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The concept of sustainable land management (SLM)grew out of a workshop in Chiang Rai, Thailand, 1991.This workshop recommended that an international work-ing group of the International Society of Soil Science(ISSS) be formed to refine the concept, develop a defin-ition and recommend a procedure to monitor and evalu-ate our progress towards sustainable land use systems.A second workshop (Lethbridge, Canada, 1993) empha-sized the development of indicators of sustainable land

around an evaluation process (rather than within a the-matic context), because it is intended to test the likeli-hood of certain events taking place and the aggregateimpacts of these events, rather than the specifics of var-ious null hypotheses or the impacts of certain inputs orland management interventions. Essentially, theresearch model must include a goal statement, a concep-tual framework, a set of procedures, and criteria (indica-tors) for diagnosis. One main objective of such aresearch model is to evaluate the impacts of uncertainevents, but the process of evaluation is guided by scien-tifically defined protocols.

Does the lack of a quantifiable definition, ie, specificsustainability targets, prevent good research on sustain-

1 Rural Development, World Bank, 1818 H Street, NW, Washington DC20433, United StatesCriteria and indicators for lanland management

Julian Dumanski1

ABSTRACT

Sustainable land management (SLM) requires the integration of tech-nologies, policies and activities in the rural sector, particularly agricul-ture, in such a way as to enhance economic performance while maintain-ing the quality and environmental functions of the natural resource base.Five criteria to evaluate progress towards SLM were identified: produc-tivity, security, protection, viability and acceptability. The definitionand pillars are the basic principles and the foundation on which sustain-able land management is being developed, and these have been examinedand debated by many over the past seven years. Through this process,the concepts of land use resilience and social equity have been added,but otherwise the definition and pillars have stood up to the test. Theconcept of sustainable land management, like the concept of sustainabledevelopment on which it is founded, is gaining momentum in rural aswell as in urban constituencies. This is due as much to its psychologicappeal as to the flexibility of the definition. Much progress has beenmade in identifying criteria and indicators for SLM. To date, interna-tional agreement has been achieved on the following land quality indica-tors: (1) five sets of indicators that can be developed in the short term,ie, nutrient balance, yield trends and variability, land use intensity, landuse diversity and land cover; (2) three sets of indicators, requiringlonger-term research, on the themes soil quality, land degradation andagro-biodiversity; and (3) four sets of indicators that are being developedby other working groups, ie, water quality, forest land quality, rangelandquality and land contamination/pollution. These are the land qualitycomponents of SLM and still must be complemented with indicators ofthe other pillarseconomic viability, system resilience, and social equityand acceptability. In these last areas, agreement has been reached onlyon the indicators: net farm profitability and use of soil conservation prac-tices. Although these are still general themes rather than specific indica-tors, they provide effective and practical direction on the criteria andrequirements for sustainable land management and they channel theresearch effort. Identifying indicators, however, is only one of severalimportant steps. The next major initiative has to be on procedures toimplement SLM at local, national and international levels. Advances inSLM will not be achieved on the basis of technologic and scientificadvances alone; changes in institutional and economic structures willalso have to be part of the solution. For example, soil conservation tech-nologies and programmes, which were originally designed for rehabili-tating degraded areas, must move more into programmes of preventativemaintenance; rural land use planning must move away from a prescrip-tive approach and take on the role of facilitator in order to ensure thatthe local concerns of farmers and others are given equal hearing withother vested interests. Farmers and other land users are the custodians ofrural land resources, and their collective decisions will ultimately deter-mine the sustainability of land use systems. quality and sustainable

management as instruments for monitoring and evalua-tion. The results of these experiences were presented atthe 15th Congress of Soil Science, Acapulco, 1994.Subsequent international workshops (Cali, Colombia,1995; Nairobi, Kenya, 1995; Washington DC, 1996;Naurod, Germany, 1997) focused on indicators of landquality as part of the suite of required SLM indicators.The workshop held in Enschede in 1997 set the stage forthe next steps in the development and application of sus-tainable land management.

The definition of sustainable land management callsfor integrating technologies, policies and activities in therural sector, particularly agriculture, in such a way as toenhance economic performance while maintaining thequality and environmental functions of the naturalresource base. Five criteria, called the pillars of SLM,were identified: productivity, security, protection, viabil-ity and acceptability. The definition and pillars are thebasic principles and the foundation on which sustainableland management is being developed, and these havebeen examined and debated by many over the past sevenyears. This process of debate and refinement has indi-cated that the concepts of land use resilience and socialequity should be added to the criteria, but otherwise thedefinition and pillars have stood up to the test. The con-cept of sustainable land management, like the concept ofsustainable development on which it is founded, is gain-ing momentum in rural as well as in urban constituen-cies, and at local, national and international levels. Thisis due as much to the flexibility of its definition as to itsobvious psychologic appeal.

