity producers. Keywords: Agrarian dynamics, farmers, historical, paddy

Land tenure regularization and state land grabbing in the municipality of Paragominas, Eastern Amazon

In the Amazon, the regularization of public and private lands is under discussion to reduce deforestation. However, this scenario is difficult due to land disorganization and divergent federal and state policies. The objective of this study was to analyze the importance of land data in federal and state public lands and private lands for the municipality of Paragominas, Eastern Amazon. In this study, we try to propose a diagnosis of land tenure structure, quantifying the Value of the Bare Land of the overlapping lands, state public lands on federal lands, as well as deforestation and forest conversion. The results showed that the area of federal publicly listed lands has drastically reduced. The reduced area is equivalent to the territory of Palestine, in the same database managed by the federal management agency. State public lands overlapped 16,153.32 ha on federal public lands, with a loss of US$5,529,927.57 for the federal government. Deforestation has increased on state public lands, driven by conversion to soy cultivation areas, and there is a trend towards stabilization of deforestation and agriculture on federal public lands

Strengthening GTRA Institutions in Responding to the Challenges of Agrarian Reform in Rejang Lebong Regency

To accomplish agrarian reform (RA) which aims to improve people's welfare by rearranging the structure of land tenure along with community empo¬wer¬ment, organizational elements with solid synergy are required. The Rejang Lebong Regency Government, BPN, the Alliance of Indigenous Peoples of the Archipelago (AMAN), and other elements of the Agrarian Reform Task Force (GTRA) supported by the Presidential Staff Office (KSP) have been trying to carry out this mandate since 2017. This paper aims to provide an overview of the implementation of RA, the challenges faced by the RA institutions in Rejang Lebong Regency. The method used is descriptive qualitative research. The collected data and information is then analyzed into several categories, namely the settlement of potential land objects for agrarian reform (TORA), agrarian conflict resolution, asset management which is followed up with com¬munity empowerment as outlined in the Kampung Reforma Agraria Project, and the role of RA institutions. The findings in this study are that the implementation of RA in Rejang Lebong Regency, which is fully supported by the commitment of the local government, initiatives from the community, and support from the ministry of vertical institutions (especially the Ministry of ATR/BPN, KLHK, and KSP), answers various challenges that arise, especially in terms of cross-sectoral coordination. However, there needs to be a more operational implementing regulation as a derivative of Perpres no. 86 of 2018 as a supporter and reinforcement of the policies issued by GTRA.

The pieces of the smallholder puzzle: The add‐in role of farmers' characteristics in irrigation improvement projects in the old lands of Egypt

AbstractIrrigation development is essential for reducing vulnerability to water resource scarcity, food insecurity, and climate change impacts in Egypt. The centralized irrigation development must, however, overcome the challenges of the diversity of smallholders and the pre‐existing, individualistic irrigation management. The purpose of this paper is to examine the farmers' characteristics that influence the design and success of irrigation improvement programmes in the Old Lands of Egypt. The paper investigates this issue from the perspectives of farmers by analysing farm features, agricultural practices, irrigation practices, and satisfaction with water services. The clustering method is applied to create farmer groups within the geographical area of the programme and seek consistent differences that affect the outcome of irrigation improvement. The results show that farmers are less diverse in their agrotechnology and more heterogenous in terms of capacities, livelihood sources, and land tenure structures. The article argues that grouping methods to deploy improved irrigation infrastructure should give more consideration to the farmers' individual features. Programmes intended to replicate such irrigation development or leverage the existing results should address these particularities to create a socially adaptive environment for future irrigation investment in Egypt.

