Ensuring sustainable spatial development from the perspective of land relations regulation

Solving new problems of sustainable development of society and territories requires improving the regulation of land relations to meet the managerial, production and technological needs of society. Improving the efficiency of regulating land relations and the use of lands of all categories in the context of their global degradation is one of the most important socio-economic problems in modern conditions. To solve the problems of land management, their rational use and protection, optimization of agricultural production, taking into account the environmental safety of products, an integrated approach to the regulation of land relations is needed, which is provided by the system of land management and land monitoring. The need to improve land relations management is obvious and indisputable, and the topic of the work seems relevant and timely. The purpose of the work is to develop practical recommendations for improving the mechanism of land relations management at the state and municipal level. Management decision-making should be based on the principles of strategic and tactical planning of innovation activities, taking into account the geopolitical, economic and socio-cultural specifics of the territory.

Agrarian Studies and the Caste Conundrum

The article calls for a recognition of caste as a structuring reality of agrarian life in South Asia. Such a recognition may also have a larger and comparative bearing beyond India. The article also argues for a simultaneous recognition of the serious problems with the almost universally accepted “idealistic” conceptualizations of caste. Further, approaching caste as an aspect of land relations and the realities of economic processes would significantly enhance our understanding of its obvious materiality, which makes it persist in contemporary times. A widespread “blindness” towards caste in the agrarian studies and, likewise, the imaginations of caste primarily as a “religious” phenomenon have broader academic and political implications. Bringing them together would thus require a recognition and opening-up of this academic conundrum. A critical engagement with the disciplinary framings of agrarian studies and, perhaps more importantly, of caste studies is thus called for.

Deepening counter institutions: Property, lands, relations, and the economic future of the Tŝilhqot’in

The recognition of Aboriginal title by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2014 affirmed the existence and relevance of a Tŝilhqot’in legal order governing the relationship that Tŝilhqot’in people have with their lands, with each other, and with outsiders. The challenge now for the Tŝilhqot’in is to articulate and enact these laws in ways that respond to their modern socio-economic and cultural-ecological needs and goals without betraying their fundamental principles. Complicating this is a dominant narrative which rationalizes First Nations compliance with liberal institutions of British common law, property, and market-based economic growth as requirements for socio-economic improvements and well-being within First Nations communities. This article interrogates some of the logics and fundamental assumptions that underpin the arguments of liberal property rights enthusiasts, questioning their applicability to the values and aspirations of the Tŝilhqot’in people and First Nations broadly. The Tŝilhqot’in, empowered through title, at once resist liberal private property while at the same recognize the need for institutional developments in relation to lands, housing, and ‘ownership’. This indicates a need for new legal conceptualizations of property that are more comprehensively rooted in, and reflective of, Indigenous laws and land relations.

Interaction of the National Police with other actors in the area of criminal justice in combating criminal offences in the area of land relations

The aim of the article is the comprehensive analysis of the interaction of the National Police with other actors in the detection and investigation of criminal offenses in the area of land relations. Methodology. The specifics of the purpose and objectives of the study necessitated the use of the following methods: dialectical, comparative and legal, dogmatic, system and structural, modeling, sociological, statistical methods, etc. Results of the research. The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the interaction of the National Police with other actors in combating criminal offenses in the area of land relations. The main tendencies of land security in Ukraine are considered and the directions of the interaction of the National Police bodies with control and audit agencies are singled out. Practical meaning. Scientific and theoretical conclusions and practical proposals aimed at improving the legal regulation of such interaction are substantiated. Value / originality. The authors’ definition of the concept of interaction of the National Police with other actors in the investigation of criminal offenses in the area of land relations is provided.

Opportunities to involve unused agricultural land in the turnover in the regions of the Northwestern Federal District

In the regions of the Northwestern Federal District, as well as in the whole country, almost every year there is a reduction in the area of agricultural land and arable land. An important problem remains the non-use of agricultural land for their intended purpose. Identification and return to circulation of unused agricultural land, primarily arable land, is an important socio-economic task in almost all regions of the Northwestern Federal District. The mechanism of regulating land relations should be aimed not only at solving the problems of effective use of land resources to achieve the projected growth rates of agricultural production, but also at solving social problems of the territory, improving the quality of life of the rural population. Rational use of agricultural land implies that land use should not only be economically efficient for the agricultural producer, but also from the point of view of the neo-endogenous approach to promote the development of rural areas. The purpose of this study is taking into account the diversification of the rural economy, to explore the possibilities of involving unused agricultural land in the NWFD regions. Methods. The paper uses the following research methods: monographic, abstract-logical, economic-statistical. The reports of Rosstat, Rosreestr, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation and information of regional level management bodies became the information and empirical base. The scientific novelty lies in the formulation and solution of the question of the need and possibility of involving unused agricultural land in the regions of the Northwestern Federal District in the turnover. Results. As a result of the study, the long-term negative consequences of the reduction of agricultural land, the problems of putting unused land into circulation were identified, measures were proposed to eliminate them in order to effectively use the land resources of rural territories and redistribution in the interests of efficient economic entities.

