McNeill, Desmond, Nesheim Ingrid, and Brouwer Floor (eds.). Land Use Policies for Sustainable Development—Exploring Integrated Assessment Approaches. (Shorter Notices-2012-2)

McNeill, Desmond, Nesheim Ingrid, and Brouwer Floor (eds.). Land Use Policies for Sustainable Development—Exploring Integrated Assessment Approaches. Edward Elgar Publishing. 2012. 320 pages. Rs 12,000.00. This book is the agglomeration of research, based on land use policies for sustainable development in African, Asian and Latin American context. It has three parts which focus on problems and theories about sustainable development, case studies of different countries and conclusions as well as policy recommendations. The first part of this book provides explanation about food security and institutional framework for sustainable development. It evaluates the threat to the agriculture sector and its extreme vulnerability in the presence of climate change. Further, it discusses how huge population growth compels competition to acquire natural resources for agriculture and industrial expansion which have severe implications on food security of the third world nations. In these countries, the agriculture sector demands sustainable scientific developments which ultimately improve productivity and make the food secured for food-insecure people. This part also critically examines the institutional economic growth, land usages and sustainability threats under changing environmental perspective. The second part presents case studies of different countries which take into account the central issue of sustainable development, its problems, socio-economic growth and land use policies. It explains the role of agriculture, sustainable development and environmental degradation in the Chinese and Indian economies. The case study of China shows how economic development in China has broad impact on environment in the form of air and water pollution, while intensifying role on land reforms, its deforestation and farming system. In addition, rapid urbanisation in Brazil has increased the land conversion into roads, worst deforestation and its grabbing which appears in form of unsustainable environmental conditions. The issues prevailing in Tunisia, Mali, Indonesia and Kenya are also highlighted, where economic and social development has exacerbated the environmental as well as land degradation process. Furthermore, it shows how increasing population in Tunisia requires more agriculture and natural resources which is another reason of land degradation and has threatened the contemporary scenario. Droughts and floods have been inevitable in Kenya where deplorable growth of agriculture sector and increasing population burden has generated the major land degradation and its subdivision. In the last part, the book discusses the comparative features of case studies and presents some important policy recommendations based on the conclusion that economic growth leads to the environmental degradation. It explains the role of deforestation which ultimately affects global climate condition, degradation of irrigation, water pollution and land degradation due to soil erosion and declining level of soil nutrients. In the closing chapter, it delivers the integrated policy lessons, based on protection of natural resources as well as economic development in the context of sustainable development. In order to achieve these imperative development targets, it suggests increase in the role of stakeholders, farmers and forest owners, involved in land management. (Muhammad Nawaz).