Ordenamento do território e a dinâmica do desmatamento na Amazônia brasileira

R E S U M ONa região amazônica brasileira, a dinâmica impressa pelas políticas públicas de desenvolvimento contribuiu para a perda de 18% da área de floresta primária até 2019, o que equivale a 803.318 km². Com o objetivo de minimizar os impactos do uso da terra sobre a cobertura vegetal e de atender a demandas sociais de acesso à terra e preservação dos recursos naturais, foram criadas Unidades de Conservação, Terras Indígenas e Projetos de Assentamento a partir da década de 1970. Este artigo se propôs a analisar a dinâmica do desmatamento na perspectiva do ordenamento do território na Amazônia. Para a análise da relação entre as alterações da paisagem e a estrutura fundiária, o território foi particionado entre as categorias territoriais estudadas, considerando o desmatamento acumulado até 2007 e o acumulado 2008-2019. Os resultados mostram que 26% do desmatamento total da região concentram-se nesses territórios, com participação de 24% no desmatamento acumulado até 2007 e 46% no período 2008-2019.Palavras-chave: Amazônia brasileira; desmatamento; uso da terra; ordenamento do território; desenvolvimento. Spatial planning and the dynamics of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon A B S T R A C TIn the Brazilian Amazon Region, the dynamics induced by public development policies contributed to the loss of 18% of the primary forest area by 2019, which is equivalent to 803,318 km². To minimize the impacts of land use on vegetation cover and meet social demands for access to land and preservation of natural resources, Conservation Units, Indigenous Lands and Settlement Projects were created in the 1970s. This paper aims to analyze the dynamics of deforestation from the perspective of territorial planning in the Amazon. For the analysis of the relationship between changes in the landscape and the land tenure structure, the territory was partitioned between the studied territorial categories, considering the accumulated deforestation until 2007 and the accumulated 2008-2019. The results show that 26% of the region's total deforestation is concentrated in these territories, with a participation of 24% in accumulated deforestation up to 2007 and 46% in the period 2008-2019.Keywords: Brazilian Amazon; deforestation; land use; spatial planning; development.

Using the theory of combinations at the modeling of land plots exchange in agricultural land masses

The problem of land reallotment modeling in agricultural land masses aiming at land consolidation is scrutinized in the article. The topicality of the research is predefined by the need for the optimization of the structure of land tenure within an agricultural land mass, the implementation of measures on land consolidation. The research is aimed at the substantiation of the theory of combinations aiming at the improvement of the exchange of land plots, i.e. the choosing of alternative land plots within an agricultural land mass. The calculations are based on choosing the land plots to be exchanged to provide the optimal for agricultural activities spatial characteristics of land plots. The calculation of the variants of the formation of the consolidated land tenure by a land owner who has the right to own the prevailing share of a typical agricultural land mass has been suggested. The results of the research can be used at the realization of complex and individual land consolidation projects; at the optimization of land tenure by the sublease of land plots; as a material for the substantiation of the decision making on the land tenure optimization by territorial communities; in the following research on spatial land tenure and land ownership spatial improvement.

Implikasi Keberadaan Hutan Negara terhadap Perkembangan Desa di Kecamatan Segah Kabupaten Berau Provinsi Kalimantan Timur

The state forest existence is expected to provide maximum benefits for the people's prosperity. This study identified the forest state existence through a land tenure structure in Segah District Berau Regency East Kalimantan Province. It also described a portrait of rural development including the condition of infrastructure and community income/expenditure, and identified the influence of state forest existence on rural development. The methods used to analyze the structure of land tenure by overlaying land cover maps and boundaries of area functions in each village, then classifying villages using a matrix of plots based on the percentage of forest and forest area. Analysis of rural development was carried out using scalogram analysis and oneway ANOVA. Meanwhile, the analysis of the influence of state forest existence on rural development was carried out using descriptive analysis and multiple linear regression. The results of this study showed that the land cover of the forest and land tenure of forest area were dominant. This means that the land tenure structure in the administrative area of Segah District was dominated by state forest. Rural development in terms of infrastructure was found in a condition that was quite even lacking of the needs of the rural population, while average household expenditure is above the national average minimum expenditure limit. The state forest existence was indicated to have a role in influencing the development of rural infrastructure and household expenditure, especially in the activity of entering the forest which can reduce the expenditure of primary household needs.

