- Email: [email protected]
Farmlands preservation — The state of the art
404
secutive steps to be taken between “awareness of a need” to “‘final report” are described. A distinction between successive and parallel activities is maintained, while specific agencies and/or disciplines responsible for every activity are listed. Awareness of specific problems in developing countries is demonstrated in the implied assumption that basic data are not readily available, as well as in such items as “the evaluation of the adequacy of the capacities in the public administratiol~ agencies to undertake and execute the proposed projects”, and “restraints liable to slow down progress of developments” and “verification of the adequacy of legal provisions”. (Of course some of these misgivings might also be applicable in countries that are supposed to be well developed.) This part is followed by another 40 pp, describing, associated activities in specified problem fields, namely, socialinstitutional economic, physical resources, and infrastructure (pp. llO-150). One could call this a guideline or a checklist for planners. The information as given demonstrates lengthy experience on the part of the authors in setting up projects of a more technical character in developing countries. These aspects make this the most valuable part of the book. The third main section covers about half of the book and contains a description of the task, function, expertise required, working methods, data to he obtained etc. for each individual discipline involved. The reader is referred back to the activity lists in section two in order to be able to establish the place and function of the individual discipline in the wholtt planning process. The only need for the contribution of a ‘town and country planner’ appears in one of the last chapters, that is, “physical infrastructure”. Here “experience in designing the hierarchy of service centres in rural areas” would be in demand. The awareness of the existence of such things as a relation between the perception of environmental quality and cultural values, and resulting planning and design opportunities is apparently non-existent in this group of otherwise highly qualified specialists. Summing up one could say that the authors of this book prove to be in the possession of a respectable amount of knowledge on specific problems in developing countries, even if they do perhaps lack insight into the need for additional support. This support could be both profitable from the point of view of comprehensive planning and in the design field. M.J. VROOM (Wugeningen,
FARMLANDS
7’he Netherlands)
PRESERVATION
- The State of the Art. Frederick Steiner and John Theilacker (Editors). Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Cooperative Extension and the Partnership for Rural Improvement, Washington State University. Pullman, WA, 1980, 167 pp. U.S. $ 10.000.
Farmlands Preservation
405
This is a useful contribution on an important subject which deserves wider professional attention than a processed publication from an agricultural extension organization is likely to receive. The report is the proceedings of a conference held at Washington State University in November 1979. The report consists of 16 essays or contributions, organized into four major parts: (1) overview of farmlands preservation; (2) local approaches for farmlands preservation; (3) state approaches for farmlands preservation, and (4) federal involvement in farmlands preservation. Parts one and four are useful discussions of their respective topics, but the information and ideas in them are to be found in various other publications, and hence are not original or new here. The importance of preserving the better farmlands is stressed and a number of federal programs to that end are discussed in several essays in these two parts. The information in parts two and three on local and state approaches to farmland preservation is much less accessible elsewhere or is generally not easily available, and therefore of greater value to the interested reader. In six articles or essays the efforts of various counties in the U.S.A. to preserve some or all of their better farmlands from conversion to urban or other nonfarm uses are described in part two. One is impressed, not only with the sincerity and dedication of the persons and groups discussed, but with their ingenuity and resourcefulness in devising programs which may be effective and which can probably withstand legal and political assaults. In part three, the efforts of Wisconsin and Oregon are described in some detail. In each case, there is a recognition that urban, transportation, industrial and other non-farmland uses must be provided for, and under circumstances such that neither no-growth nor discrimination against income or racial groups can fairly be charged. The Wisconsin program includes an ingenious property tax credit, the amount of which depends on household income and on amount of property taxes. The Oregon program is unique, because of, among other characteristics, its effort to preserve from development all agricultural land, not merely ‘prime’ agricultural land. These programs are new, undergoing some change, with perhaps their greatest tests lying ahead when initial enthusiasms may have died down. Nevertheless, they sound promising. In part three, Richard W. Dunford of Washington State University describes the tax relief programs undertaken in 48 of the 50 states, ostensibly to protect farmlands against urban development pressures. He concludes that most of these programs have been ineffective. The general failure of this approach, which was adopted with some enthusiasm in many states, suggests a need for caution when judging some of the newer programs to be effective. Although the approaches in the counties and states described differ considerably, there seems some consensus on the need for public understanding and support, adequate data about land, sound plans, provision for growth and changing demands for land, some degree of flexibility to meet particular situations, and for vigorous use of such old standbys as land use zoning. Preservation of the ‘better farmland is an issue which has aroused a good deal of concern in the United States. Progress, as distinct from oratory, has
406
been slight. Many believe that the issue is primarily a local, not a national, one. If this is true, then the efforts of counties and states to meet their particular problems, and to implement their individual goals and objectives, is highly important. MARION
CLAWSON
(Washington,
DESERTIFICATION
PROBLEMS
DC, U.S.A.)