The lack of a comprehensive, quantifiable definitionfor sustainable land management is sometimes consid-ered to be a serious deficiency. Yet, as argued byGallopin [4], a research model for sustainability has tobe more flexible than a research model for chemistry,physics or classical agronomy, and is therefore less easyto quantify. Such a research model must be designed

Criteria and indicators ITC Journal 1997-3/4economic performance, where interest lies more often inthe direction and rate of change than in specific eco-nomic goals. The concept of sustainable land manage-ment is being increasingly applied in land managementdecisions, and this flexibility in the definition does notdetract from the value or the quality of the evaluation.The necessary refinements, however, in the form ofmore practical guidelines and indicators for applicationat different scales, are being identified through field test-ing, evaluation and experimentation.

CRITERIA FOR SUSTAINABLE LAND MANAGE-MENT

The objective of sustainable land management is toharmonize the complementary goals of providing envi-ronmental, economic and social opportunities for the ben-ability, or is it a better reflection of what is required?Personal observations from various case studies showthat the unquantified definition adds flexibility to theapproach, and this contributes directly to the resilienceof the concept. Because of this, the concept of sustain-able land management can be applied at different levelsand different scales to resolve different issues, while stillproviding firm guidance on the scientific standards andprotocols to be followed in the evaluation (Figure 1).For example, the original concept of sustainable landmanagement was technologies that contributed to sus-tainable agriculture, but Traeger et al [9] interpreted thisconcept as part of the broader concept of naturalresources management. These are two scales of inter-pretation and both are correct because each views theproblem from a different perspective and with a differentset of criteria. The concept of sustainable land manage-ment, like the concepts of truth, justice and humility, arebest expressed as objectives to be attained, rather thanones that can be measured. For practical reasons, sim-ply estimating whether we are tracking towards or awayfrom sustainability is often as useful as attaining specif-ic (sustainability) targets. This is not unlike monitoring

efit of present and future generations, while maintainingand enhancing the quality of the land (soil, water and air)resource [7]. Land provides an environment for agricul-tural production, but it is also an essential condition forimproved environmental management (source/sink func-tions for greenhouse gases, recycling nutrients, amelio-rating and filtering pollutants, transmitting and purifyingwater as part of the hydrologic cycle, etc).

Experiences gained from testing the concept in fieldprojects in developing and developed countries haveidentified a series of principles and criteria for sustain-able land management, and these can be used as generalguidelines for development projects [1, 2, 10]. Thesecriteria are particularly important in assessing theimpacts of agricultural management in rural landscapes.Agriculture is unlike other resource-based industries inthat it involves millions of small-scale entrepreneurswho make individual decisions on the management oftheir (natural) resources and on the investment of theircapital. Although the land use decisions of any individ-ual farmer may seem insignificant, these decisions arerepeated over and over again in the landscape, and col-lectively can achieve major regional and even global sig-21

FIGURE 1 Relationships among sustainable development, sustanificance. Agriculture is often cited as being part of theenvironmental problem, and it is recognized that agricul-tural land use systems are often significant contributorsto non-point pollution and environmental degradation.The most useful of these criteria (lessons learned) aresummarized below.

GLOBAL CONCERNS FOR SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainability can be achieved only through the col-lective efforts of those immediately responsible for man-aging resources. This requires a policy environmentwhere farmers and other local decision makers are notonly able to reap the benefits for good land use deci-sions, but are also held responsible for inappropriateland uses. However, environmental problems do notrecognize land ownership boundaries or geopoliticalspheres of influence. Land degradation affects the7

inable agriculture and sustainable land management

ITC Journal 1997-3/4Criteria and indicatorsyields obtained by the farmer, but the larger impacts areoften off-site, eg, degradation of water quality, loss ofhabitat, loss of biodiversity, etc. Although the concernsfor sustainability are global, the required actions must belocal and national.

The comprehensive integration of economic and envi-ronmental interests is necessary to achieve the objectivesof sustainable land management. This requires thatenvironmental concerns be given equal importance witheconomic performance in evaluating the impacts ofdevelopment projects, and that reliable indicators ofenvironmental performance be developed. Without this,the integration of environmental concerns into economicdecision making is an appealing concept, but one rarelyapplied.

