02 Contents Frame
Chapter 1 The need for revision
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40 2019 ND-CP 413905
- Điều hướng trang này:
- THE OBJECTIVES OF LAND EVALUATION
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Chapter 1 The need for revision ORIGINS AND APPLICATIONS OF THE FRAMEWORK FOR LAND EVALUATION The resources of the developing world were systematically mapped in the nineteen- fifties to the seventies, the era of reconnaissance land resources surveys. The need arose for means to interpret these surveys in terms of land use potential. By 1970 many countries had developed their own systems of land evaluation. This made exchange of information difficult, and there was a clear need for international consultation to achieve some form of standardization. Two conferences and a review paper led to the development of the FAO Framework for land evaluation. The Framework for land evaluation (FAO 1976), a compact account of only 72 pages, has proved to be one of the most durable and widely used FAO methodologies in the area of land resources and agricultural development. Over more than a quarter of a century it has been implemented in many countries of the developing world, including Bangladesh (Brammer et al., 1988), Jamaica (FAO/UNEP 1994), Malaysia (Biot et al., 1984), Kenya (Fischer and Antoine 1994), Nigeria (Hill 1979, Veldkamp 1979), Sri Lanka (Dent and Ridgway 1986) and Thailand (Shrestha et al., 1995). The principles set out in the Framework have been amplified in guidelines on land evaluation for rainfed agriculture, forestry, irrigated agriculture, extensive grazing (FAO 1983, 1984, 1985, 1991), and for the special conditions encountered in hill and mountain areas (Siderius 1986). The Framework was a pioneering document in the now widely recognized concept of sustainability. One of its six basic principles was that land suitability refers to use on a sustained basis, so the aspect of environmental degradation was taken into account when assessing suitability. THE OBJECTIVES OF LAND EVALUATION Land evaluation supports many other disciplines. It may be used for many purposes, ranging from land use planning to exploring the potential for specific land uses or the need for improved land management or land degradation control. The primary objective of land evaluation is the improved and sustainable management of land for the benefit of the people. The aims of land evaluation as given in the original Framework remain wholly valid; where these refer to the identification of adverse effects and benefits of land uses, there is now greater emphasis on environmental consequences and on wider benefits and environmental and ecosystem services. Land evaluation is primarily the analysis of data about the land –its soils, climate, vegetation, etc.– in terms of realistic alternatives for improving the use of that land. It is true that uses which are socially or economically unrealistic, for example large-scale mechanized agriculture in areas already densely settled, are excluded at an early stage, and left out of the analysis. Nevertheless, land evaluation is focused upon the land itself, its properties, functions and potential. However, in contrast to the 1950s and 60s, when land settlement schemes were common, most current rural development is directed at areas where the people face economic and social problems, in particular hunger and poverty. Developments projects, whether through international aid or by national governments, are directed at alleviating such problems. There is a clear focus upon the people, the farmers and rural communities. Land evaluation – towards a revised framework 2 It might therefore appear that land evaluation would be out of touch with the ‘people first’ view. This is not, and has never been, the case. The Framework did not claim to provide the whole answer to rural development, but only to supply an important component, and this remains the case. There is a danger that the current focus on participation may lead to a neglect of the physical limitations of soil, climate, etc., that constrain rural land use. Land evaluation provides this vital element, helping to avoid the costly mistakes that have resulted from investment in forms of land development unsuited to local environmental conditions. Land evaluation, even in the expanded form proposed by this document, by no means amounts to the whole process of rural land development. It is a contributory element, linking various kinds of natural resource survey (soil survey, agro-climatic analysis, water resources appraisal, etc.) with technological aspects (agronomy, forestry, etc.) and with economic and social analysis. There is a particular need for land evaluation wherever the problems of farmers are caused or compounded by problems of the land, e.g. soil fertility decline, erosion, increased frequency of droughts due to climatic change. tải về 0.57 Mb. Chia sẻ với bạn bè của bạn:
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