Improvement of Land Management in Ukraine

Successful implementation of land reform requires the implementation of large-scale market transformations, in particular in the structure of land tenure and land use, in the field of land valuation. The article is devoted to the development of scientific and methodological bases of economic evaluation and use of land resources of agricultural enterprises, substantiation of approaches and recommendations for improvement of ecological, economic and institutional principles of land development in the conditions of new land relations. The economic mechanism of realization programs of protection and reproduction land resources is developed. Mandatory monitoring lands of agricultural significance is proposed in order to identify degradation processes, negative changes in soil condition, development of a long-term forecast of agricultural land use. Due to the fact that the state does not carry out strategic management of land resources, the rate of land degradation is growing, actions to increase soil fertility is not planned. One of the main method of monitoring land resources can be the observation of changes in their condition in the long run using five- and ten-year cycles. It is proposed to move to annual monitoring, which allows to identify the main trends in land use and apply the results to the planning and management of land potential of the country, region, company. The results of monitoring of agricultural land resources in general can be an information base for the characteristics of arable land, which can be used for the purposes of internal land management, implementation of measures to optimize land use, as well as to improve the regulatory assessment of land.

Transformation Of Social And Economic Livelihoods Of Rubber Farmers

Rubber production in Bulukumba Regency continues to increase the amount of production every year, to be precise in Bulukumpa District, Batulohe Village. But in fact, the life of rubber farmers is still very far from prosperous. The novelty of this research is to try to capture the livelihoods of rubber farmers from sociological and economic aspects. The purpose of this study was to determine the structure of land tenure, wage levels, education levels, access to information, and trade value chains in Batulohe Village, Bulukumpa District. This research was conducted in Batulohe Village, Bulukumpa District, Bulukumba Regency. This type of research is qualitative ethnographic in nature, this model seeks to study cultural events, which present the subject's view of life as an object of study. The data source of this research comes from direct interviews with rubber farmers. Data processing and data validation techniques used were source triangulation techniques to test the validity of the information obtained from informants. The results showed that there was no imbalance in land tenure structure because in fact the community already owned land. The level of wages given to farm laborers is not proportional because it does not follow the prevailing rubber price trend. The education level of farmers is still relatively low. Meanwhile, existing access to information is not transparent and unequal because it is monopolized by traders at both the village and city levels. Finally, the trade chain that occurs involves several actors, starting from farmers, village traders, urban traders to the processing industry, which tends not to benefit farmers. A big push intervention policy from the government is needed so that there will be a redistribution of fiscal allocations to the poor and an improvement in livelihoods and income. Keywords: Rubber Farmers, Social Economic; Welfare.

Looking for innovation – Trajectories of land transaction and readjustment in West Africa

Transition in land use rights and tenure structures from agricultural to urban land constitutes the basis of urban growth in West African cities. A multitude of highly adapted forms of land transaction and readjustment have emerged to facilitate this transition. While these provide access to housing for the middle class as well as poor households, their complexity presents challenges to planning for sustainable urban development. We argue for a new perspective to better understand the various forms of land transaction and readjustment, one that bridges normative frameworks. Drawing on the concept of Ordinary Cities, we perceive these forms as innovations, both within and across cities. Specifically, we use the concept to analyze processes in the municipalities of Abomey-Calavi (Benin) and Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso). Through a qualitative approach, local cases of land transaction and readjustment are analyzed. Five trajectories of land delivery are identified that combine statutory and customary land use rights along with formal planning processes and informal practices. We then discuss practical issues in the analysis of planning systems. As well as providing a holistic view, this opens up the possibility of transnational learning across the Global South and North.

