Hubert Wiggering – författare

Global change, land use policies and EU enlargement affect the driving forces for landscape functioning, land use management and rural development. New demands on landscapes and natural resources call for multifunctional approaches to land development. Tools are required to (i) identify the effects of land management on landscape sustainability and (ii) support the decision-making process on the multipurpose utilisation of landscape resources.

Scientists from across Europe installed the Landscape Tomorrow network to be prepared for new challenges of research on sustainable land development in a European perspective. In this publication they (i) analyse general principles of land use multifunctionality, (ii) highlight the specific requirements and approaches of implementing multifunctional land use from different disciplinary viewpoints, (iii) report on success stories of multifunctional land use from different geographic and political settings, and (iv) discuss modelling and monitoring approaches to scientifically assess the impact of mutlifunctional land use implementation. The book contributes to the scientific basis for future land development strategies and helps supporting land use decision making on the political, planning and management level.

Rural regions in Europe are evolving under powerful boundary conditions such as globalisation, socio-cultural transformations and climate change, which in turn increases natural hazards. The regional land use and the evolvement of landscapes is increasingly shaped trends and drivers like infrastructural, energy or housing needs, globalised agricultural markets, and consumption habits. To face these challenges and to balance competitiveness with social cohesion, the "InnoLand research and development network" induces and accompanies promising land use innovations at the landscape scale in 10 European rural regions. Based on a common conceptual approach among the InnoLand partners, the development and implementation of new competitive strategies is conducted as a science-practice dialogue with strong commitment to the regional policy design for rural development. With this book, the network partners provide an overview and a comparative analysis of selected experimental regional approaches and give examples for the successful tackling of future opportunities and threats.