There is urgent need to resolve the global challenge toproduce more food to feed the rapidly rising world pop-ulation, while at the same time preserving the biologicproduction potential and the environmental maintenancesystems of the land. This is necessary to achieve order-liness in the policy environments of developing coun-tries and in the lending objectives of donors.Sustainable land management, if properly designed andimplemented, will ensure that agriculture becomes partof the environmental solution, rather than remaining anenvironmental problem.

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

More ecologically balanced land management canachieve both economic and environmental benefits, andthis must be the foundation (linchpin) for further ruralinterventions (investments). Without good land manage-ment, other investments in the rural sector are likely tobe disappointing. (Sustainable land managementrequires a long-term commitment to maintain the qualityof the land resource; unfortunately, short-term econom-ics often promote technologies that exploit and degradethe land.) At the same time, arguing for the continuedmaintenance of agriculture without reference to environ-mental sustainability is increasingly difficult. Indicatorsof land quality are needed to guide us along the way.

Agricultural intensification is often necessary toachieve more sustainable systems. This requires shiftsto higher value production, or higher yields with moreinputs per unit of production and higher standards ofmanagement (more knowledge-intensive). However,sustainable agriculture has to work within the bounds ofnature, not against them. This means matching landuses to the constraints of local environments, planningproduction within biologic potentials, and carefully lim-iting the use of fertilizers, pesticides and other inputs inorder to ensure they do not exceed the capacity of theenvironment to absorb and filter any excess. Whenworking with nature, many yield improvements can beachieved by optimizing rather than maximizing externalinputs.

The importance of off-farm income, eg, to supplementcash flow on the farm, generate an investment environ-ment for improved land management, and reduce (pro-duction) pressures on land, should not be underestimated.SHARING RESPONSIBILITIES FOR SUSTAINABILITY

Although farmers and land managers directly affecthow the land is managed, sustainable land management

is the responsibility of all segments of society.

21Governments must ensure that their policies and pro-grammes do not create negative environmental impacts;society needs to define requirements for land mainte-nance and develop a social discount rate for futureland use options; and farmers and land managers mustexpand their knowledge of sustainable technologies andimplement improved procedures of land stewardship.The preferred option is not to tell the farmer what to do(command and control legislation), but to create a poli-cy environment where farmers are more empowered butalso held accountable for achieving the objectives ofsustainable land management. Many rural societies indeveloping countries, however, are poorly equipped toresolve these issues on their own.

Concerns for sustainable land management go beyondagriculture to include the legitimate interests of otheraspects of land stewardship, including wildlife, water-fowl and biodiversity management. There is increasingevidence that society is demanding that farmers becomestewards of rural landscapes, and that agriculturebecome more than simply putting food on the table.Many of societys environmental values may not repre-sent economic gains for farmers, however, and farmerscannot shoulder all the costs of environmental mainte-nance.

RELATIONSHIPS AMONG SOIL QUALITY, LANDQUALITY AND SUSTAINABLE LAND MANAGEMENT

New concepts of soil and land quality are emerging,and often these are used interchangeably. These con-cepts of quality are based on the essential characteris-tics of soil and land that fulfil human land use require-ments, eg, agriculture, forestry, conservation and main-tenance of environmental functions. Natural land quali-ty comes from the suitability of land for specific uses,and is not uniform over the landscape; human interven-tions (land management) can degrade or enhance landquality; changes in land quality are assessed in relationto benchmarks, such as changes from an undisturbedstate. These concepts and their relationships are sum-marized below, to the extent that some consensus isavailable on how these should be applied.

Soil quality is the capacity of a specific soil to func-tion within natural or managed ecosystem boundaries tosustain plant and animal production, maintain or enhancewater quality, and support human health and habitation[8].

Land quality is the condition, state or health of theland relative to human requirements, including agricul-tural production, forestry, conservation, and environmen-tal management [6].

Sustainable land management combines technologies,policies and activities that are aimed at integratingsocio-economic principles with environmental concernsso as to simultaneously maintain or enhance production,reduce the level of production risk, protect the potentialof natural resources and prevent (buffer against) soil andwater degradation, be economically viable, and besocially acceptable [7].

