Land Use Planning

• Natural Resource Assessment and Management Techniques

Land Use Planning

• Land Use Planning orders and regulates land use efficiently and ethically, preventing land use conflicts.
• The basis for zoning laws restricting certain land uses to promote orderly land development.
• Aims to protect the environment, conserve resources, promote social gathering, enhance communities, and provide for transportation, industry, and economic needs.
• It is used by Governments to manage land development within their jurisdictions.

Land Use Planning Objectives

• Sustainable Development: Integrating economic, environmental, and social goals.
• Efficient Land Allocation: Promoting optimal use of land resources.
• Conflict Reduction: Minimizing land disputes such as boundary disputes in Greater Accra.
• Environmental Protection: Safeguarding forests, wetlands, and other ecosystems.
• Improved Livelihoods: Ensuring access to land for agriculture and housing.

Principles of Land Use Planning

• Minimize the development of the best agricultural lands.
• Discourage the growth of natural areas like wetlands, steep slopes, and stream corridors.
• Consider historic resources and archaeological sites.
• Capitalize on, but do not harm natural amenities like rivers, forested areas, and wetlands.
• Consider the sustainability of future water supply and impacts of solid and liquid waste treatment and disposal.
• Consider natural hazards.
• Evaluate and record unique geological, geographic, and biological features.
• Preserve unique cultural or historical features.
• Conserve open space and environmental features.
• Recognize and calculate the cost of additional changes required to accommodate altered land use.
• Plan for mixed uses in close proximity.
• Plan for a variety of transportation options.
• Set limits and require managed growth patterns with compact development.
• Encourage development in areas with existing infrastructure.

Techniques for Land Use Planning

• Zoning, for example, industrial zoning in Tema.
• Participatory Mapping, for example, community mapping in Northern Ghana for sustainable farming.
• GIS and Remote Sensing, for example, mapping urban expansion in Accra.
• Scenario Analysis like evaluating future land use impacts of mining in Tarkwa.
• Carrying Capacity Analysis, for example, determining sustainable tourism numbers for Mole National Park.

Information Needs for Land Use Planning

• Socio-economic Data: Population distribution, livelihoods like cocoa farming in the Ashanti Region.
• Environmental Data: Land cover, soil types, and biodiversity hotspots.
• Infrastructure Data: Roads, schools, and health facilities.
• Legal and Policy Frameworks: Customary and statutory land tenure systems.
• Technology: Satellite imagery and geospatial analysis tools.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

• A process to evaluate the potential environmental effects of proposed plans, policies, programs, or actual projects before implementation.
• Importance in Ghana: LI 1652 of the Environmental Assessment Regulations of Ghana requires undertakings likely to have significant impacts on the environment to register with the EPA and obtain environmental permits before construction and operations.

Objectives of EIA

• Minimize Environmental Damage: Assessing impacts of gold mining in Tarkwa.
• Promote Sustainable Development: Renewable energy projects in the Savannah Region.
• Enhance Public Participation: Stakeholder consultations for dam projects.
• Comply with Legal Requirements: Ghana Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations.
• Improve Decision-Making: Urban infrastructure projects in Kumasi.

Key Steps in EIA

• Screening: Determine if EIA is required for small-scale mining, or large-scale mining.
• Scoping: Identify key environmental concerns.
• Baseline Studies: Gather data on existing conditions.
• Impact Prediction and Evaluation: Assess effects on air, water, and soil.
• Mitigation Measures: Propose solutions to reduce impacts.
• Public Consultation: Engage communities affected by projects.
• Monitoring and Auditing: Ensure compliance post-implementation.
• The proponent submits 12 copies of an Environmental Impact Assessment Report (Environmental Impact Statement) to the EPA for review.
• After submitting an EIA report, a decision is received regarding whether the project can proceed, including an environmental permit with specific conditions to mitigate potential environmental impacts, based on the analysis presented in the EIA report

Challenges in EIA Implementation

• Limited technical expertise.
• Inadequate funding.
• Weak enforcement of recommendations.
• Conflict between economic and environmental priorities.
• Resistance from stakeholders.

Land use planning efficiently regulates land use, preventing conflicts and supporting zoning laws for orderly development. Its objectives include sustainable development, efficient land allocation, and reducing disputes. It also focuses on environmental protection and improved livelihoods through better access to land.