The Governance of the Countryside Property, Planning and Policy

About this book

Conflicts over the conservation of biodiversity, changing patterns in land use, pollution, climate change, public access and increasing demands for food and energy security lead to the creation of policies designed to reconcile interests and promote society's objectives. The Governance of the Countryside examines the origins and evolution of the institutions that determine the use and management of land and the delivery of ecosystem services, through private property rights, markets and public policies. Divided into five accessible parts, The Governance of the Countryside provides detailed coverage of the institutions, property and governance of the countryside, historical models, governance under sectoral policies and alternative approaches. It is carefully developed to meet the needs of anyone studying or interested in agricultural sciences, countryside management, rural environment and geography. Students, lecturers, policy makers, managers and consultants in these areas will find this a valuable resource.

Contents

Preface

Part I. Introduction
1. The place of the countryside
2. Institutions, property and governance
3. Institutions in the countryside

Part II. Historical Models
4. Co-operation for production: common fields and enclosure
5. Delivering diversity: the great estates and the management of the land

Part III. Governance under Sectoral Policies
6. Agricultural policies, farming and the environment
7. Land, development and planning
8. Protected areas: the example of National Parks
9. Wildlife conservation: National Nature Reserves, Sites of Special Scientific Interest and large-scale conservation areas
10. Public rights of way and access to the countryside
11. The control of agricultural pollution
12. The development of agri-environment policy

Part IV. Alternative Approaches to Governance
13. Reconstituting markets
14. Co-ordination, co-operation and collective action
15. Public land ownership
16. Conclusions: ecosystem governance and resilient countrysides

References
Index

Customer Reviews

Biography

Ian Hodge is Professor of Rural Economy in the Department of Land Economy and Fellow of Hughes Hall at the University of Cambridge, where he has held appointments since 1983. He has over 40 years' experience of working in the areas of agricultural and environmental economics and policy, rural development and land use and countryside governance. He is currently a member of the Defra Economic Advisory Panel, previously a member of the MAFF/Defra Agricultural Economics Academic Panel, English Nature Socio-Economic Advisory Group, MAFF Task Force for the Hills and was a technical advisor to the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Review Group.