The Contemporary Agrarian Change in Rice Production Village in Klaten Regency, Central Java

Rural Java areas underwent significant changes during the last 20 years due to increasing education and health level and improving transportation and communication infrastructure, but researches on agricultural transformation, especially rice farming in Java, was limited. This study aimed at understanding the structure of land ownership and tenure, and the changing of land tenure institutional system in wetland farming, in its relation to the contemporary demographic change in the Javanese rural areas. The research was conducted in Kauman Village, Klaten Regency, Central Java. There were 307 farmer households in the village. The samples of 52 farmer households were taken randomly. Data collection used questionnaires and in-depth interviews with 52 respondents and 6 key informants. The analysis was carried out by comparing the data before the green revolution and 2016 data. The results of the study were as follows. Firstly, the number of landless farmers was very large (60 percent). Despite the green revolution, the proportion of this group had been already high before the green revolution program was intensified. Secondly, the level of land ownership disparity was moderate and tended toward equity due to the continuity of land ownership fragmentation through land inheritance processes, and no land ownership concentration occurred on the basis of agricultural land purchase. Thirdly, the level of inequality of land tenure was moderate and even close to low, and tended toward equity as the number of land tenants was much greater than the land owners. Fourthly, the bargaining position of the land tenants tended to be stronger than the land owners due to the declining attraction of agricultural work as a source of employment.

Evaluating and supporting conservation action in agricultural landscapes of the Usumacinta River Basin

There is increasing recognition that ecosystems and their services need to be managed at landscape scale and greater. The development of landscape-scale conservation strategies need to incorporate information from multiple sources. In this study, we combine various research tools to link landscape patterns with production units and systems in the Usumacinta River Basin, and inform the discussion of key questions around decision-making related to conservation action and policy in Southern Mexico. A typology based on policy-relevant farmer characteristics (land tenure, farm size, source of income, farming system) differentiated between farmers (traditional vs. cattle ranching) with different motivations that determine how management affects landscape configuration. Five main types of traditional farming systems were identified that combine different forms of land use and vary in their degree of land intensification. Major fragmentation and decrease in connectivity coincided spatially with floodplains dominated by large-scale commercial farms that specialize in livestock production. Traditional practices within large units with low-sloped high quality land were also seen to be intensive; however the presence of trees was notable throughout these units. Policies that promote livestock farming are among the principle causes motivating deforestation. Land intensification by traditional farmers decreased as the landscape became increasingly rugged. Traditional farmers are the focus of initiatives developed by the Biological Corridor project which seeks to increase forest cover and landscape connectivity. These initiatives have shown high levels of rural participation (10,010 farmers benefited from 27,778 projects involving 95,374 ha of land) and acceptance (producers carried out more than one project and several types of projects during the first eight years of work). Strong action is still required to take on the segment of large-scale ranchers. Changes in the structure of land tenure over the past decade are highlighted that could have a profound impact on conservation policies and programs.

Who owns the Brazilian carbon?

Brazil is one of the major contributors to land-use change emissions, mostly driven by agricultural expansion for food, feed, and bioenergy feedstock. Policies to avoid deforestation related to private commitments, economic incentives, and other support schemes are expected to improve the effectiveness of current command and control mechanisms increasingly. However, until recently, land tenure was unknown for much of the Brazilian territory, which has undermined the governance of native vegetation and challenged support and incentive mechanisms for avoiding deforestation. We assess the total extent of public governance mechanisms protecting aboveground carbon (AGC) stocks. We constructed a land tenure dataset for the entire nation and modeled the effects and uncertainties of major land-use acts on protecting AGC stocks. Roughly 70% of the AGC stock in Brazil is estimated to be under legal protection, and an additional 20% is expected to be protected after areas in the Amazon with currently undesignated land undergo a tenure regularization. About 30% of the AGC stock is on private land, of which roughly two-thirds are protected. The Cerrado, Amazon, and Caatinga biomes hold about 40%, 30%, and 20% of the unprotected AGC, respectively. Effective conservation of protected and unprotected carbon will depend on successful implementation of the Forest Act, and regularization of land tenure in the Amazon. Policy development that prioritizes unprotected AGC stocks is warranted to promote conservation of native vegetation beyond the legal requirements. However, different biomes and land tenure structures may require different policy settings considering local and regional specifics. Finally, the fate of current AGC stocks relies upon effective implementation of command and control mechanisms, considering that unprotected AGC in native vegetation on private land only accounts for 6.5% of the total AGC stock.

