Bottomland hardwood forests and pine forests in the southern United States provide valuable ecosystem services such as timber, recreation, wildlife habitat, carbon sequestration, floodwater storage, and sediment and nutrient retention. However, these forest ecosystems are threatened because of intensive forest management, forest land conversion, and urbanization. As private landownership dominates in this region, landowner participation is crucial for success of conservation programs facilitating ecosystem services. This research focused on three different aspects of private land conservation programs. First, it estimated the impact of environmental contextual factors, private land attributes and sociodemographic characteristics on landowner concern about environmental issues. Second, it determined the influence of private land attributes, environmental concerns, frequency of contacts with federal agencies and socioeconomic characteristics on landowner satisfaction with available conservation programs. Third, it estimated the monetary compensation required by landowners to implement conservation practices focused on increasing provision of ecosystem services. Data were collected using a mail survey and from online sources. Data were analyzed using seemingly unrelated regression and logistic regression models. Results indicated that private land attributes, particularly size of agricultural land owned, and landownership goals such as providing ecosystem services and profitability, had a greater magnitude of positive association with landowner concerns about environmental issues than other factors. Similarly, size of agricultural land owned, landownership goals such as profitability and personal recreation, concerns about wildlife habitat losses and frequent contacts with federal agencies were positively related to landowner satisfaction with conservation programs. Landowner willingness to participate in a conservation program was positively related to payment amount, concerns about wildlife habitat losses, frequency of contact with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and education level. Similarly, provision of clean water as landownership objective, concerns about hurricanes and tornadoes, and landowner age were negatively associated with landowner interests to participate in conservation programs. This research also quantified landowner median willingness to accept (WTA) compensation which was $229.98 ha-1 yr-1 for participation in a conservation program related to bottomland hardwood or pine forests. The findings help identify likely participants or landowners for conservation programs facilitating ecosystem services and determine actual conservation costs at a regional level.

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(農学) / 甲第23241号 / 農博第2448号 / 新制||農||1084(附属図書館) / 学位論文||R3||N5331(農学部図書室) / 京都大学大学院農学研究科生物資源経済学専攻 / (主査)准教授 三谷 羊平, 教授 伊藤 順一, 教授 梅津 千恵子 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Agricultural Science / Kyoto University / DGAM

Over the past several decades conservation easements have seen immense growth in their popularity. There are now over 40 million acres of easement land in the United States, up from only 1.4 million in 1998. A significant body of research exists on easements, factors that lead to their adoption, their consequences and effectiveness, and problems that arise from their use, among other topics. Our study contributes to this literature by exploring community and system-level effects on easement adoption, using Virginia as a case study, and applying a novel approach that incorporates spatial analysis and the insights of conservation professionals. The purpose of our research was to explore whether community-level factors affect easement adoption decisions, and what those factors are. Previously established variables were investigated to gauge their relationship to easement occurrence when scaled up to the community level, as well as to test our ability to make predictions about where easements should be most likely to occur. Spatial market segmentation data was also incorporated into this analysis to determine whether it could augment our understanding of community-level factors and predictive ability. Statistical models produced were reasonably predictive. However, we suspect that this was the case for different reasons at our community scale of analysis than at the individual landowner level examined in previous research. We used surveys and interviews with easement professionals to further explore additional variables that might explain adoption patterns. Results indicate the importance of system-level factors including change agents, opinion leaders, and local government and land-use planning. / Master of Science / Conservation easements are an increasingly common form of land protection. Unlike traditional conservation methods that involve directly purchasing and protecting land, such as national parks and forests, conservation easements allow private individuals to maintain ownership of their property while also ensuring that that land is conserved, remaining both undeveloped and unsubdivided. Our research was aimed at investigating whether communitylevel social factors might affect the ability and interest of landowners to adopt easements, and we focused our efforts on the state of Virginia. A combination of information collected through surveys and interviews with conservation professionals from across the state and publically available data were used to address the topic. Our results contained important lessons for conservationists and researchers alike. One such lesson was the apparent propensity for landowners who are more likely to adopt easements to have characteristics different, and sometimes even opposite, the general characteristics of people living in their surrounding community. Other lessons included the identification of community-level factors that affect the likelihood of easement adoption, including the presence of influential community members, and the support or opposition of local governments and land-use planning to easements.

