Tenure Type Research Articles

Land administration practices in Tanzania: a replica of past mistakes

Purpose This paper aims to examine current land administration practices (LA) in Tanzania to pinpoint divergences and convergences from past experiences that necessitated the 1990s reforms. Design/methodology/approach Literature review was carried out to understand historical practices which were then matched with current regulatory framework and observable LA practices captured through in-depth individual and group interviews of LA professionals in the public and private sectors, as well as LA customers in Dodoma Region Tanzania. Findings The current practices and government’s responses through land law reforms is largely a replica of what happened in the pre- and post-independence eras until just before the 1990s reform and is still characterised by corruption, inefficiency in service delivery and poor coordination among LA actors. It introduces superficial land governance structure over customary land as it was during colonialism; induces a temporary hikes in title delivery without any sustainability prospects just as it was immediately after independence; and induces more uncertainties for local land holders/investors than it addresses as it was during the implementation of the 1982 agricultural policy. Furthermore, the current awareness education during rural land titling programmes is inadequate to address the perceived risk of land alienation and dispossession among the poor. Practical implications A uniform LA system and tenure type throughout Tanzania that cater for the need of the time rather than a fragmented system of LA, which fuels maladministration and inefficiency in LA, is dearly needed. Originality/value Convergence of current LA practices with some of the worst past experiences explains some failures in land policy reform in Tanzania and the developing world in general.

Achieving land development benefits on customary/communal land

Land reforms for addressing economic issues are required to conform to equity, socio-cultural and other landa governance concerns. This article reviews customary/communal tenure, and land reform mechanisms for optimising economic and social outcomes for countries where this type of tenure predominates. The experiences of two land groups, the Orogwangin and the Polulve Mahevie, that have engaged with the group incorporation mechanism of addressing customary communal tenure in Papua New Guinea are described and discussed. It was found that these narrow legal reform mechanisms distort customary/communal practices, forcing conflicts and subsequent subdivisions of groups in some instances. The lack of capacity of the state institutions to service the new requirements for maintaining the recording of group characteristics is notable as well. Vulnerable groups are left to negotiate with powerful business entities for appropriate terms and compensation for use of their land.

An Investigation of Overcrowding Among the UK Households

Despite being a major economic power, UK has been facing several social issues especially with respect to the housing of the population. The UK law on housing defines the minimum standards of the housing structure and the number of people occupying a given housing space. Despite these legal requirements, the census data of housing shows that there is a steady increase in the providing adequate housing for the population and that the overcrowding in UK dwellings is a very common problem. This paper tries to identify the various factors that determine the overcrowding in UK housing market. We find that the overcrowding in UK housing market indicted by ‘the total number of bedrooms households actually has’ is significantly related to the joint income of the household personals and tenure type, whereas age under sixteen and rurality are not significant. We use Linear probability (regression) model for discrete dependent variables with multiple responses to test the hypothesis and also provide robust estimations.

Residents’ lamp purchasing behaviour, indoor lighting characteristics and choices in Swedish homes

Indoor lighting is known to affect people’s wellbeing, mood and behaviour. The rapid development of new energy-efficient lamp technologies has enabled new lighting applications in home environments. To investigate the prospects of introducing a personalised light emitting diode (LED)-based home lighting technology, a mixed-methods research study was carried out, applying the goal-framing theory. The results, based on a questionnaire survey ( N = 536), show that purchasing costs of energy-efficient lamps have little effect on consumers’ lamp choices, and that the degree of consumer acceptance of LED lamps has increased in recent years without resulting in increased lighting use. The results confirm that Swedish homes are characterised by many lamps, an average of 39 per home, but there is a significant variation across tenure type. Based on a qualitative analysis of interviews with 12 participants, the conclusion can be drawn that residents seem to know what kind of lighting they want, but they do not necessarily have what they want for a variety of reasons. Besides individual characteristics, situational factors influence residents’ home lighting and visual comfort, such as the indoor built home environment and the availability of lighting products. Consequently, responsibility for residents’ actual home lighting also lies with housing developers, lighting producers and providers.