These concepts span the scales of detail, applicationand levels of integration with socio-economic data. Soilquality is the most restrictive, followed by land qualityand then sustainable land management. Soil quality is

effectively a condition of a site, and it can be studied

8

Criteria and indicators ITC Journal 1997-3/4using only soil data. Land quality requires the integra-tion of soil data with other biophysical information, suchas climate, geology and land use. Land quality is a con-dition of the landscape, ie, it is a biophysical property,but includes the impacts of human interventions (landuse) on the landscape. Sustainable land managementrequires the integration of these biophysical conditions,ie, land quality, with economic and social demands. Itis an assessment of the impacts of human habitation, anda condition of sustainable development.

These are more than simple differences in semantics;the concepts differ according to the kinds and scales ofthe processes being described, the data used for input,and the amount and kinds of integration with other dis-ciplines [3]. However, the concepts form a continuumover the landscape, and they apply for different typesand scales of land use.

INDICATORS OF LAND QUALITYTHE BIOPHYSICAL COMPONENT OF SUSTAINABLE LANDMANAGEMENT

Indicators are instruments to help us monitor whetherwe are on the path towards or away from sustainableland use systems. Many attempts have been made todefine sets of soil and land quality indicators; most,however, have involved a priori indicator selection andlong lists of soil properties (rather than indicators ofchange) but little thorough analysis of the importantcause-effect relationships defining the impacts of humaninterventions on the landscape. Also, there have beenfew attempts to coordinate the various indicator pro-grammes.

The World Bank, along with LINEP, UNDP, FAO,the CGIAR and various bilateral agencies, is spearhead-ing a programme to develop land quality indicators(LQIs). These indicators are intended as criteria for notonly project development but also environmental impactassessment and monitoring progress towards sustainableland management.

A research strategy for the land quality programmewas developed during a two-day research planning meet-ing sponsored by the World Bank, which was held from21 to 22 October 1996 in Washington DC. A panel ofinternationally acclaimed scientists and administratorsestablished the objectives and priorities for the research,defined the strategic alliances to be developed withongoing national and international programmes, andidentified potential sources of funding. They alsoachieved international agreement on a core set of strate-gic land quality indicators. The highlights of theresearch plan are summarized below.

Defining and testing cause-effect relationships amongland quality, land use and rural poverty is the primaryresearch objective of the LQI research programme.Associated research issues are:- how to integrate socio-economic (land management)

data with biophysical information in the definition anddevelopment of LQIs- how to scale and aggregate indicators from local to

regional (AEZ), national and global scales- how to transform and scale data for application at

various hierarchic levels.The pressure-state-response framework was adopted asthe operative framework for indicator development [6].

21A two-stream research plan was developed for theprogramme, involving:- Stream 1: Core LQIs as international reference stan-

dards, to be initiated in the short term and based primar-ily on data already available.- Stream 2: National and subnational LQIs for moni-

toring and evaluating at project and programme levels,to be implemented contemporaneously with stream 1 butinvolving more in-depth and longer-term research.Some new data will be generated in this stream to sup-plement data already available.

Stream 1 research is a short-term programme of dataanalysis, testing and refinement to develop core LQIsas international reference standards. Core LQIs arethose where sufficient research has already been con-ducted to establish a sound theoretical base, where suffi-cient data are already available, or where developmentprocedures have been tested and are available (eg,remote sensing). To a great extext, stream 1 researchwill be exploratory, based primarily on census data andincluding other (eg, remote sensing) data as necessary.This phase will be piggybacked on programmesalready in place.

International agreement has been achieved on the coreLQIs recommended for stream 1 research. Theseinclude five sets of LQIs to be developed for managedecosystems (agriculture and forestry) in the major agroe-cologic zones (AEZs) of tropical, subtropical and tem-perate environments:

(1) Nutrient balance: describes nutrient stocks andflows as related to different land management systemsused by farmers in specific AEZs and specific countries.

(2) Yield trends and yield gaps: describes currentyields, yield trends and actual:potential farm-level yieldsfor the major food crops in different countries.

(3) Land use intensity: describes the impacts of agri-cultural intensification on land quality. Intensificationmay involve increased cropping, more value-added pro-duction, and increased amounts and frequency of inputs;emphasis is on the management practices adopted byfarmers in the transition to intensification.

(4) Land use diversity (agrodiversity): describes thedegree of diversification of production systems over thelandscape, including livestock and agroforestry systems;it reflects the degree of flexibility (and resilience) ofregional farming systems, and their capacity to absorbshocks and respond to opportunities.

(5) Land cover: describes the extent, duration and tim-ing of vegetative cover on the land during major erosiveperiods of the year. It is a surrogate for erosion and,along with land use intensity and diversity, it willincrease understanding on the issues of desertification.