Research of main problems of the natural reservoir fund of the Lviv region and the ways of their solvency

Preservation of genetic, species and ecosystem biodiversity is one of the most important tasks of the world community for achieving balanced development. The features of regional development and basic problems of the naturally-protected fund of the Lviv area are considered in the article. It is substantiated that the problem of optimization of the natural environment, and in particular the lands of the nature reserve fund, is extremely relevant and needs to be solved. The functionally-spatial features of land-tenure (structure of lands) and distribution of the protected objects and territories within the limits of Lviv region testify to subzero part of the protected territories of the multifunctional setting, a few of large area of the protected territories, absolute majority from that belong to forest, and presence of plenty of the shallow point protected objects that can’t to a full degree provide maintenance of genetic and landscape variety. Such a situation necessitates the activation of the creation of new territories and objects of the natural reserve fund in the region, taking into account its natural geographic zoning, territorial features of vegetation, flora, fauna and landscapes, as well as prospects for the development of the ecological network as a holistic system of natural and semi-natural territories. It is determined that the share of objects of the reserve fund from the total area of the region, the diversity of natural landscapes and plant communities, the territorial structure of the protected areas is not fully in line with international standards. For the effective functioning and development of the reserve fund of the region, a complex of optimization measures was proposed, in particular, the network expansion and the enhancement of the representativeness of protected areas, including multifunctional purposes, optimization of land use, implementation of renaturalization, and raising the ecological and educational level of the population.

The Architecture of the Metacity: Land Use Change, Patch Dynamics and Urban Form in Chiang Mai, Thailand

This essay analyzes the spatial and temporal dynamics which have emerged from the rapid development of Chiang Mai, Thailand over the last four decades. Modern urbanization since the 1980s in the previously remote Chiang Mai-Lamphun Valley has coincided with digital and financial globalization, neo-liberal governance, and the articulation of a new geological era of the Anthropocene based on evidence of human induced climate change. This time frame serves as a lens to theorize the architecture of the “metacity”, a new urban form and new form of urban practice responding to the demands of global digital financial networks and neo-liberal trade policies, but grounded in the ecology and life worlds of particular localities. The metacity appears in Chiang Mai within the interstices of a particularly fragmented rural/urban mix within a self-organized rather than plan-controlled built environment. The entire valley has been the site of intensive inhabitation for centuries, and recently urbanized, yet is spatially heterogeneous, extensive and patchy rather than ordered, bounded and uniform. The resulting landscape is marked by a disjunction between a feudal wet-rice cultivation land tenure structure overlaid with a market-based typology of urban real estate products with little enforcement of land use controls. The essay begins with theorizing the form of the metacity, continues with a description of the Chiang Mai case study, and concludes with a general assessment of the need to create a new form of metacity urban practice. A metacity design practice would re-conceptualize urban theories and forms by inking architectural and ecological thinking with inclusive social practices, enhanced by new digitally-enhanced urban imaginaries and new representational tools of mapping, modeling and design.

Complexity's Shadow: American Indian Property, Sovereignty, and the Future

This Article offers a new perspective on the challenges of the modern American Indian land tenure system. While some property theorists have renewed focus on isolated aspects of Indian land tenure, including the historic inequities of colonial takings of Indian lands, this Article argues that the complexity of today’s federally imposed reservation property system does much of the same colonizing work that historic Indian land policies—from allotment to removal to termination—did overtly. But now, these inequities are largely overshadowed by the daunting complexity of the whole land tenure structure. This Article introduces a new taxonomy of complexity in American Indian land tenure and explores in particular how the recent trend of hypercategorizing property and sovereignty interests into ever-more granular and interacting jurisdictional variables has exacerbated development and self-governance challenges in Indian country. This structural complexity serves no adequate purpose for Indian landowners or Indian nations and, instead, creates perverse incentives to grow the federal oversight role. Complexity begets complexity, and this has created a self-perpetuating and inefficient cycle of federal control. Stepping back and reviewing Indian land tenure in its entirety—as a whole complex, dynamic, and ultimately adaptable system—allows the introduction of new, and potentially fruitful, management techniques borrowed from social and ecological sciences. Top-down Indian land reforms have consistently intensified complexity’s costs. This Article explores how emphasizing grassroots experimentation and local flexibility instead can create critical space for more radical, reservation-by-reservation transformations of local property systems into the future.

