| Many conflicts in rural areas of (developing) countries originate from competitive interests among stakeholders in the use of land in its broadest sense. The overall aim of the Competing Claims Initiative of Wageningen UR ¿of which the current project is a component- is to obtain better understanding of the mechanisms of land use allocation and the outcomes thereof, taking into account the multiple scale nature of the drivers of land use change. The latter include, for example, globalization forces and conventions¿trade agreements, (conventions on biodiversity conservation, climate change, etc.) as well as the local requirements related to food security and livelihood security. Our direct interest is to develop and improve thematic interdisciplinary models as well as to develop effective stakeholder participatory consultation and negotiation approaches. The current Soutpansberg project focuses on the development of trans-border databases carrying natural resources and socio-economic data relevant in the land-use planning process. |