Who lives in and owns cold homes? A case study of fuel poverty in Seoul, South Korea

The study aims to identify residence groups that are highly vulnerable to fuel poverty in the urban area of a South Korean city. Thereby, the paper emphasizes that fuel poverty problems occur in different ways according to the social and spatial contexts and thus need a more contextualized policy approach beyond the simplistic criteria of household income and heating cost. To fully capture the meaning of cold homes, an empirical dataset of thermal efficiency of individual dwellings and actual heating in a residential area in Seoul, South Korea is examined along with the tenure type and the ownership attributes. The analyses reveal that the amount of actual heating energy consumption did not show any clear relation with the thermal efficiency of housing or the tenure type. Additionally, considerably inefficient dwellings like old, detached houses are occupied by elderly owners who often lack both the financial capability and intention to properly maintain their properties. The result indicates that people who are living in cold homes are not always confined to poor residents living in rented homes. The study proposes some new types of potential fuel poverty based on the analyses of thermal efficiency and heating patterns by dwellings.

Immigration and house prices under various labour market structures in England and Wales

This article estimates the impact of immigration on local house prices under various local labour market structures in England and Wales. Typically, for the nation as a whole, newly arriving immigrants add to the overall housing demand; this would in general push up house prices when facing an upward-sloping supply curve. However, sorting and native-outmigration response to immigration may change the dynamics and impact at the ‘local’ level, depressing house prices through income change. We use data on England and Wales to investigate the local house price effect of immigration when taking into account the local labour market structure of the areas, particularly with respect to employment density and average socioeconomic profile (skill) of workers. We found that in high density of employment areas but with a majority of the occupations in low skill sets, there is a negative house price effect led by immigrant inflows, and this might be due to a type of tenure ‘downgrade’ in the area as immigrants increase the rate of free renting. Free renters are less likely to participate in the housing market themselves and an increase in the rate of this form of tenure could also reduce their mobility further, hence lead to lower levels of housing stock turnover and transaction-related renovation; as a result, both housing quality and house prices fall. The evidence is in addition to the native flight argument typically found in the literature to explain house price depreciation led by immigration.

Parcel locker systems in a car dominant city: Location, characterisation and potential impacts on city planning and consumer travel access

Automated systems enabling customers to pick-up e-purchased goods from designated 24 h Parcel Locker pick-up points are proliferating. While they offer the promise of improved access to goods and reduced travel for consumers and delivery vehicles, the integration of these systems in cities, and their impact on access, generally and by mode are understudied.This paper explores the development, site characteristics and regional location characteristics of Parcel Lockers in five South East Queensland (SEQ) cities, Australia, and discusses implications for urban and transport planning in a car-oriented city.Micro level site analyses for 45 locker locations provide information on facilities (e.g. access by modes and universal accessibility, ground level, tenure type, safety). Hierarchical cluster analysis helps identify categories of locations. Suburb-level census and land use data as well as distance from transportation infrastructure and other Australia Post facilities were gathered and used to compare regional suburbs with and without Parcel Lockers. Logistic regression identifies the suburb level characteristics associated with the presence of a Parcel Locker (n = 273).Parcel Lockers in Brisbane are generally located at Australia Post locations, on commercial streets, shopping centres, suburban arterials and industrial parks. Automobile access and nearby parking is nearly ubiquitous, whereas alternative transport access is limited. Though site locations are constrained by commercial decisions, proximity to highways, to public transport, population density, a good balance of jobs and population, and higher rates of household Internet access are associated with the presence of a Parcel Locker.Documenting and assessing site characteristics and regional location of Parcel Lockers can help ensure its optimal and adequate integration and distribution across the region to satisfy city and transport planning goals. In its current state, Australia Post's Parcel Lockers partially meet the objectives of a sustainable city.

Farmer's attitudes towards performance of agricultural extension centers in Qena governorate, Egypt