Investigating the Effect of Land Consolidation Projects on Agricultural Sustainability (Case Study: Haraz Plain in Mazandaran Province)

Investigating the Effect of Land Consolidation Projects on Agricultural Sustainability (Case Study: Haraz Plain in Mazandaran Province)

Conflicts of customary land tenure in rural Africa: is large-scale land acquisition a driver of ‘institutional innovation’?

This study combines legal and anthropological approaches to investigate how the establishment of a large-scale biofuel agro-industry is reinterpreting and potentially transforming customary institutional arrangements in rural Sierra Leone. The contractual relationships established between land acquirers and local authorities can be seen as an ‘institutional innovation’ that aims at interpreting and overcoming the limits of the national land regime. However, by formalizing customary land tenure structures through land registration, such innovations are exacerbating pre-existing social inequalities. We identified four categories of resulting conflicts: interlineage, intervillage, interfamily and intergenerational conflicts. Taken together, these conflicts question the current land-based sociopolitical structures of rural Sierra Leone and could be drivers of societal change.

Impacts of Industry Towards the Structure of Customary Land Tenure on the Natural Sago Forest in Imekko, Sorong Selatan Regency-West Papua

The goal of the research is to assess structural dynamics of customary land tenure in Imeko communities as a result of emergence regarding the operations of PT ANJ-AgriPapua and PerumPerhutani in Sorong Selatan Regency. The objectives are as follows: (1) to identify and map the structure of customatyland tenure rightsover the Natural Sago Forest (NSF) in Imekko; (2) to identify and mapstuructural dynamics of customary land tenure on the NSF in relation with the emergence of PT ANJ-Agri Papua and PerumPerhutani in Imekko. The research reveals that the customary land tenure exists under communal and collective ownership with regard to <i>keret/fam</i> (family names). Local communities are entitled with rights to access, collect forest products, use, control, manage, transfer and release, reclaim, and own their land. Individuals who do not have rights over the customary land are able to acquire ownership after obtaining permission with or without compensation on the line. In the case of Dusun Sagu, ownership belongs to family groups (member of nuclear family). Inheritanceon the NSF and Dusun Sagu are passed downtosons, or to the <i>keret/fam</i>, heirsof the family who cultivated the land. Moreover, the research finds that the structures of customary land tenure among Imekko communities are changing due to the emergence of PT ANJ-Agri Papua and Perum Perhutani in the area. From the eight rights that have been practiced for generations, only three rights remain: rights for limited access, use, and collecting forest products in the concession area of the factories. The community groups are supported to utilize these rights in order to meet their basics needs as well as and to generate income through forest utilization.

Tenure Security and Land Appropriation under Changing Environmental Governance in Lowland Bolivia and Pará

Appropriation of public lands associated with agricultural frontier expansion is a longstanding occurrence in the Amazon that has resulted in a highly skewed land-tenure structure in spite of recent state efforts to recognize tenure rights of indigenous people and smallholders living in or nearby forests. Growing concerns to reduce environmental impacts from agricultural development have motivated state governments to place greater attention on sustainable land management and forest conservation. This paper assesses the political and institutional conditions shaping tenure security and land appropriation in lowland Bolivia and the State of Pará in Brazil, and their links with environmental governance. The two cases show that clarifying and securing tenure rights is considered as the cornerstone for improving environmental governance. Thus, much attention has been given to the recognition of indigenous people and smallholder rights and to legalization of large-scale estates in agricultural frontiers, which have in turn influenced emerging conservation and environmental governance approaches. While policy frameworks share similar goals in the two cases, contrasting implementation approaches have been adopted: more agrarian in lowland Bolivia and more conservationist in the State of Pará.