An interdisciplinary approach to regional land use analysis using GIS, with applications to the Atlantic Zone of Costa Rica

Policymakers and other stakeholders concerned with regional rural development increasingly face the need for instruments that can improve transparency in the policy debate and that enhance understanding of opportunities for and limitations to development. To this end, a methodology called SOLUS (Sus...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jansen, Hans G. P., Bouman, Bas A. M., Schipper, Robert A., Hengsdijk, Huib, Nieuwenhuyse, André
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Wiley 2005
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/172293
_version_ 1855539521471381504
author Jansen, Hans G. P.
Bouman, Bas A. M.
Schipper, Robert A.
Hengsdijk, Huib
Nieuwenhuyse, André
author_browse Bouman, Bas A. M.
Hengsdijk, Huib
Jansen, Hans G. P.
Nieuwenhuyse, André
Schipper, Robert A.
author_facet Jansen, Hans G. P.
Bouman, Bas A. M.
Schipper, Robert A.
Hengsdijk, Huib
Nieuwenhuyse, André
author_sort Jansen, Hans G. P.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Policymakers and other stakeholders concerned with regional rural development increasingly face the need for instruments that can improve transparency in the policy debate and that enhance understanding of opportunities for and limitations to development. To this end, a methodology called SOLUS (Sustainable Options for Land Use) was developed by an interdisciplinary team of scientists over a 10-year period in the Atlantic Zone of Costa Rica. The main tools of SOLUS include a linear programming (LP) model, two expert systems that define technical coefficients for a large number of production activities, and a geographic information system (GIS). A five-step procedure was developed for GIS to spatially reference biophysical and economic parameters, to create input for the expert systems and the LP model, to store and spatially reference model output data, and to create maps of both model input and output data. SOLUS can be used to evaluate the potential effects of alternative policies and incentive structures on the performance of the agricultural sector. A number of practical applications demonstrate SOLUS’ capability to quantify trade-offs between economic objectives (income, employment) and environmental sustainability (soil nutrient balances, pesticide use, greenhouse gas emissions). GIS-created maps visualize the spatial aspects of such trade-offs and indicate hotspots where local goals may conflict with regional goals.
format Journal Article
id CGSpace172293
institution CGIAR Consortium
language Inglés
publishDate 2005
publishDateRange 2005
publishDateSort 2005
publisher Wiley
publisherStr Wiley
record_format dspace
spelling CGSpace1722932025-02-19T14:08:08Z An interdisciplinary approach to regional land use analysis using GIS, with applications to the Atlantic Zone of Costa Rica Jansen, Hans G. P. Bouman, Bas A. M. Schipper, Robert A. Hengsdijk, Huib Nieuwenhuyse, André geographical information systems rural development land use linear programming research Policymakers and other stakeholders concerned with regional rural development increasingly face the need for instruments that can improve transparency in the policy debate and that enhance understanding of opportunities for and limitations to development. To this end, a methodology called SOLUS (Sustainable Options for Land Use) was developed by an interdisciplinary team of scientists over a 10-year period in the Atlantic Zone of Costa Rica. The main tools of SOLUS include a linear programming (LP) model, two expert systems that define technical coefficients for a large number of production activities, and a geographic information system (GIS). A five-step procedure was developed for GIS to spatially reference biophysical and economic parameters, to create input for the expert systems and the LP model, to store and spatially reference model output data, and to create maps of both model input and output data. SOLUS can be used to evaluate the potential effects of alternative policies and incentive structures on the performance of the agricultural sector. A number of practical applications demonstrate SOLUS’ capability to quantify trade-offs between economic objectives (income, employment) and environmental sustainability (soil nutrient balances, pesticide use, greenhouse gas emissions). GIS-created maps visualize the spatial aspects of such trade-offs and indicate hotspots where local goals may conflict with regional goals. 2005-01 2025-01-29T12:59:43Z 2025-01-29T12:59:43Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/172293 en Limited Access Wiley Jansen, Hans G. P.; Bouman, Bas A. M.; Schipper, Robert A.; Hengsdijk, Huib; Nieuwenhuyse, André. 2005. An interdisciplinary approach to regional land use analysis using GIS, with applications to the Atlantic Zone of Costa Rica. Agricultural Economics 32(1): 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0169-5150.2005.00007.x
spellingShingle geographical information systems
rural development
land use
linear programming
research
Jansen, Hans G. P.
Bouman, Bas A. M.
Schipper, Robert A.
Hengsdijk, Huib
Nieuwenhuyse, André
An interdisciplinary approach to regional land use analysis using GIS, with applications to the Atlantic Zone of Costa Rica
title An interdisciplinary approach to regional land use analysis using GIS, with applications to the Atlantic Zone of Costa Rica
title_full An interdisciplinary approach to regional land use analysis using GIS, with applications to the Atlantic Zone of Costa Rica
title_fullStr An interdisciplinary approach to regional land use analysis using GIS, with applications to the Atlantic Zone of Costa Rica
title_full_unstemmed An interdisciplinary approach to regional land use analysis using GIS, with applications to the Atlantic Zone of Costa Rica
title_short An interdisciplinary approach to regional land use analysis using GIS, with applications to the Atlantic Zone of Costa Rica
title_sort interdisciplinary approach to regional land use analysis using gis with applications to the atlantic zone of costa rica
topic geographical information systems
rural development
land use
linear programming
research
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/172293
work_keys_str_mv AT jansenhansgp aninterdisciplinaryapproachtoregionallanduseanalysisusinggiswithapplicationstotheatlanticzoneofcostarica
AT boumanbasam aninterdisciplinaryapproachtoregionallanduseanalysisusinggiswithapplicationstotheatlanticzoneofcostarica
AT schipperroberta aninterdisciplinaryapproachtoregionallanduseanalysisusinggiswithapplicationstotheatlanticzoneofcostarica
AT hengsdijkhuib aninterdisciplinaryapproachtoregionallanduseanalysisusinggiswithapplicationstotheatlanticzoneofcostarica
AT nieuwenhuyseandre aninterdisciplinaryapproachtoregionallanduseanalysisusinggiswithapplicationstotheatlanticzoneofcostarica
AT jansenhansgp interdisciplinaryapproachtoregionallanduseanalysisusinggiswithapplicationstotheatlanticzoneofcostarica
AT boumanbasam interdisciplinaryapproachtoregionallanduseanalysisusinggiswithapplicationstotheatlanticzoneofcostarica
AT schipperroberta interdisciplinaryapproachtoregionallanduseanalysisusinggiswithapplicationstotheatlanticzoneofcostarica
AT hengsdijkhuib interdisciplinaryapproachtoregionallanduseanalysisusinggiswithapplicationstotheatlanticzoneofcostarica
AT nieuwenhuyseandre interdisciplinaryapproachtoregionallanduseanalysisusinggiswithapplicationstotheatlanticzoneofcostarica