AND SOLUTIONS
Land, Man and Sand: Desertification and its Solution. James Walls. Macmillan, New York, NY, and Collier-Macmillan, London, 1980, 336 pp., U.S. $19.95, ISBN o-02-699810-6.
xi +
‘Desertification’, a word of dubious linguistic legitimacy, now has the official stamp of approval of the United Nations, which organised a Conference on Desertification in Nairobi in 1977. The Conference itself appears to have had difficulty in finding a universally acceptable definition of desertification, but less specialised individuals may be content with “the spread of desertlike conditions”. According to the book under review, and following the customary pattern of UN Conferences called to deal with the world’s special problems, “the principal task of the delegates . . . would be to debate and approve a Plan of Action to Combat Desertification. And, as ultimately approved, the Plan of Action would also present a statement on the meaning of the key term”. Perhaps this should not be taken too seriously as a reflection of the high expectations and low efficacy of such august and costly assemblies. This particular volume is not a direct report on the Conference but a professional writer’s account of the subject, employing the 15 case studies prepared for the Conference as a vehicle for instruction and discussion. The result is that the individual case studies, ranging from Chile to China, are interwoven with narrative which itself wanders at will through history, philosophy, social anthropology, science, literature and anecdote. In explanation, the author points out that although there are frequent citations from the Conference papers, “it must be remembered that case studies are . . . prepared under pressure and against deadlines. They contain errors of typography, grammar, and syntax, and bursts of fanciful translation which I have not hesitated to correct”. A less indulgent publisher might have curtailed the author’s own meanderings and flights of fancy or disciplined some of his prose. Sometimes, like the blowing sand he writes about, his paragraphs fetch up in odd places, drift into obscure corners, blur the vision or, on other occasions, prove an irritation. The case studies themselves, from which the chapter titles are taken, are interesting enough: Mussayeb, Iraq; Turfan, China; Gascoyne, Australia; Wushenchao Commune, China; Oglat Merteba, Tunisia; Eghazer and Azawak, Nigeria; Combarbala, Chile; Vale, Oregon, USA; Luni, India; Mona, Pakistan; Golodnaya Steppe and Turkmenia, USSR;
secutive steps to be taken between “awareness of a need” to “‘final report” are described. A distinction between successive and parallel activities is maintained, while specific agencies and/or disciplines responsible for every activity are listed. Awareness of specific problems in developing countries is demonstrated in the implied assumption that basic data are not readily available, as well as in such items as “the evaluation of the adequacy of the capacities in the public administratiol~ agencies to undertake and execute the proposed projects”, and “restraints liable to slow down progress of developments” and “verification of the adequacy of legal provisions”. (Of course some of these misgivings might also be applicable in countries that are supposed to be well developed.) This part is followed by another 40 pp, describing, associated activities in specified problem fields, namely, socialinstitutional economic, physical resources, and infrastructure (pp. llO-150). One could call this a guideline or a checklist for planners. The information as given demonstrates lengthy experience on the part of the authors in setting up projects of a more technical character in developing countries. These aspects make this the most valuable part of the book. The third main section covers about half of the book and contains a description of the task, function, expertise required, working methods, data to he obtained etc. for each individual discipline involved. The reader is referred back to the activity lists in section two in order to be able to establish the place and function of the individual discipline in the wholtt planning process. The only need for the contribution of a ‘town and country planner’ appears in one of the last chapters, that is, “physical infrastructure”. Here “experience in designing the hierarchy of service centres in rural areas” would be in demand. The awareness of the existence of such things as a relation between the perception of environmental quality and cultural values, and resulting planning and design opportunities is apparently non-existent in this group of otherwise highly qualified specialists. Summing up one could say that the authors of this book prove to be in the possession of a respectable amount of knowledge on specific problems in developing countries, even if they do perhaps lack insight into the need for additional support. This support could be both profitable from the point of view of comprehensive planning and in the design field. M.J. VROOM (Wugeningen,
FARMLANDS
7’he Netherlands)
PRESERVATION
- The State of the Art. Frederick Steiner and John Theilacker (Editors). Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Cooperative Extension and the Partnership for Rural Improvement, Washington State University. Pullman, WA, 1980, 167 pp. U.S. $ 10.000.