I takt med att klimatet förändras ökar frekvensen av extrema väderhändelser. I Sverige har den ökade årsmedeltemperaturen och nederbörden förhöjt risken för översvämningar. Översvämningar är inget nytt fenomen och har i Sverige orsakat stor skada på privat och offentlig egendom, kritisk infrastruktur och samhället i stort. Med tanke på översvämningarnas breda definition avgränsas denna studie till översvämningar som härleds från havet, sjöar eller vattendrag.  För att skydda samhället mot översvämningar och mildra de sociala, ekologiska och ekonomiska skador som uppstår, implementerar kommuner och privata fastighetsägare olika typer av skyddsåtgärder, såsom skyddsvallar och dammar. Syftet med denna rapport är att undersöka vilka skyddsåtgärder som tillämpas, om privat mark tas i anspråk för att etablera översvämningsskydd och vilka ersättningsprinciper som används.  För att besvara uppsatsens frågeställningar tillämpas en kvalitativ metodansats, inkluderande fallstudier, litteraturstudier och semistrukturerade intervjuer, för att samla in data. Fallstudier från tio kommuner med kända översvämningsrisker utgör grunden för de erhållna resultaten och ger insikt i hur dessa frågor hanteras i kommunerna. Intervjuerna, som har genomförts digitalt, utgör den primära datakällan för fallstudierna och har kompletterats med relevant litteratur. Eftersom resultatet baseras på den data som erhållits från intervjuer styrs resultatet av den kompetens och kunskap respondenterna har samt hur insatta de är i ämnet.  I den teoretiska bakgrunden ges en översyn över de juridiska förutsättningar som kommuner har för att skydda egendom, infrastruktur och samhället mot översvämningar. Denna bakgrund tillhandahåller nödvändig information för att nyansera och kontextualisera resultatet.  I rapportens resultatdel presenteras fallstudier utförda på följande kommuner: Arvika, Göteborg, Halmstad, Kalmar, Karlstad, Kristianstad, Lomma, Trelleborg, Vellinge och Värnamo. Varje fallstudie analyserar och beskriver kommunens översvämningsrisker, genomförda skyddsåtgärder, processer för markåtkomst och ersättningsmodeller. Dessa studier illustrerar hur olika kommuner anpassar sina strategier utifrån förutsättningar och de juridiska verktyg som finns till hands. Kommuner som Kristianstad, Vellinge, Arvika och Karlstad har tagit privat mark i anspråk för att upprätta översvämningsskydd. I dessa kommuner har även ersättning utgått till fastighetsägarna för intrång i äganderätten. Ambitionen är att lösa förvärven via frivilliga överenskommelser, där befintlig lagstiftning underlättar förhandlingarna. Ersättningen baseras vanligtvis på en oberoende värdering av marknadsvärdet plus ett påslag på 25 % för att ge en skälig ersättning för skadan. I Vellinge har ersättningsfrågan varit särskilt omdiskuterad, och efter ett domstolsbeslut i Mark- och miljööverdomstolen fastställdes den intrångsersättning som utgick till fastighetsägarna.  I Göteborg och Trelleborg uppförs skydden inom ramen för detaljplaneprocessen. I de fall där kommunen inte äger mark, vilket dessa kommuner gör i stor utsträckning, har förvärvet av marken säkerställts inom ramen för de civilrättsliga avtal som upprättas när detaljplanerna realiseras. I Värnamo, Lomma och Halmstad har översvämningsskydden upprättats på kommunal mark, vilket innebär att ingen ersättning har utgått till privata fastighetsägare.  Från resultatet framgår tydligt att kommunernas unika förutsättningar styr de strategier som implementeras. I vissa kommuner tas privat mark i anspråk för säkra samhället mot översvämningar, vilket förefaller bero på vikten av att säkerställa kompletta skydd och de rådande markägoförhållandena. Majoriteten av förvärven har säkerställts med frivilliga överenskommelser, där lagstiftningen utgör grunden för förhandlingarna. Att skydda samhällen mot översvämningar är avgörande för att skapa socialt och ekonomiskt hållbara samhällen för medborgarna. Ett koordinerat kommunalt arbete med goda förutsättningar att upprätta skydd och stödja privata fastighetsägare kan bidra till säkrare och bättre rustade samhällen för att hantera de risker och skador som härleds till översvämningar. / As the climate changes, the frequency of extreme weather events increases. In Sweden, the rising annual average temperature and precipitation have heightened the risk of flooding. Flooding is not a new phenomenon and has caused significant damage to private and public property, critical infrastructure, and society at large in Sweden. Given the broad definition of flooding, this study is limited to floods originating from the sea, lakes or rivers.  To protect society against flooding and mitigate the social, ecological, and economic damages that occur, municipalities and private property owners implement various protective measures, such as levees and dams. The purpose of this report is to investigate the protective measures that are applied, whether private land is appropriated for establishing flood defenses, and the compensation principles used. This thesis employs a qualitative methodological approach, including case studies, literature reviews, and semi-structured interviews, to gather data. Case studies from ten municipalities with known flood risks form the basis of the results and provide insight into how these issues are managed locally. The interviews, conducted digitally, serve as the primary data source for the case studies and have been supplemented with relevant literature. Since the results are based on data obtained from interviews, they are influenced by the competence and knowledge of the respondents and their familiarity with the subject. The theoretical background provides an overview of the legal frameworks available to municipalities to protect property, infrastructure, and society against flooding. This background provides essential information to nuance and contextualize the results. The results section presents case studies conducted in the following municipalities: Arvika, Gothenburg, Halmstad, Kalmar, Karlstad, Kristianstad, Lomma, Trelleborg, Vellinge, and Värnamo. Each case study analyzes and describes the municipality's flood risks, implemented protective measures, land acquisition processes, and compensation models. These studies illustrate how different municipalities adapt their strategies based on conditions and available legal tools. Municipalities such as Kristianstad, Vellinge, Arvika, and Karlstad have appropriated private land to establish flood defenses. In these municipalities, compensation has also been awarded to property owners for infringements on property rights. The goal is to resolve acquisitions through voluntary agreements, where existing legislation facilitates negotiations. Compensation is usually based on an independent valuation of the market value plus an additional 25% to provide fair compensation for the damage. In Vellinge, the issue of compensation has been particularly contentious, and after a court ruling in the Swedish equivalent to Land and Environment Court of Appeal, the compensation awarded to property owners was established. In Gothenburg and Trelleborg, the defenses are constructed within the framework of the detailed planning process. In cases where the municipality does not own the land, which is often the case in these municipalities, the acquisition of land has been secured within the framework of the civil law agreements established as the detailed plans are realized. In Värnamo, Lomma, and Halmstad, the flood defenses have been established on municipal land, meaning that no compensation has been paid to private property owners. The results clearly show that the unique conditions of the municipalities dictate the strategies implemented. In some municipalities, private land is appropriated to secure the community against flooding, which appears to depend on the importance of ensuring complete protections and the prevailing land ownership conditions. The majority of acquisitions have been secured through voluntary agreements, where legislation forms the basis of the negotiations. Protecting communities from flooding is crucial for creating socially and economically sustainable communities for citizens. Coordinated municipal efforts with good conditions for establishing defenses and supporting private property owners can contribute to safer and better-prepared communities to manage the risks and damages associated with flooding.

