STRATEGIC-PLANNING FOR SUSTAINABLE RURAL-DEVELOPMENT

Many countries are now facing the realization that further development of the countryside is seriously hampered by the lack of attention given to ecological aspects. Land use and development of such for the future is urgently in need of planning in which ecological knowledge is embedded. Recently, a set of computer programs called ECONET was developed at the Agricultural University of Wageningen which anticipated such a need within a multiple land use planning environment. The program is based on the island biogeography theory, which stresses the importance of 'green corridors' for the movement of species from niche to niche, and on the meta-population theory. Based on network mathematics, the spatial relationship between niches of ecological importance can now be analysed within a vector-based geographical information system (GIS) environment, and the most important infrastructure areas to be reserved for the propagation of species can be determined. The program can be used for impact analysis studies in situations where plan alternatives are to be looked into. The state of the art for such strategic planning for sustainable rural development is presented by means of some case studies.