The objectives of this research were follows: Determining level farmer's attitudes towards performance of agricultural extension centers, determining performance obstacles of agricultural extension centers for extent of their impact on farmers, recognition proposals of the respondents to overcome these obstacles, and determining the relationship between the studied personal variables of the respondents and between level their attitudes towards performance of agricultural extension centers.The research was conducted on random sample of farmers in six villages in Qena governorate, Egypt, they were randomly selected, the sample size was 364 farmers, Percentage 5.4% of the total number of 6726 farmers in selected villages, using the equation, A prepared questionnaire used to collect data from farmers interviews, during the months of June, July and August 2017.Data were analysis and shown using illustrating tables, frequencies, with and percentages, and correlation coefficient for Spearman, using SPSS program. The results indicated that: More than half of the Percentage (56.3%) had level altitude towards performance extension centers a low. The most important obstacles agricultural extension centers the presence and impact for educational possibilities are: Limited number of extension seminars for farmers Percentage 90, 7%, and the most important obstacles to the extension centers related to the performance of staff and the most important are: The staff of extension center did not personal visits from farmers Percentage 95.9%. The most important proposals were: to conduct extension seminars inside and outside extension center Percentage 29,7%, With the provision of incentives Financial To encourage farmers to Attendance, and do Personal visits to the farmers in their fields Percentage 24.6%. Positive correlation relationship at a significant level of 0.01 between level Farmer's attitudes towards performance of agricultural extension centers, and between the following personal variables: educational level, Area of agricultural tenure, Number of extension seminars, membership in rural organizations, exposure to sources of information and openness. Negative correlative relationship at a significant level of 0.01 between level Farmer's attitudes towards performance of agricultural extension centers, and between the following personal variables: age and number years of experience in farm work, No correlation relationship significant between agricultural tenure type, and between level attitudes towards agricultural extension centers.

Ethiopian Urban Land Lease Policy Analysis Implementation: Case Study on A.A. City Administration

The term land has a very complex concept. It is this reason that some people called it as a double Dutch language. The demand for land stock derives first from the need for agricultural goods and housing, which is essentially a demand for land services. Many well known writers who were live at different times and place had described the importance of land very well. This is why, many countries and governments decide as the land to be as government property. It is this true that the government of Ethiopia publicized the urban land is the state property by declaring through the proclamation of 721/2011 Urban land policy. When we came to its implementation, however, may not as good as it was expected. Such as: setting price, affordability systems, monitoring and controlling mechanisms, etc. So, as a researcher, I want to deal with this situation by comparing the implementation practice and the policy sayings. This study had employed qualitative research design; internet based data collection mechanism; qualitative or word mouth method of analysis. I finally, by this study after all got results like: there are different experiences which are practiced by different countries; there are differences in designing, tenure admitting and holding system, price specification and land and property ,market system, as well as implementations of urban land lease policy among countries; though, there is no one consensus on the government or state ownership on urban land tenure type in the Ethiopian context, perhaps especially in the Addis Ababa Context; it is based on different and very crucial assumptions which have legal, social, and economic rationales in adopting the current Ethiopian Urban land lease policy; etc. standing from these findings, I recommends that: I can say or recommend that the urban land lease policy is the best and likely be pretty policy choices of cities like it what happen to the current situation in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In addition to that, I would likely recommend as it is better or pretty good for governments or for countries themselves if and only if they can follow or adopted the land lease policy tenure system than other tenure types, perhaps especially from the private tenure land policy type.

The impact of persistent poor housing conditions on mental health: A longitudinal population-based study

Living with housing problems increases the risk of mental ill health. Housing problems tend to persist over time but little is known about the mental health consequences of living with persistent housing problems. We investigated if persistence of poor housing affects mental health over and above the effect of current housing conditions. We used data from 13 annual waves of the British Household Panel Survey (1996 to 2008) (81,745 person/year observations from 16,234 individuals) and measured the persistence of housing problems by the number of years in the previous four that a household experienced housing problems. OLS regression models and lagged-change regression models were used to estimate the effects of past and current housing conditions on mental health, as measured by the General Health Questionnaire. Interaction terms tested if tenure type modified the impact of persistent poor housing on mental health. In fully adjusted models, mental health worsened as the persistence of housing problems increased. Adjustment for current housing conditions attenuated, but did not explain, the findings. Tenure type moderated the effects of persistent poor housing on mental health, suggesting that those who own their homes outright and those who live in social housing are most negatively affected. Persistence of poor housing was predictive of worse mental health, irrespective of current housing conditions, which added to the weight of evidence that demonstrates that living in poor quality housing for extended periods of time has negative consequences for mental health.