MENVSC / Department of Ecology and Resource Management / This study uses lens to understand conflict over the use of land and its resources in the Mapungubwe area. The main underlying assumption of the study is that various land use activities that are not compatible with each other lead to land use conflict. The aim of the study is to assess land use conflict in the Mapungubwe area. In particular, the study intends to find out the historical and contemporary land-use conflict, compare and contrast the historical conservation objectives with the current conservation objectives in the Mapungubwe area, find out the reasons that made farmers to oppose conservation objectives now and in the 1940s and to investigate the effects of historical and contemporary land use conflict in the Mapungubwe area. In order to achieve these objectives, primary and secondary data were collected. Secondary data that was used included historical documents about Mapungubwe, Hansards or House of Assembly debates of South Africa from 1940 to 1948, newspapers articles, books and journal articles. Secondary data were used to find out the historical land use conflict that took place in the Mapungubwe area. Primary data were collected through semi-structured interviews with private game farmers, commercial irrigation farmers, farm workers (former and current), Mapungubwe National Park officials and land claimants. Field observations were used to corroborate information collected through interviews. Primary data were collected in order to find out the contemporary land use conflict taking place in the Mapungubwe area. The main findings of this study are that land use conflict in Mapungubwe area is not new; rather it started in the 1940s when the United Party government intended to establish the Dongola Wildlife Sanctuary. However, the idea of a wildlife sanctuary led to land use conflict, particularly between farmers and the ruling United Party government. In other words, land use conflict was mainly among conservationists (who were members of United Party) and farmers. Unfortunately, the idea of a wildlife sanctuary in the Mapungubwe area was caught up in political battles between the governing United Party and the opposition National Party that eventually led to its abandonment following the electoral victory of the National Party in the general elections of 1948. The study also found that the contemporary Mapungubwe is also affected by land use conflict. The conflict is mainly because of various land use activities including irrigation farming, game farming, mining, settlement, and land claims that are not compatible with conservation. Land use activities including irrigation and ii game farming, settlement and mining are happening within and around Mapungubwe National Park. This has made it difficult to consolidate the core area of Mapungubwe National Park. As a result, although Mapungubwe National Park has been established in 1995, the park remains fragmented. This study has used Mapungubwe as a case study to demonstrate that the interest over land and its resources in an area by various stakeholders create land use conflict. / NRF

Land in its nature and destination is a peculiar real estate. Issues of land ownership are topical to all, as most of us were affected by problems of property right restoration, others wish to acquire new land lots for private building. Land belongs not to private persons, but to the state, municipalities. Persons owning land lots according to title are interested in the opportunity to conclude real estate transactions. The appearing disagreement and disputes regarding title are settled in the manner prescribed by laws. In the present Master theses the ways and conditions of acquiring land for ownership are discussed, private land ownership right is considered and also the right of state and municipalities to have land in their ownership is analyzed. In another chapter the law of disposal of land, land transactions peculiarities are analyzed comparing them with other real estate transactions. In the third part the inviolability of ownership right and protection of land ownership law consolidated in the Constitution is analyzed.