Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2006. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 152 p. : ill. (some col.), map. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 140-147).

Thesis (M.S. in environmental engineering)--Washington State University, May 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D. in civil engineering)--Washington State University, August 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D. in civil engineering)--Washington State University, December 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

This study provides a spatial and temporal examination of land use change in a southern Illinois wilderness area. The study area is the Clear Springs and Bald Knob Wilderness areas. Land patent and Forest Service acquisition records were compiled with spatial and temporal elements of land transfers examined utilizing a geographic information system (GIS). Current wilderness recreation site impacts and opportunities for solitude conditions were inventoried. Land-cover data for 1938, 1965, 1993, and 2005 were created and analyzed utilizing a geographic information system (GIS). Results indicate that land use change and land ownership have varied both spatially and temporally. First, land ownership transfers were influenced by land costs, availability of funds and topography. Lower land costs resulted in increased land transfers. Bottomlands remained in private ownership for longer periods of time. Second, minimal developments or human improvement for visitor convenience were evident in the wilderness areas. Remote areas offer ample opportunities for wilderness visitors to seek solitude. Wilderness management efforts should continue to monitor areas on a five-year basis to capture status and trends. Third, intensity and temporal human-initiated landscapes have varied. Upland forest dominated the land cover in 1938 with some evidence of grass and croplands located predominantly on bottomlands. By 1993, grass and cropland had virtually been removed from this landscape replaced by forests. Evidence of past land use change exists on the landscape.

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / This study identifies and discusses the challenges of negotiation as a conflict management tool with reference to the negotiation process of the land conflict in the Mulanje district of Malawi between tea companies and the villagers who live around the tea estates. Although the negotiation process started on 15th January 2000, there were no expected outcomes as of end of October 2008. In order to identify the challenges of the negotiation process, the study has specifically provided in-depth analyses of the land conflict and the negotiation process in Mulanje. The study consequently has recommended, among other things, the introduction of conflict transformation initiatives as a way of mending the relationship between the conflicting parties, institutionalization of conflict management training, review of the role of government and strategic cooperation of stakeholders in addressing the structural causes of conflicts among other recommendations. / South Africa

No description available.

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / The Government of Namibia has been responsible for facilitating the resettlement of destitute and landless people since its independence in 1990. The provision of resettlement is a very contentious issue in Namibia. The bulk of land is still in the hands of minority white communities and foreigners. It is against this background that the study examined the land reform process in Namibia. The objectives of the study was to investigate to what extent the land reform process has been successful in one of Namibia's regions, and what factors are relevant for success, and identify ways to improve the process; to examine the original government objective/policy and how/why it changed over time. / South Africa

Magister Philosophiae (Land and Agrarian Studies) - MPhil(LAS) / The thesis examines continuity and change in the agrarian history of the Mwenezi District, southern Zimbabwe since 1980. It analyses agrarian reforms, agrarian practices and development initiatives in the district and situates them in the localised livelihood strategies of different people within the Dinhe Communa Area and the Mangondi resettlement Area in Lieu of the Fast-Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP) since 2000. The thesis also examines the livelihood opportunities and challenges presented by the FTLRP to the inhabitants of Mwenezi.The thesis contributes to the growing body of empirical studies on the impact of Zimbabwe's ongoing land reform programme and to debates and discourses on agrarian reform. / South Africa

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This dissertation investigates the processes which underpin land grabbing, the diverse land grab types, actors involved and their roles in facilitating the expropriation of community land. It also interrogates the agrarian transformations and socio-economic consequences and the mechanisms employed by the local communities in Amuru district of Northern Uganda to block and resist the expropriation of their land. To achieve these objectives, this study employed a qualitative research design and methodology. The techniques that were used to collect the data are review of secondary data, individual in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The study revealed that liberalisation of the Ugandan economy reduced the role of the state and subsequently promoted market approaches to land and agrarian reform. Market-led approaches have facilitated the commoditisation and entry of private investment in land and agriculture in Uganda. The dissertation identifies two distinct categories of land grabs in Amuru district. The first category comprises of two cases. One, large-scale land grabbing for commercial agriculture by the Madhvani Group in Lakang village; and two, large-scale land grabbing for conservation purposes by Lake Albert Safaris Limited in Apaa village. The second category encompasses localised small-scale land grabs between and among local communities of Amuru district. I further disaggregated the localised small-scale land grabs into four broad categories which are ‘inter and intra-community’ as well as ‘inter and intra-family’ land grabs, with the former encompassing the broader members of the community, while the latter involves members of related families. The actors who are directly and indirectly involved in land grabbing are domestic and foreign investors, the Ugandan state, Uganda Wildlife Authority, local governments, military personnel, the politically connected and rich peasants in Amuru district. Whereas land grabbing in Amuru district has resulted in the accumulation of more land, power and capital for domestic and foreign investors as well as local elites, loss of agrarian livelihood systems, rights to land, cultural heritage, identity, spirituality and belonging, incarceration and loss of lives as well as destruction of property have, in turn, disempowered and marginalised the local communities. A wide range of response mechanisms, including open display of nudity by elderly women, seeking legal redress from statutory courts and traditional authorities, questioning the procedure of land acquisition, acceptance and rejection of widow inheritance have been deployed by the local communities to block and resist the expropriation of their land.