Stream 2 research is a longer-term programme intend-ed for more thorough analyses of the cause-effect rela-tionships between land use and land quality change. Thebasis of this programme is that robust LQIs can bedeveloped only through thorough analysis and under-standing of the cause-effect relationships of human inter-ventions on rural landscapes. A priori selection of LQIsis not recommended, although some brainstorming isessential at the outset in order to develop a shortlist ofpotential LQIs for testing and to better design theresearch programme.

No only will this programme test the LQIs identified

in the first stream, it will also promote new research

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ITC Journal 1997-3/4Criteria and indicatorsand, in particular, identify new LQIs related to impactsof land management practices. It will involve the analy-sis of available data, as well as field studies, modellingand model calibration in selected AEZs. Consequently,research in the second stream will be longer-term andmore detailed and structured so as to ensure that indica-tors are sufficiently robust to withstand scientific scruti-ny.

LQIs recommended for stream 2 research are thosethat require further development of their theoretical baseor lack adequate data for development. Only generalindicator themes (rather than specific indicators) havebeen identified so far, along with some preliminary cri-teria. These include:- soil quality: likely to be based on soil organic matter

turnover, particularly the dynamic (microbiologic) car-bon pool, most affected by environmental conditions andland use change.- land degradation (erosion, salinization, compaction,

organic matter loss): these processes have been muchresearched and have a strong scientific base, but reliabledata on extent and impacts are often lacking.- agrobiodiversity: involves managing natural habitats

and the coexistence of native species in agriculturalareas, maintaining natural soil micro-/meso-biodiversity,and managing the gene pools utilized in crop and animalproduction.

Other indicators, eg, for land resilience, may be addedin the future as required.

In addition to the indicators identified in the stream 1and stream 2 programmes, the following four sets ofindicators were identified as core LQIs:- water quality- forest land quality- rangeland quality- land contamination/pollution.

These, however, were recommended not for addition-al research but rather to be developed through collabora-tion with the respective authoritative disciplines.

The above are the biophysical components of sustain-able land management. Although useful in their ownright, they must still be complemented with indicators ofthe other pillars of sustainable land management, ie, eco-nomic viability, system resilience, and social equity andacceptability. So far, agreement has been reached inthese last areas only over the two indicators [1]:- net farm profitability- use of soil conservation practices.

Considerable additional work is required to developthese pillars to the same level of detail as the landresource (biophysical) pillars.

Although this collection of indicators is still a collec-tion of general themes as well as specific quantitativeindicators, this list provides effective and practical direc-tion on the criteria and requirements for sustainable landmanagement. Achieving this degree of internationalagreement channels the research effort, and it willensure quicker, more cost-effective indicators.

NEXT STEPSAPPLYING SUSTAINABLE LAND MANAGEMENT IN THE FIELD

Indicators as instruments for monitoring and assess-ment are only one of several important steps in the evo-lution of the sustainable land management programme.22The next major initiative has to be on procedures toimplement sustainable land management at local, nation-al and international levels. This process is more com-plex, because it requires not only technologic and scien-tific advances, but also changes in institutional struc-tures and economic evaluation procedures.

The objectives of sustainable land management willnot be achieved unless local issues and constraints toimproved rural land management are addressed from theoutset. Farmers and other land users are the custodiansof rural land resources, and their collective decisionswill ultimately determine the sustainability of land usesystems. To achieve this, emphasis has to be on tech-nologies and programmes that simultaneously contributeto improving the economic and social welfare of thefarmer, while maintaining and enhancing the quality ofthe natural resource base on which production depends.Sustainable land management technologies will not beadopted by farmers unless they contribute first toimproved economic viability.

There are no easy recipes on how this can beachieved, but some guidelines are emerging. It isbecoming increasingly clear that the emphasis will haveto shift from top-down policy making, land use planningand extension services to more flexible procedures andmechanisms that accommodate local requirementsfromstrengthening traditional institutions based on top-downdelivery to transforming them into institutions capable ofdelivering bottom-up initiatives. For example, soil con-servation technologies and programmes, which wereoriginally designed to rehabilitate degraded areas, mustmove more into the area of preventative maintenance;rural land use planning must move away from a pre-scriptive approach (ie, identifying optimal solutionsfor local land users) and take on the role of facilitator inorder to ensure that the local concerns of farmers andothers are given equal hearing with other vested inter-ests. Sustainable land management requires local solu-tions and it can only be achieved when farmers and landusers are able to choose the most efficient options forthemselves without being hampered by distorting policy,market and government programmes, ie, when they havethe authority to make the best choices and also takeresponsibility for these decisions. Farmers and otherland users will have to be made true partners in technol-ogy innovation and application, with both authority andresponsibility for their decisions.

