Centralising surface management: a contribution to more efficient land use?

In recent years, purchase and rent prices for agricultural land have increased significantly due to an increased demand for land on the one hand and a decline in available agricultural surfaces, caused by land consumption, on the other. Against this background, this study aims to support an efficient use of agricultural surfaces to reduce land consumption by way of a critical assessment of how land management is organized in selected German federal states. As the results of the comparative analysis show, the centralization along with the integration of land management would have advantages in terms of land consumption. Where tasks regarding land management are concentrated in a single organization, synergy effects can be achieved and comprehensive decisions can be reached after considering various professional perspectives and goals. A project which combined nature conservation and flood protection measures illustrates how linking both tasks can achieve the same aims while consuming lesser amounts of land and thus contribute to a reovery of the land market.