Farmlands Preservation
405
This is a useful contribution on an important subject which deserves wider professional attention than a processed publication from an agricultural extension organization is likely to receive. The report is the proceedings of a conference held at Washington State University in November 1979. The report consists of 16 essays or contributions, organized into four major parts: (1) overview of farmlands preservation; (2) local approaches for farmlands preservation; (3) state approaches for farmlands preservation, and (4) federal involvement in farmlands preservation. Parts one and four are useful discussions of their respective topics, but the information and ideas in them are to be found in various other publications, and hence are not original or new here. The importance of preserving the better farmlands is stressed and a number of federal programs to that end are discussed in several essays in these two parts. The information in parts two and three on local and state approaches to farmland preservation is much less accessible elsewhere or is generally not easily available, and therefore of greater value to the interested reader. In six articles or essays the efforts of various counties in the U.S.A. to preserve some or all of their better farmlands from conversion to urban or other nonfarm uses are described in part two. One is impressed, not only with the sincerity and dedication of the persons and groups discussed, but with their ingenuity and resourcefulness in devising programs which may be effective and which can probably withstand legal and political assaults. In part three, the efforts of Wisconsin and Oregon are described in some detail. In each case, there is a recognition that urban, transportation, industrial and other non-farmland uses must be provided for, and under circumstances such that neither no-growth nor discrimination against income or racial groups can fairly be charged. The Wisconsin program includes an ingenious property tax credit, the amount of which depends on household income and on amount of property taxes. The Oregon program is unique, because of, among other characteristics, its effort to preserve from development all agricultural land, not merely ‘prime’ agricultural land. These programs are new, undergoing some change, with perhaps their greatest tests lying ahead when initial enthusiasms may have died down. Nevertheless, they sound promising. In part three, Richard W. Dunford of Washington State University describes the tax relief programs undertaken in 48 of the 50 states, ostensibly to protect farmlands against urban development pressures. He concludes that most of these programs have been ineffective. The general failure of this approach, which was adopted with some enthusiasm in many states, suggests a need for caution when judging some of the newer programs to be effective. Although the approaches in the counties and states described differ considerably, there seems some consensus on the need for public understanding and support, adequate data about land, sound plans, provision for growth and changing demands for land, some degree of flexibility to meet particular situations, and for vigorous use of such old standbys as land use zoning. Preservation of the ‘better farmland is an issue which has aroused a good deal of concern in the United States. Progress, as distinct from oratory, has
406
been slight. Many believe that the issue is primarily a local, not a national, one. If this is true, then the efforts of counties and states to meet their particular problems, and to implement their individual goals and objectives, is highly important. MARION
CLAWSON
(Washington,
DESERTIFICATION
PROBLEMS
DC, U.S.A.)
AND SOLUTIONS
Land, Man and Sand: Desertification and its Solution. James Walls. Macmillan, New York, NY, and Collier-Macmillan, London, 1980, 336 pp., U.S. $19.95, ISBN o-02-699810-6.
xi +
‘Desertification’, a word of dubious linguistic legitimacy, now has the official stamp of approval of the United Nations, which organised a Conference on Desertification in Nairobi in 1977. The Conference itself appears to have had difficulty in finding a universally acceptable definition of desertification, but less specialised individuals may be content with “the spread of desertlike conditions”. According to the book under review, and following the customary pattern of UN Conferences called to deal with the world’s special problems, “the principal task of the delegates . . . would be to debate and approve a Plan of Action to Combat Desertification. And, as ultimately approved, the Plan of Action would also present a statement on the meaning of the key term”. Perhaps this should not be taken too seriously as a reflection of the high expectations and low efficacy of such august and costly assemblies. This particular volume is not a direct report on the Conference but a professional writer’s account of the subject, employing the 15 case studies prepared for the Conference as a vehicle for instruction and discussion. The result is that the individual case studies, ranging from Chile to China, are interwoven with narrative which itself wanders at will through history, philosophy, social anthropology, science, literature and anecdote. In explanation, the author points out that although there are frequent citations from the Conference papers, “it must be remembered that case studies are . . . prepared under pressure and against deadlines. They contain errors of typography, grammar, and syntax, and bursts of fanciful translation which I have not hesitated to correct”. A less indulgent publisher might have curtailed the author’s own meanderings and flights of fancy or disciplined some of his prose. Sometimes, like the blowing sand he writes about, his paragraphs fetch up in odd places, drift into obscure corners, blur the vision or, on other occasions, prove an irritation. The case studies themselves, from which the chapter titles are taken, are interesting enough: Mussayeb, Iraq; Turfan, China; Gascoyne, Australia; Wushenchao Commune, China; Oglat Merteba, Tunisia; Eghazer and Azawak, Nigeria; Combarbala, Chile; Vale, Oregon, USA; Luni, India; Mona, Pakistan; Golodnaya Steppe and Turkmenia, USSR;