Floor Brouwer – författare

Significant advances have occurred in recent years in Europe and in North America in addressing agri-environmental policies. Land use issues tend to be more pressing in Europe than in the US as a whole because of different spatial exigencies.

Because these advances have taken place within individual academic disciplines, there has been something of a loss of synergy and often efforts are duplicated. While important institutional and legal differences still exist between the two continents, the sharing of recent scientific advances will benefit scientists on both sides of the Atlantic and this is the main purpose of this book.

The authors aim to identify options for policy to overcome the challenges ahead, synthesize existing knowledge, and identify gaps in current knowledge. This is aided by the adoption of a properly comparative approach.

Significant advances have occurred in recent years in Europe and in North America in addressing agri-environmental policies. Land use issues tend to be more pressing in Europe than in the US as a whole because of different spatial exigencies.

Because these advances have taken place within individual academic disciplines, there has been something of a loss of synergy and often efforts are duplicated. While important institutional and legal differences still exist between the two continents, the sharing of recent scientific advances will benefit scientists on both sides of the Atlantic and this is the main purpose of this book.

The authors aim to identify options for policy to overcome the challenges ahead, synthesize existing knowledge, and identify gaps in current knowledge. This is aided by the adoption of a properly comparative approach.

The increasing demand for rural land and its natural resources is creating competition and conflicts. Many interested parties, including farmers, nature conservationists, rural residents and tourists, compete for the same space. Especially in densely populated areas, agriculture, recreation, urban and suburban growth and infrastructure development exert a constant pressure on rural areas. Because land is a finite resource, spatial policies which are formulated and implemented to increase the area allocated to one use imply a decrease in land available for other uses. As a result, at many locations, multi-purpose land use is becoming increasingly important. This notion of multi-purpose land use is reflected in the term ''multifunctionality''.

This volume provides insights into viable strategies of sustainable management practices allowing multiple functions sustained by agriculture and natural resources in rural areas. It shows how the rural economy and policies can balance and cope with these competing demands and includes numerous case studies from Europe, North America and developing countries.

The increasing demand for rural land and its natural resources is creating competition and conflicts. Many interested parties, including farmers, nature conservationists, rural residents and tourists, compete for the same space. Especially in densely populated areas, agriculture, recreation, urban and suburban growth and infrastructure development exert a constant pressure on rural areas. Because land is a finite resource, spatial policies which are formulated and implemented to increase the area allocated to one use imply a decrease in land available for other uses. As a result, at many locations, multi-purpose land use is becoming increasingly important. This notion of multi-purpose land use is reflected in the term ''multifunctionality''.

This volume provides insights into viable strategies of sustainable management practices allowing multiple functions sustained by agriculture and natural resources in rural areas. It shows how the rural economy and policies can balance and cope with these competing demands and includes numerous case studies from Europe, North America and developing countries.

Interactions between agriculture, climate and patterns of land use are complex. Major changes in agriculture, and land use patterns are foreseen in the next couple of decades in response to shifts in climate, greenhouse gas management initiatives, population growth and other forces. The book explores key interactions between changes in agriculture, patterns of land use and efforts to reduce greenhouse emissions from agriculture. The volume is based on inter-disciplinary science and policy interactions, exploring the way land use may aid in addressing or be affected by the onset of climate change and alterations in food demand. Future forces shaping land use decisions are examined, and its sensitivity to climate change is highlighted. Patterns of land use and the agricultural role in climate change mitigation are explored. Also, policy and social responses to the new perspectives on future land use patterns are identified. The perspective of the book is beyond the year 2015.

The success of land use policies has in the past often been hampered by the fact that we simply do not know enough about their impact on sustainable development across developing countries. This book contributes to bridging this knowledge gap while facilitating the successful design and implementation of land use policies. The challenge of land use changes in response to changes in the policy environment - macro policy, agricultural and forest policy, environmental policy - is explored with a focus on the South. Detailed case studies encompassing seven countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America are presented via a common framework of analysis. In each case, sustainable development concerns are identified from environmental, economic and social perspectives. The interrelated causes of these problems are analyzed by identifying key drivers and relevant land use policies, and the potential impact of prioritized land use policies are then discussed.

This important book will prove invaluable to academics, researchers, postgraduate students and policy makers concerned with land-use planning, sustainable development and environmental studies.

Contributors: A.M. Arbi, I. Bezlepkina, M. Bonin, F. Brouwer, M. Bursztyn, L. Chen, Y. Cisse, E. Coudel, S.A. Dalimunthe, N. Debortoli, N.I.S. Dewi, S. Feng, L.N. Gachimbi, P. Gicheru, H. Jeder, S. Kashyap, H. Konig, D. Lindoso, X. Ma, D. McNeill, S.N. Makokha, I. Nesheim, N. Novira, N. Ounalli, S. Patil, S. Purushothaman, F. Qu, T.S. Rahayu, P. Reidsma, S. Rodrigues-Filho, J. Schuler, M. Sghaier, X. Shi, J.-P. Tonneau, R. Verburg, J. Von Braun, J.W. Wamuongo, A.P. Wicaksono

With contributions covering a broad range of disciplinary perspectives and cross-cutting themes, the Handbook has a well-balanced mix of conceptual chapters and empirical studies. It includes a state-of-the-art analysis of the concepts and experiences in implementing the nexus in different policy environments, providing examples of successful integrated decision-making across the domains of water, energy and food. Offering a global perspective on water, energy and food security, the Handbook contains insights into achieving both national development goals and the Sustainable Development Goals. Chapters further highlight how to understand the concepts of the nexus in practice, impacts of the nexus in governance, policy and business, and methods and tools to strengthen the nexus.

Interdisciplinary and thorough, this Handbook will be critical reading for environmental management, public policy and human geography scholars. It will also be a useful tool for policymakers looking for successful examples of policy coherence towards an integrated management of water, energy and food resources.