Housing conditions of urban households with Aboriginal children in NSW Australia: tenure type matters

BackgroundHousing is a key determinant of the poor health of Aboriginal Australians. Most Aboriginal people live in cities and large towns, yet research into housing conditions has largely focused on those living in remote areas. This paper measures the prevalence of housing problems amongst participants in a study of urban Aboriginal families in New South Wales, Australia, and examines the relationship between tenure type and exposure to housing problems.MethodsCross-sectional survey data was provided by 600 caregivers of 1406 Aboriginal children aged 0–17 years participating in Phase One of the Study of Environment on Aboriginal Resilience and Child Health (SEARCH). Regression modelling of the associations between tenure type (own/mortgage, private rental or social housing) and housing problems was conducted, adjusting for sociodemographic factors.ResultsThe majority (60%) of SEARCH households lived in social housing, 21% rented privately and 19% either owned their home outright or were paying a mortgage (“owned”). Housing problems were common, particularly structural problems, damp and mildew, vermin, crowding and unaffordability. Physical dwelling problems were most prevalent for those living in social housing, who were more likely to report three or more physical dwelling problems than those in owned (PR 3.19, 95%CI 1.97, 5.73) or privately rented homes (PR 1.49, 1.11, 2.08). However, those in social housing were the least likely to report affordability problems. Those in private rental moved home most frequently; children in private rental were more than three times as likely to have lived in four or more homes since birth than those in owned homes (PR 3.19, 95%CI 1.97, 5.73). Those in social housing were almost half as likely as those in private rental to have lived in four or more homes since birth (PR 0.56, 95%CI 0.14, 0.77). Crowding did not vary significantly by tenure type.ConclusionsThe high prevalence of housing problems amongst study participants suggests that urban Aboriginal housing requires further attention as part of efforts to reduce the social and health disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal Australians. Particular attention should be directed to the needs of those renting in the private and social housing sectors, who are experiencing the poorest dwelling conditions.

Arriendo en propiedad: arraigo y vulnerabilidad residencial en el barrio Puerto de Valparaíso

Current housing policies and the increased price of land hamper the construction of well-located dwellings for low-income groups in Chile. On the other hand, international recommendations propose the leasing of dwellings as a solution to the spatial segregation generated by housing policies. However, the situation of tenants and the activity of leasing as well as the housing policies involved in this sector have been scarcely explored in Chile and Latin America. The case study of the port district of Valparaiso, a site characterized by the development of this type of tenure –where more than 90 percent of dwellers are tenants– explores and describes the subjective dimensions of tenancy associated with attachment and the sense of belonging to the place of residence and the neighborhood, which transcend the type of land ownership. This paper analyses the characteristics of tenancy, which is understood as a specific type of residential vulnerability within a context marked by social production at a neighborhood scale and the pressure exerted by urban renewal and gentrification initiatives.

Explaining rural land use change and reforestation: A causal-historical approach

Research on human-environment interactions is bedeviled by two key analytical challenges: integrating natural and social science information and demonstrating causal connections between proximate and distant influences. These challenges can be met by adopting an event-focused, causal-historical approach to research methodology, referred to here as Abductive Causal Eventism (ACE). With ACE, researchers construct causal histories of interrelated social and/or biophysical events backward in time and outward or inward in space through a process of eliminative inference and reasoning from effects to causes, called abduction. ACE is contrasted with three leading approaches to human-environment research: Land Change Science (LCS), Socio-ecological Systems (SES), and Political Ecology (PE). For illustration, ACE is applied to a study of post-War environmental change in two rural watersheds in Saint Lucia, West Indies. Findings reveal that the most consequential change has been the widespread reforestation of lands abandoned from farming. This change occurred irrespective of the type of land tenure, but was especially commonplace on lands with steeper slopes and further from roads. Reforestation during the 1960s and 1970s was caused by a combination of commodity market challenges, abandonment of subsistence cultivation in response to smaller family sizes, and sizable out-migrations of younger adults overseas. The expansion of banana cultivation in the 1960s and then again in the 1980s slowed and in places reversed this trend. But an especially large wave of farmland abandonment swept the island from the mid-1990s to early-2000s because the banana export market collapsed as a result of preferential market access being eroded by a series of WTO trade rulings. These effects have been reinforced by a surge in investment from return migrants and the tourism industry which has drawn labour out of farming while also creating economic incentive and political support for protecting more forests on both private estates and public lands. Yet, the post-War trend in reforestation may have ended as agriculture displays signs of rebounding and residential and tourism development expands unabated into the countryside. This study demonstrates the advantages of using ACE where explanations entail diverse types of causes operating across space and over time.

