Paradigmenwandel in der Landentwicklung und Flurbereinigung Europas

The World Congress Rural 21 in Potsdam made it crystal clear: the rural areas of this world, whether in Western, Central or Eastern Europe, in South America, Africa or Asia, require answers to urgent structural and economic questions and problems of location. They look for suitable strategies and appropriate instruments to strengthen their rural areas. After decades of comparatively little movement and of only the typical, more endogenous and evolutionary further development classical land consolidation has over about the last 5 to 8 years become a subject of discussion across Europe. In some Western European countries many reforms were implemented, but without confidence that this will be the end of the reform process. And even where only ten years ago entirely new land consolidation authorities were created from scratch, as was the case in the new German Federal Länder, there has been no rest of relaxation. Necessary further development has instead continued unabated. In contrast to the East German Länder, which in the reunited Germany were after all not left dependent only on themselves, the land consolidation and cadastral authorities in the one time communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe had to seek and go their own ways. In general it can be said that the reform States are confronted with different rates of progress and being "simultaneously non-simultaneous". Experts name fundamental misunderstandings in the context of the theme restitution and land reform, land management and land consolidation in these countries. They will be described in the paper. To accomplish the change it will be necessary, in addition to land consolidation, to have Integrated Land Development Programmes, as have been introduced in the new German Federal Länder. Successful implementation in the reform States of Central Europe requires in the first instance a change in the thinking of the decision makers and of those directly affected. Against this background clear statements and consequences for aims and tasks as well as land development and land consolidation experts and institutions are required: In many places specific policies for strenghtening and developing rural areas are more important than ever. Land consolidation is an integral element of this policy. She develops in the direction of comprehensive land management, which also underlies the approach of the UN-FIG-Bathurst declaration on land administration for sustainable development. In order to make this welcome and entirely promising development even clearer to present and future customers, there must be a greater awareness and implementation of the "change of paradigms" across a wide front. This will require insight and some changes of direction, as they are described in the paper.