Land use reflects the needs, demands and values of human society. We can see two antagonistic trends of land use change in Slovakia over the past few decades. Land use change towards more intensive in some areas (vicinity of cities, highways, lowlands), but others (uplands and mountains with traditionally agricultural used) are abandoned and left to their own spontaneous dynamic. The abandonment of agriculture is a pattern common to all industrialized countries, especially in hilly and mountain ranges (Farina, A., 2007).

Agricultural land is being converted into rural residences at historic rates. Landholders and residents of amenity rich Sublette County, Wyoming were surveyed concerning preferences for land use controls. Logit models are estimated for policy approval. Private choice variables rather than public choice variables are the primary determinants of policy approval.

As part of its climate change policy the Australian government has introduced aMandatory Renewable Energy Target (MRET) scheme and is also attempting to introduce a Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS). Using as a case study a main agricultural region of Australia, this paper examines how farming systems in this region may be affected by the medium term policy settings of these two schemes. A bio-economic model of the region’s farming systems is developed and used to assess the schemes’ impacts on the nature and profitability of the farming systems.

Paper prepared for presentation at the Third International Conference onCoexistence between Genetically Modified (GM) and non-GM basedAgricultural Supply Chains (GMCC)Seville (Spain), 20th and 21st November 2007

Carbon sequestration in agricultural soils is considered as an option of greenhouse gasmitigation in many countries. But, the economic potential is limited by the dynamicprocess of saturation and the opportunity cost of land use change. In addition, thisarticle shows that permanence cannot, in general, be achieved in the strict sense ofmaintaining the soil carbon stock on an increased equilibrium level. Rather, a cyclicalpattern with periodical release of sequestered carbon can be economically optimal fromboth the farmers’ and societal point of view.

Agribusiness, farm business and agricultural-environmental decisions which varied in their characteristics were used to evaluate multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) in an agricultural context. This paper discusses differences between the case studies, strengths and weaknesses of the methods used, and the success of the MCDM process based on participants’ expectations and experiences.

Property of law of the landed property completeness and organization of the agriculture reveals in an empery of the owner over the property; variety, completeness of objects of the real rights; will of the owner acting at discretion and in the interest; the wide set of its competences; the system of the real rights protection opportunities for the owner to protect the property rights in the most various ways and means, up to the application of the rei vindicatio and the negaterius claims, unilateral and bilateral restitution, indemnification.

MoRST is evaluating the Environmental Research output class of the Public Good Science Fund to identify inter alia the impacts of Environmental RS&T spending. Three specific questions are: How effective has the funding on Environmental RS&T been? Is Environmental RS&T having a positive effect by delivering real benefits to New Zealand, particularly to the environment? What influences the link between research and tangible positive benefits?