Environmental Regulation of Land Use and Public Compensation: Principles, and Swiss and Australian Examples

Abstract

The authors discuss the regulation of rural land use and compensation for property-rights restrictions, both of which appear to have become more commonplace in recent years but also more contested. The implications of contemporary theories in relation to this matter are examined, including: the applicability of new welfare economics; the relevance of the neoclassical theory of politics; and the implications of contemporary theories of social conflict resolution and communication. Examination of examples of Swiss and Australian regulation of the use of rural properties, and the ensuing conflicts, reveals that many decisions reflect a mixture of these elements. Rarely, if ever, are social decisions in this area made solely on the basis of welfare economics, for instance social cost-benefit analysis. Only some aspects of such decisions can be explained by the neoclassical theory of politics. Theories of social conflict resolution suggest why, and in what way, approaches of discourse and participation may resolve conflicts regarding regulation and compensation. These theories and their practical application seem to gain in importance as opposition to government decisions increases. The high degree of complexity of most conflicts concerning regulation and compensation cannot be tackled with narrow economic theories. Moreover, the Swiss and Australian examples show that approaches involving conflict resolution may favour environmental standards.

Inclusive Development? A State-Led Land Development Model in New Town, Kolkata

“…Third, in New Town state actions have shown the hallmark of the largely top-down process and lack of consensus building among various parties at key stages of the project. Elsewhere, issues of compensation and democratic participation have been closely linked (Seidl et al, 2002). In this context the absence of a powerful mediator, as a precondition to balance the power struggle, is pronounced.…”

“…Elsewhere, issues of compensation and democratic participation have been closely linked (Seidl and Harrison, 2002). In this context absence of a powerful mediator, as a precondition to balance the power struggle is pronounced.…”

“…The state is accountable to people, more so during the economic transition. Although the inability of economic theories to tackle the complexity of the compensation has been recognised (Seidl and Harrison, 2002), the social dimension are far from addressed. The question of what the bundle of property rights is in terms of social considerations becomes important given the rural population is forced to bend themselves to unfamiliar and alien norms of urban lifestyles, and that too without being provided alternative means of occupation or homes 26 .…”

Existance of solutions for some class of system quasilinear differentials with nonlocal boundary conditions and with nonlinearity depandant on the first derivate in time scales

“…In this work we are interested in the existence of solutions for the following The stady of the problems in the times scales with nonlinear boundary conditions have been by several authors using Leray-Shauder fixed points, the upper and lower solutions method, the coincidence degree theory of Mawhin and fixed point theorems in the cones (see [3], [8], [14] and [23]).…”

Reorganisation of wood production for improved performance: a swiss forest district case study

“…Furthermore, forest managers face the problem of rising production costs and declining sales revenues. Operating results make it increasingly difficult to fulfil the multifunctional requirements on the forests: prevention of avalanches and landslides or blocking of falling rocks, habitat protection of endangered animals and plants, stimulation of biodiversity and enhancement of recreational benefits (Seidl et al 2002). Recently, various interest groups have become increasingly emphatic on their specific demands thus confronting the forest managers with accentuating and conflicting claims (e.g.…”