A legal perspective of current challenges of the Spanish residential rental market

PurposeThis paper aims to explain the main difficulties in the Spanish residential rental market becoming a true alternative to home ownership.Design/methodology/approachCurrently, the Spanish rental market only meets temporary housing needs; it is very atomized and lacks professionalism. It does not provide an adequate legal framework to fulfil the parties’ aspirations (i.e. stability, affordability and flexibility for tenants; profitability, security and guarantees to landlords). The analysis of this proposition and the resulting proposal are based on six years of research, which started with the TENLAW European project.FindingsOvercoming these constrains is essential to double the rate of residential leases in Spain and get closer to the European average, thus achieving a true diversification of housing tenures and avoiding future housing bubbles.Practical implicationsThe paper makes a series of recommendations to legislators and policymakers to draft an adequate legal framework aimed at increasing the housing rental market share. This is based on the experience of mature tenancy markets in Europe, such as the German, Swiss and Austrian ones.Social implicationsThe new proposed legal framework will help to transform the tenancy model in Spain into a functional one, making it more stable, affordable and flexible, while increasing safety and profitability for landlords. The model is also applicable, on a more general level, to all Mediterranean European countries.Originality/valueRethinking the regulation of tenancies, in a context of housing crisis and unaffordability (still a reality in many European and worldwide countries) has valuable potential for making this type of tenure more popular and for avoiding future housing bubbles.

Tenure diversity and dependent causation in the effects of regional integration on land use: evaluating the evolutionary theory of land rights in Acre, Brazil

ABSTRACTIn the complex causation behind land change, dependent causation can play a central role. A case in point concerns land tenure diversity, where contrasting use rules for different lands may affect the impacts of other drivers on land use outcomes. We therefore evaluate the evolutionary theory of land rights (ETLR), which assumes homogeneous private property rights, in order to test for dependent causation due to distinct use rules among various types of private lands. In the present analysis, we focus on whether land tenure type modifies the effects of highway infrastructure on key outcomes highlighted in the ETLR framework. We take up the case of rural settlements along the Inter-Oceanic Highway in the eastern part of the Brazilian state of Acre, where there is considerable land tenure diversity. Findings from multivariate models for land titling, the castanha nut harvest, and cattle pasture all indicate that the effects of infrastructure depend on land tenure type. These results confirm the importance of dependent causation behind land use and bear implications for theory on land change, infrastructure impacts, and land system science.

Small area housing stress estimation in Australia: Calculating confidence intervals for a spatial microsimulation model

ABSTRACTThis study provides small area housing stress estimates by tenure type in Australia with a way of calculating confidence intervals for a spatial microsimulation model. Findings reveal that prevalence of housing stress for private-renter, buyer, public-renter and owner households are 59.6%, 33.2%, 6.9%, and 0.3%, respectively. Almost two-thirds of these households are located in statistical local areas (SLAs) in eight capital cities, and a large number of them are in Sydney and Melbourne. Estimates for private renters and buyers are significantly high in some capitals and southeast coastal regions. About 95.7% of SLAs show accurate estimates with narrow confidence intervals.

The Relationship of Perceived Organizational Support and Psychological Capital: An Investigation among High School Teachers

The current study primarily focused on the relationship of public high school teachers’ perceived organizational support and psychological capital levels. Further, this relationship was investigated in relation to participants’ gender, education, type of high school, tenure, marital status and membership to an education union. The study group of the study consists of 337 high school teachers from eight public high schools located in Ankara. The data were analyzed by utilizing t test, ANOVA, Pearson Momentum Correlation Coefficient, and multiple linear regression. The main findings are as follows; teachers perceive moderate levels of organizational support; the overall psychological capital level of teachers is relatively high; married teachers have higher levels of hope than single teachers; members of education unions have higher levels of hope and self-efficacy than non-member teachers; teachers working in vocational high schools have higher levels of resilience than teachers working in Anatolian high schools; and, teachers with bachelor’s degree have higher levels of optimism than teachers with graduate education degree. In addition, there is a moderate, positive and statistically significant relationship between teachers’ perceived organizational support level and overall psychological capital level. Furthermore, it was found that perceived organizational support together predict 20% of the total variance in overall psychological capital level of teachers, and perceived organizational support is a statistically significant predictor of psychological capital.

