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Gaining Ground - The Socio-Economic Driving Forces Behind Decisions Regarding Land Use and Land-Use Change: An Overview.

Land use change, caused by human activities, is always associated with population growth and economic development. It is considered the major cause of substantial impacts on natural resources, which finally leads to increasing environmental and socio-economic problems. . This document contains a revision of the most recent literature available on land-use practice and land-use change. The main purpose of this study is to provide a detailed overview of the socio-economic forces behind decisions regarding land use and land-use change in the Mekong context. Furthermore, the study provides recommendations to organisations concerned based on the existing opportunities and challenges. . Studies on land use and land-use change showed that land-use change takes many forms and its causes are numerous and complex. Thus, in this study a simplified analytical framework, which identifies agents of change and distinguishes between immediate and underlying drivers of change is applied. Immediate drivers are the factors that affect decision at the household, community or firm level and are related to agents? socio-economic characteristics, to their physical, natural, social and political capital endowments, and to their access to markets and technology. These are the factors that determine how agents respond to broader macroeconomic and policy forces ? the underlying drivers of change. . In the Mekong Basin, the study found that the immediate causes of changes are varied while the underlying drivers of changes in this area are similar. The cultural differences of ethnic groups living in the region are the factors determining their land-use practices and how they respond to different government policies and market pressure.

Uploaded on: Aug 2006
File size: 848 KB - Language: English
Keyword(s): Natural Resources Management
Category: Environment

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