Most rural societies, particularly those in developingcountries, are poorly equipped to address these issues ontheir own. Strong partnerships with governments, thescientific community, as well as NGOs and, increasing-ly, agri-business will be required. Further advances onsustainable land management will depend to a largeextent on a sympathetic policy environment and the pro-motion of local, farmer-led soil conservation associa-tions (similar to community-led natural resource man-agement groups). Such associations are often a signalthat the local farming community is committed to main-taining the land resource and to resolving its own prob-lems. However, the importance of farmer-led innova-tions as a strategic component of sustainable land man-agement and of the role of farmer-led soil conservationassociations as the empowerment mechanism to ensurecontinuance of sustainable land management in thefuture must be recognized. This is not likely to happen0

Criteria and indicators ITC Journal 1997-3/4on its own because it disenfranchises many existingbureaucratic institutions. It will require commitmentfrom national governments towards decentralizedresponsibility, and collective action from internationalinstitutions to catalyze the change.

The emphasis on sustainable land management at thelocal level can have considerable impact on global envi-ronmental management. Although land managementdecisions in rural areas are made by millions of small-scale entrepreneurs (farmers) with individual objectivesand aspirations, experience has shown that local farmer-led innovations demonstrated at the farm level are rapid-ly repeated in many similar environments. This resultsin the patterns of land use that are commonly observedover large spatial areas. The collective impacts of thesepatterns can be considerable on such global environmen-tal issues as desertification, land degradation, loss ofbiodiversity, and carbon sequestration. The challengesare considerable, but much can be achieved by empow-ering conservation-oriented farmer associations to takethe lead in these programmes, thereby demonstratingwillingness and commitment to their land use choices.

Agenda 21, in particular Chapter 10, provided animportant international opportunity for sustainable landmanagement, but it has been criticized for the lack ofeffective action. The failure, however, lies not withAgenda 21, which is only a framework for action, butrather in the inability of national and international com-munities to collectively mobilize and develop practicalactions that can be implemented (ie, pushing the trans-formation from top-down prescriptive approaches to bot-tom-up programme delivery). It is time that our currentdelivery procedures were seriously reconsidered. It istime to mobilize the global community towards the viewthat protecting soil resources is equal in importance toprotecting the planets climate, water and biodiversity,and to recognize the soil as a strategic component ofglobal life support systems. This was a major recom-mendation from the 9th international ISCO conference[5] and needs to be fully endorsed and promoted.

CONCLUSIONS

Apart from some minor adjustments, the frameworkand definition for sustainable land management havestood up to peer review. Consequently, further refine-ment of these concepts is more academic than practicalat this point in time. However, considerable very usefulwork remains to be done to develop the indicators formonitoring our efforts towards sustainability, and to testand apply these in field studies in developing and devel-oped countries. A high degree of international agree-ment on the required set of biophysical (land quality)indicators has already been achieved, but a similar effortis required for the economic and social indicators.

Another major challenge is how to effectively imple-ment sustainable land management in the field. Farmersand other land users are the custodians of rural landresources, and their collective decisions will ultimatelydetermine the sustainability of land use systems. Manyapproaches to land use planning, land evaluation and tra-ditional rural extension have been tried, but these haveenjoyed mixed success at best. It is becoming clear thatthe direct involvement of farmers and other members of

rural societies is necessary to effect on-the-ground deliv-

22ery of these concepts and, increasingly, this involvestransferring principles, criteria and knowledge ratherthan technologic packages (as was the tendency in thepast). Often, if farmers understand the principles andcriteria involved, they will figure out the solution(s). Infact, experience in several parts of the world has demon-strated that farmer-led innovation, farmer empowermentwith authority and responsibility for decisions, and bot-tom-up planning and delivery of programmes are essen-tial for achieving sustainable land management, butthese must be supported by technologic and institutionalbackstopping from research and extension.

Sustainable land management provides improvedoptions for both agricultural production and environmen-tal maintenance. Soil is a strategic component of globallife support systems, and protecting global soil resourcesis equal in importance to protecting the planets climate,water and biodiversity. A new international conventionon soil resources is necessary to create the social andpolitical awareness and the national and internationalimplementation strategies to ensure the maintenance ofthe ecologic functions and the quality of the soil.