A Britain that everyone is proud to call home? The bedroom tax, political rhetoric and home unmaking in U.K. housing policy

ABSTRACTThis paper explores the prominence of rhetorics of home in UK politics. Through the analysis of key prime ministerial speeches, I trace the lineage of home in political rhetoric, paying particular attention to the ways in which the imaginary of the homespace has been moralised through tenure type. The paper examines the ways in which both of the country’s major political parties have utilised rhetoric that places homeliness and homemaking at the centre of citizenship construction and nation-building, whilst simultaneously introducing housing policies that contribute to class-based acts of home unmaking. The final section of the paper examines the case study of the bedroom tax as an example of the power and influence of rhetorics of home. I draw on interviews with social tenants affected by the policy to highlight some of the consequences of the moralisation of the home, and the everyday impacts of home unmaking policies. Conceptually, the paper makes a dual contribution to social and cultural geographies. Firstly, I highlight the need for a stronger dialogue between critical geographies of home and geographies of housing literature. Secondly, the paper utilises home unmaking as an integral, and yet relatively underexplored, means of extending critical geographies of home literature.

Employee reactions to the use of management control systems in hospitals: motivation vs. threat

ObjectiveManagement control systems (such as budgets or balanced scorecards) are formal procedures used by managers to promote employee behavior aligned with organisational objectives. Employees may react to these control systems by either becoming more motivated or perceiving them as a threat. The aim of this paper is to determine the extent to which hospital ownership (public or private), professional group (physician, nurse, pharmacist or administrative employee), type of contract (fixed or temporary), gender and tenure can condition employee reaction to management control systems. MethodsWe conducted the study in the three largest hospitals in the State of Santa Catarina (Brazil), two public (federal and state-owned) and one private (non-profit organisation). Physicians, nurses, pharmacists and administrative employees received a questionnaire between October 2013 and January 2014 concerning their current perceptions. We obtained 100 valid responses and conducted an ANOVA variance analysis. ResultsOur results show that the effect of management control systems on employees differs according to hospital ownership, professional group and type of contract. However, no significant evidence was found concerning gender or tenure. ConclusionsThe results obtained contribute to creating specific knowledge on the reactions of employees to the use of management control systems in hospitals. This information may be important in adapting management control systems to the characteristics of the hospital and its employees, which may in turn contribute to reducing dysfunctional worker behavior.

Protect our protected areas!: the value of protected areas for fauna research and conservation, a case study of New South Wales

Our aim in this study is to provide the first ever quantitative, historical and map-based information of what fauna has been studied and recorded both outside and inside the protected areas of New South Wales (NSW), which are principally National Parks and Nature Reserves. Our objective was to consider the value of National Parks and Nature Reserves for fauna research and biodiversity conservation, and gauge the extent and limits of our knowledge of the fauna of NSW. We compared the increase in the area of parks and reserves in NSW with the expansion of the fauna records in the Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) Atlas of NSW Wildlife, and analysed the use of Scientific Licences issued by OEH for fauna research for 3.5 years to mid-2014. We found that the distribution and the number of Scientific Licences within protected areas show a heavy bias to the eastern strip of the State, with a greater clustering for the area around Sydney and the north coast, but it is evident that researchers make considerable use of protected areas. The 6, 070, 769 Atlas fauna records were divided by tenure type: National Parks held 1, 118, 204 records (21.4 records/km2), while Nature Reserves held 386, 755 records (40.6 records/km2). The off-park records total was 4, 407, 486 representing 72.6% of all records, with a density of 6.0 records per km2. Of the grand total of all the fauna records, 7% were of threatened species. Birds and mammals comprise 81% of all fauna records in the Atlas. The greatest number of records are of birds (n = 4, 913, 511), followed by mammals (n = 832, 361, of which 321, 721, or 39%, were from WildCount). Given the success of the growth of the number, area and distribution of parks and reserves in NSW, the idea that they can carry the heavy load of the aspiration to conserve the biodiversity of NSW now seems feasible, even desirable, especially given the increasing intensity of land use from never-ending population growth and its impacts, such as land clearing, roading, logging, water use, alien invasive species and climate change. However, this study has also revealed that we have a very poor understanding of some faunal groups, in particular invertebrates, reptiles and amphibians. Fauna accumulation curves of both records and of species match closely the growth in the area of parks and reserves since the formation of the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service in 1967. Thus, the greater the area of parks and reserves, the greater the number of fauna records and of species. We took the historical view so that research is encouraged and the trajectory of the acquisition of new protected areas can be maintained. This study shows the ever-increasing value of protected areas to fauna conservation, and that it is vital to uphold the protected areas concept as a principal way to conserve our fauna. It should also be a guide to help recognise the importance of sustaining the effort to study our native fauna.