Integrating place attachment and social capital in land consolidation procedures for sustainable landscape development

Summary

Land consolidation, especially when conducted in participatory processes, can improve the spatial and ownership structures of fragmented rural areas and thereby increase the economic viability of farms, reduce carbon footprints, and slow the spread of weeds. However, the community characteristics that enable land consolidation processes, and the factors that influence the fairness and acceptance of the outcomes, which should therefore be included in the processes, are insufficiently understood. Our research aimed to identify which factors should be considered and which factors influence a community's ability to carry out land consolidation. We followed the concept of sustainable landscape development when applying focus group interviews in four provinces in Poland that were undergoing land consolidation processes. The results show that social dynamics, including the attachment to place associated with the embeddedness of agricultural land in the culture and history of the local community, the quality of social capital, attitudes towards nature, and the ability to perceive the benefits of developing nature-based solutions, along with prospects for agricultural development, are particularly relevant to achieving fair and accepted outcomes. We conclude that social dynamics, with factors such as place attachment and social capital, although challenging, should be added to functional considerations for inclusion in processes of land consolidation is to contribute to sustainable landscape development.