REFERENCES

1 Dumanski, J. 1994. Proceedings of the International Workshop onSustainable Land Management for the 21st Century. OrganizingComm, internatl workshop on sustainable land management, AgriInst of Canada, Ottawa.

2 Dumanski, J. 1997. Planning for sustainability in agricultural devel-opment projects. GTZ, Agriculture and Rural Dev 1/97, pp 15-18.

3 Dumanski, J, W W Pettapiece and R J Macgregor. 1997. Relevanceof Scale Dependent Approaches for Integrating Biophysical andSocioeconomic Information and Development of AgroecologicalIndicators. Kluwer Acad Publ (in press).

4 Gallopin, G C. 1995. The potential of agroecosystem health as aguiding concept for agricultural research. Ecosystem Health 1, 3, pp129-139.

5 ISCO. 1996. Towards sustainable land use: furthering cooperationbetween people and institutions. 9th ISCO conf, Ministry of theEnvironment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Bonn,Germany.

6 Pieri, C, J Dumanski, A S Hamblin and A Young. 1995. LandQuality Indicators. World Bank Discussion Paper 315, World Bank,Washington DC.

7 Smyth, A J and J Dumanski. 1993. FESLM: An InternationalFramework for Evaluating Sustainable Land Management. WorldSoil Resources Rep 73, FAO, Rome.

8 SSSA (Soil Science Society of America). 1995. SSSA statement onsoil quality. Agronomy News, June 1995, SSSA, Madison,Wisconsin.

9 Traeger, H, K Steiner and A Herring. 1997. Indicators ofSustainable Land Management. A Literature Review. GTZ, FarmingSystems Research, Eschbom, Germany.

10 World Bank. 1997. Expanding the Measure of Wealth. Indicators ofEnvironmentally Sustainable Development. World Bank,Washington DC.

RESUMEUne gestion durable des terres (SLM) exige lintgration de technolo-gies, de politiques et dactivits dans le secteur rural, particulirementdans lagriculture, de manire amplifier la performance conomiquetout en maintenant la qualit et les fonctions environnementales de labase naturelle de ressources. On a identifi cinq critres dvaluation deprogrs vers SLM: la productivit, la scurit, la protection, la viabilitet lacceptabilit. La dfinition et les piliers sont les principes de base etla fondation sur lesquelles une gestion durable des terres est dveloppe;beaucoup ont examin et dbattu l-dessus durant ces sept derniresannes. Au cours de ce processus, les concepts de souplesse dutilisationdes terres et dquit sociale ont t ajouts mais autrement la dfinitionet les piliers ont rsist au test. Le concept de gestion durable des terres,de mme que celui de dveloppement durable, sur lequel il est fond,

prend de limportance aussi bien dans les circonscriptions rurales que

1

urbaines. Ceci est d son attrait psychologique ainsi qu la flexibilitde sa dfinition. On a fait beaucoup de progrs pour identifier les cri-tres et les indicateurs de SLM. A ce jour, un accord international a tobtenu sur les indicateurs suivants de qualit des terres: (1) cinq sriesdindicateurs pouvant tre dvelopps court terme, c--d quilibrenutritionnel, tendances de rcolte et variabilit, intensit dutilisation desterres et diversit de culture; (2) trois sries dindicateurs, requrant unerecherche long terme, sur les thmes de qualit de sol, de dgradationdes terres et dagro-biodiversit; (3) quatre sries dindicateurs quedautres groupes de travail dveloppent actuellement, c--d, qualit deleau, des terres forestires, des pturages ainsi que la contamination etla pollution du sol. Ceux-ci sont les composants de la qualit du soldun SLM et doivent, cependant tre complts avec des indicateurs desautres piliersviabilit conomique, lasticit du systme, et quitsociale et acceptabilit. Dans ces derniers domaines, on est seulementarriv une entente sur les indicateurs: profitabilit nette de la ferme etpratiques dutilisation et de conservation de sol. Bien quil ne sagisseencore que de thmes gnraux plutt que dindicateurs spcifiques, ilsdonnent une direction efficace et pratique sur les critres et les exigencespour une gestion durable des terres et ils canalisent leffort de recherche.Lidentification des indicateurs nest cependant quune seule de plusieurstapes importantes. Linitiative majeure importante suivante doit portersur les procdures pour limplantation dun SLM aux niveaux local,national et international. On navancera pas en SLM sur la base davan-ces technologiques et scientifiques seulement; des changements dans lesstructures institutionnelles et conomiques feront galement partie de lasolution. Par exemple, les technologies et les programmes de conserva-tion des sols, qui taient lorigine seulement crs pour la rhabilitationde zones dgrades, doivent maintenant tre dplacs dans des pro-grammes de maintenance prventive; la planification dutilisation deterres rurales doit aller dune approche prescriptive et prendre le rle defacilitateur dans le but dassurer que lon portera autant dcoute auxintrts locaux des fermiers et autres concernant les droits acquis. Lesfermiers et autres utilisateurs des terres sont les gardiens des ressourcesrurales, et leurs dcisions collectives dtermineront en dernier, la durabi-lit des systmes dutilisation des terres.