THE THE SWAPPING APPROACH IN THE COURSE OF LAND CONSOLIDATION: CASE STUDY OF UKRAINE

The paper is concerned with the issues of the voluntary land consolidation using the exchange method at land relations reforming. The objective of the article is the substantiation of the exchange method aiming at the large and small land owners (land users) land tenure optimization and the formation of approaches with the help of which the mutual alignment of their interests can be achieved. Land plot ownership and tenure rights exchange by the relative value has been substantiated. It is suggested to define the relative value based on the principle of juxtaposition of land plots by their qualitative, spatial and technological characteristics. The land plots exchange modelling has been improved according to the relative value application and due to the existing land plots boundaries retaining at the exchange. The effectiveness of the suggested land plots exchange method has been demonstrated at the land tenure optimization of an agricultural enterprise and some households in Kyiv Region. Alternative land consolidation projects based on the land plots exchange have been developed, the results of which demonstrate the advantages of the voluntary land consolidation based on the suggested methodology.

LAND USE OPTIMIZATION IN UKRAINE AT THE STAGE OF LAND MARKET FORMATION

In the context of the reform of the sale of agricultural land, the priority is to optimize land use, which is to find a balance of land that would meet their environmental, economic and social compliance with the functions of the agricultural sector. Two main approaches to the optimization process are considered. The first is by intensifying agriculture with significant energy costs, land depletion and the inevitable increase in environmental pressures. And the second is the gradual formation of a balanced agrosphere with alternative agriculture and environmentally friendly livestock. The structure of land plots in terms of regions of Ukraine, which in the conditions of the land market does not promote balanced land use, is analyzed. Acquired arable land will not be transferred to other categories of land at auctions, even if it is significantly degraded. When forming the pricing policy in the land sector, it is important to compare the value of arable land in Ukraine and European countries. This comparative analysis shows the underestimated value of arable land in Ukraine (the lowest figure in Europe is less than 1 thousand euros / ha) at the initial stage of sale. It is estimated that the six-year lease of arable land at this stage of land reform is more appropriate than their sale. The fact of plowing part of pastures under these conditions and increasing the share of arable land in river valleys, drained lands, etc. is alarming. According to the results of the calculations, Table 1 shows the value of arable land, pastures, hayfields by administrative regions. The comparative characteristic of agricultural lands on the available highly productive lands is carried out. The highest share of such lands in Ternopil, Poltava and Cherkasy oblasts was found out, which provides for their highest valuation. The created map diagram of the general cost assessment of agricultural lands demonstrates their land resource potential and reflects the spatial differentiation of this indicator by typological groups of regions. The authors analyzed the optimization model of land use in Ukraine, developed by a group of leading domestic scientists under the project "Sustainable Development Programs", and proposed to consider the category of productive lands as basic arable lands, the share of which in Ukraine is 44.8% of arable land. The directions of reforming land relations in Ukraine taking into account historical traditions and granting the highest status of the basic land user - the rural community are offered. At the same time to make calculations, based on the results of which to identify production types (specialization) of farms, which will be the most objective, as it takes into account local natural and economic conditions; - on the basis of specialization of peasant farms, study of types of land use in enterprises of various forms of ownership and data on natural land fertility to perform agricultural zoning of the territory; - in each allocated agricultural area, the whole array of land in use, divided into at least 3 groups: 1) lands of peasant farms, which over time should be granted the right of life ownership with the possibility of inheritance and on which the state should support non-profit, subsistence farming; 2) lands withdrawn from agricultural circulation due to the destruction of their natural fertility and those to be transferred to the nature reserve fund, and, over time, included in the national ecological network; 3) lands that have not yet lost their natural fertility and those that are in the use of agricultural enterprises of various forms of ownership. Key words: land optimization, monetary valuation of agricultural lands, land resource potential, spatial differentiation of lands, land relations.

Reforming the process of formation of land categories in Russia

The article deals with the problem of reforming land relations in the issue of abolishing land categories and the transition to territorial zoning. The authors analyzed the current land legislation and the stages of reforming the regulatory framework in the field of land relations in the Russian Federation. The analysis of the proposed changes in the course of reforming a number of regulatory and legislative acts. A scheme for transforming land categories into territorial zones is proposed, according to the draft federal law. Proposals have been developed to improve the quality of the process under study, in relation to agricultural land, in order to develop a sequence of measures when introducing a draft law on the transition from land categories to territorial zoning.