European Good Practices on Land Banking: Fao Study and Recommendations

Many countries in Western Europe have a long tradition of applying land banking as part of the integrated toolbox of land management instruments. As with land consolidation, the traditional purpose of land banking has been to support agriculture and rural development by reducing land fragmentation and facilitating the enlargement of farms. In Western Europe, the objectives of land banking have developed over the last decades, and today, in several countries, the instrument is applied in a multi-purpose approach together with land consolidation. In most countries, land banking shares the objectives of land consolidation, which in addition to continued agricultural development, supports the implementation of public projects in rural areas where private landowners and farmers are requested to give up agricultural land, for example, in connection with the construction of infrastructure projects such as highways and railways or for the implementation of public projects related to nature restoration, afforestation or climate change adaptation and mitigation. In a few Western European countries, land banking is also applied on use rights, where a lease facilitation approach connects owners of agricultural land not using their land and often leaving it abandoned, with local farmers interested in farming more land. This study first analyses and identifies good European practices on land banking, discusses experiences from the introduction of land banking instruments in countries in Central Europe. Finally, it provides policy recommendations for the introduction of land banking, with a focus on countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

An intergovernmental organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has 194 Member Nations, two associate members and one member organization, the European Union. Its employees come from various cultural backgrounds and are experts in the multiple fields of activity FAO engages in. FAO's staff capacity allows it to support improved governance inter alia, generate, develop and adapt existing tools and guidelines and provide targeted governance support as a resource to country and regional level FAO offices. Headquartered in Rome, Italy, FAO is present in over 130 countries.
Founded in 1945, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO provides a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and debate policy. The Organization publishes authoritative publications on agriculture, fisheries, forestry and nutrition.