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Natural calamities such as drought, famine, and climate change have collided to create a humanitarian crisis. For the Horn of Africa (HoA), famine is among the factors that have caused the worst historical damages to the individual countries. Man-made calamities such as decentralized agricultural, pastoral activities and forest clearing are also root causes for the damage. Institutional arrangements (IAs) on land tenure systems and agricultural land conversion (ALC) as a part of this problem will be analyzed in this paper. Poor IAs on land are considered the main cause of insecure land tenure which diminishes the productivity of agriculture in this region, and this, specifically in times of drought, exacerbates famine. Accordingly, the paper explores the idea that to what extent poor IAs on land tenure systems can explain the famine in the HoA. IAs on land comprise two main functions: land quality management and regulation and standard-setting for land utilization. The types of IAs for land often differ. The "optimal" arrangement depends on political, economic, social, climatic, geographical, and technical factors that together form a complex system of IAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The North Bohemian brown coal basin is located near to the frontier between the Czech Republic and Germany. It is a part of wider region known as the Black Triangle. Open-cast coal mining has caused total destruction of original ecosystems, as well as changes of relief and also land-use changes in the surrounding areas. Specialists call this situation landscape memory loss.Reconstruction of a landscape or creation of a new landscape is very difficult in areas where mining has come to an end. One of the most difficult issue is the reintroduction of target species. Recent studies suggest that large inhospitable patches are avoided by animals, and that many species need more than one landscape element in proximity. Generally, species diversity is greater in heterogeneous landscapes. Greater landscape heterogeneity also provides better conditions for fast reintroduction of target species into the wasteland.This paper presents a case study on land use—the recultivation of landscape in the Chabarovice area (1400 ha). Landscape heterogeneity is the quantitative criterion for the final proposal of a new landscape mosaic. Three comparative areas were analyzed—two of them adjacent to the study area (present state), while the other analyzed the historical state of the study area in 1842.The information gained from the studies of adjacent areas, and from the historic study of the study area itself, was not used in order to reconstruct the area as it had once been, nor even in order to reproduce a situation similar to that in nearby areas. The aim was to take advantage of the opportunity to improve the environment in the study area considerably, and to do so a way that will benefit biodiversity throughout the whole region. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• The aim was to analyze landholders' perceptions of threats and opportunities of conversion of steep land to orchard (CSLO). • Results showed the most landholders in the study area were well-informed of CSLO threats compared to CSLO opportunities. • Reduction of soil erosion and deterioration was the most common perceived opportunities of CSLO. • High perception of CSLO threats makes the landholders less supportive of the CSLO scheme· Policy-makers should establish the landholders' trust in long-term program to achieve successful implementation of CSLO. This survey study aimed to explore landholders' perceptions of possible threats and opportunities of the CSLO scheme in the Chehel-Chay watershed located in Golestan province, Iran. Furthermore, the influence of these perceptions on the intention to adopt the scheme was assessed. For this purpose, 345 landholders were selected through multi-stage sampling, and the data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire. Results showed that most landholders in the study area were well-informed of CSLO threats rather than CSLO opportunities. For those landholders who cultivate in public land, "the seizure of land ownership by the government" was perceived as the most important threat of CSLO. Furthermore, the contribution of CSLO to the soil erosion mitigation and deterioration was found to be the most frequent perceived opportunity to the CSLO scheme. Based on the findings, the importance of uncertain future costs of implementing CSLO in the rapidly changing Minodasht County should not be ignored by policymakers. This study demonstrated the importance of examining both positive and negative perceptions of landholders about the opportunities and threats of the CSLO scheme. The study concluded that land use policymakers should take into account that the implementation of CSLO has positively contributed to landholders' perception. In other words, the landholders are willing to adopt the scheme. Therefore, policymakers should consider the importance of establishing the landholders' trust in long-term programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The paper delivers a review of land use policies and rigorous case-studies evidence at a global perspective. • It highlights the need to understand different land distribution programs in the context of development theories. • Understanding development theories are an urgent need for land use policy makers to prevent land users from being displaced. • The paper concludes that development theories support multiple understandings of property rights. • The paper recommends traditional land distribution programs need to be revised based upon development theories. Land distribution is the main core of economic development analysis. The main objectives of land distribution are the improvement of living standards in rural areas, redistribution of land by developing new land registration, redistributing income through job creation, and increasing the productivity of agricultural products. This paper discusses different land distribution programs and outlines the major demands for development theories. It delivers a review of land policies and rigorous case-studies evidence from a global perspective. It also presents a review of historical and sociopolitical literature to evaluate the trend of land distribution, agro-ecological potential of development theories, and various policy debates on land use. In addition, the paper provides a coherent review of case studies to analyze different development theories regarding the concept of land distribution. This paper concludes that development theories support multiple understandings of property rights, including community and policy debates regarding poverty alleviation in poor regions. Moreover, it conceptualized that development theories are urgently needed to prevent people from being driven out of their land. However, it is unlikely that land distribution is the most efficient policy and political framework in contexts. Therefore, traditional land distribution programs need to be revised considering development theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This study aimed to compare agricultural sustainability with and without land leveling and consolidation plans. • Results showed that in leveled and consolidated lands, the sustainability status of the ecological dimension is "good". • The sustainability status of the social and economic dimensions is "moderate". • The net present value of agricultural activities' revenues is higher in leveled and consolidated lands. • Agricultural activities in leveled and consolidated lands have a better status in terms of sustainability. In recent years, sustainability has always been one of the most important approaches in policy making and program development in general, especially in the agricultural sector. On the other hand, land leveling and consolidation programs are usually implemented as the development programs of the agricultural sector in different regions of Iran. Thus, the aim of this study was to compare the agricultural sustainability in two different regions (with and without land leveling and consolidation) in Zarghan District, Fars Province, Iran. In this research, a quantitative research approach has been used, and data were collected in two phases using a researcher-made questionnaire. The results of the first phase of the study showed that in the leveled and consolidated lands, the ecological dimension is potentially in a good status of sustainability, but social and economic dimensions are in a moderate status. In the unleveled and unconsolidated lands, the ecological dimension is potentially in a good status, while the social dimension is in a moderate, and economic dimensions are in a potentially weak status of sustainability. In addition, comparing the results of the two groups of lands demonstrated that there is a significant difference between them in terms of ecological and economic sustainability, and in consolidated and leveled lands, ecological and economic sustainability are in a more favorable status. Furthermore, the results of the second phase of the research indicated that agricultural activities in both categories of land are beneficial. However, the net present value of agricultural activities revenues in the leveled and consolidated lands is higher than those of the areas outside the coverage of this plan. Therefore, it can be concluded that agricultural activities in leveled and consolidated lands, not only have a better status in terms of sustainability but also have a higher economic justification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]