RESUMEN

bsicos y los cimientos sobre los cuales se est desarrollando el manejosostenible de las tierras, y estos han sido examinados y discutidos pormuchas personas en los ltimos siete aos. A travs de este proceso, sehan agregado los conceptos de resiliencia del uso de las tierras y deequidad social, pero por lo dems la definicin y los pilares han resisti-do a las pruebas. El concepto de manejo sostenible de las tierras, comoel concepto de desarrollo sostenible en el cual est fundado, est toman-do impulso tanto en distritos rurales como urbanos. Esto se debe tanto asu atraccin psycolgica como a la flexibilidad de la definicin. Se hanhecho muchos progresos en identificar criterios e indicadores de SLM.Hasta ahora, se ha logrado un acuerdo internacional sobre los siguientesindicadores de la calidad de las tierras: (1) cinco grupos de indicadoresque pueden ser desarrollados a corto plazo, incluyendo balance denutrientes, tendencias y variabilidad de los rendimientos de cultivos,intensidad del uso de las tierras, diversidad del uso de las tierras, ycobertura de las tierras; (2) tres grupos de indicadores, que requiereninvestigacin a largo plazo, sobre los temas de calidad del suelo, degra-dacin de las tierras y agrobiodiversidad; y (3) cuatro grupos de indica-dores que estn siendo desarrollados por otros grupos de trabajo, inclu-yendo calidad de las aguas, calidad de las tierras forestales, calidad delos pastizales naturales, y contaminacin/polucin de las tierras. Estosson los componentes de la calidad de las tierras en el SLM, que todavanecesitan ser complementados con los indicadores de los otros pilaresviabilidad econmica, resiliencia del sistema, y aceptabilidad y equidadsocial. En estas ltimas reas, se ha logrado acuerdo solamente con res-pecto a los dos indicadores: la ganancia neta de la finca y el uso deprcticas para la conservacin de suelos. Aunque estos son todavatemas generales en vez de indicadores especficos, los mismos proveenuna direccin efectiva y prctica sobre los criterios y requerimientospara el manejo sostenible de las tierras y canalizan el esfuerzo de inves-tigacin. La identificacin de indicadores es, sin embargo, solamenteuno de los varios pasos importantes. La prxima iniciativa mayor tieneque concentrarse en los procedimientos para implementar el SLM anivel local, nacional e internacional. No se lograrn adelantos en elSLM solamente en base a progresos tecnolgicos y cientficos; cambiosen las estructuras institucionales y econmicas tambin tendrn que serparte de la solucin. Por ejemplo, tecnologas y programas para la con-servacin de los suelos, que originalmente fueron diseados para rehabi-litar reas degradadas, deben moverse ms hacia programas de manteni-

ITC Journal 1997-3/4Criteria and indicatorsEl manejo sostenible de las tierras (SLM) requiere la integracin de tec-nologas, polticas y actividades en el sector rural, en particular en laagricultura, de manera a aumentar el rendimiento econmico mientrasque se mantengan la calidad y las funciones ambientales de la base derecursos naturales. Se identificaron cinco criterios para evaluar el pro-greso hacia el SLM: la productividad, la seguridad, la proteccin, la via-bilidad y la aceptabilidad. La definicin y los pilares son los principios22miento preventivo; la planificacin del uso rural de las tierras debeapartarse del enfoque prescriptivo para desempear el papel de facilita-dor, con el objeto de asegurar que los intereses locales de los agriculto-res y de otros habitantes reciban la misma atencin que otros interesescreados. Los agricultores y dems usuarios de las tierras son los guar-dianes de los recursos de tierras rurales, y sus decisiones colectivasdeterminarn en ltimo trmino la sostenibilidad de los sistemas de usode las tierras.2