Regional development is intrinsically related to the way in which the land is used. Given the rising awareness of the multifunctionality of the world's land resources, policy makers now face the complex task of accommodating multiple objectives of an increasing number of stakeholders in regional development. This implies a need for tools that can be employed to provide insights into the opportunities and limitations of land use. Those tools should be capable of quantifying trade-offs between socio-economic, sustainability, and environment-related policy objectives.
This book offers a detailed account of a range of interdisciplinary methodologies for land use analysis, developed over a twelve-year period (1986-1998) in Costa Rica, through collaborative research between three institutions: one from the North (Wageningen Agricultural University of The Netherlands), and two from the South (the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center [CATIE] and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock [MAG]). The methodologies span a number of spatial scales, ranging from the field level all the way to the national level. Concepts of systems analysis and information technology play a pivotal role in each of the methodologies. Together, they form a unique toolbox that deserves ample use in the process of agricultural policy design.

Zusammenfassung
Offers a detailed account of a range of interdisciplinary methodologies for land use analysis, developed over a twelve-year period (1986-1998) in Costa Rica, through collaborative research between three institutions. This book provides a complimentary CD-ROM which contains a practical account of the methodologies presented.

Inhalt
1 Introduction.- 1.1.- 1.2 Choosing between methodologies.- 1.3 Methodologies for land use analysis.- 1.4 Outline of the book.- 2 The physical and socio-economic setting: the northern Atlantic Zone of Costa Rica.- 2.1 Introduction.- 2.2 Geology and geomorphology.- 2.3 Climate.- 2.4 Soils.- 2.5 Land use.- 2.6 Farm structure.- 2.7 Macro-economic and agricultural policy.- 2.8 Social and institutional factors.- 2.9 Issues Affecting Sustainability.- Appendix 2.1.- 3 Using the CLUE framework to model changes in land use on multiple scales.- 3.1 Introduction.- 3.2 Methods and materials.- 3.4 Results.- 3.5 Conclusions and discussion.- Appendix 3.1.- Appendix 3.2.- Appendix 3.3.- 4 Spatial equilibrium modeling for evaluating inter-regional trade flows, land use and agricultural policy.- 4.1 Introduction.- 4.2 Main agricultural policies in Costa Rica after 1980.- 4.3 Regional analysis and commodity selection.- 4.4 Methodology.- 4.5 Model results.- 4.6 Summary and conclusions.- Appendix 4.1.- 5 Technical Coefficient Generators for quantifying land use systems.- 5.1 Introduction.- 5.2 Concepts involved in the generation of technical coefficients.- 5.3 PASTOR.- 5.4 LUCTOR.- 5.5 Examples.- 5.6 Conclusions.- 6 Integrated biophysical and socio-economic analysis of regional land use.- 6.1 Land use analysis.- 6.2 Application of SOLUS to the AZ.- 6.3 Land use scenarios.- 6.4 Conclusions.- Appendix 6.1.- 7 Exploring future land use options: combining biophysical opportunities and societal objectives.- 7.1 Introduction.- 7.2 Concepts and methodology of exploring biophysical land use options.- 7.3 The methodology applied to the northern Atlantic Zone.- 7.4 Results.- 7.5 Incorporating economic constraints: implications for land use options.- 7.6 Discussion and conclusions.- Appendix 7.1.- 8 Farm modeling for policy analysis on the farm and regional level.- 8.1 Introduction.- 8.2 Stakeholders and the policy priorities for regional development.- 8.3 Methodology and specification of partial models for individual farm types in the Atlantic Zone.- 8.4 Partial and aggregate simulation methodology.- 8.5 Model implementation and results.- 8.6 Conclusions and discussion.- 9 Linking information technology and farmer knowledge in a decision support system for improved banana cultivation.- 9.1 Introduction.- 9.2 The Costa Rican banana sector.- 9.3 A decision support system for precision agriculture in banana management.- 9.4 Application of precision agriculture at the Rebusca banana plantation.- 9.5 Discussion and conclusion.- 10 A toolbox for land use analysis.- 10.1 Introduction.- 10.2 Scope and terminology of land use analysis.- 10.3 Spatial scales and aggregation issues.- 10.4 Complementarity of methodologies.- 10.5 Sustainability issues.- 10.6 User involvement in land use analysis.- 10.7 Conclusions.- References.- Abbreviations.- Concepts and definitions employed in land use analysis.- to the CDROM.- Authors' affiliations.