Land management grounded in social soil: Galician land banking in context

Abstract

Land banking is a well established land management tool that has been used to tackle a variety of issues, most typically, land fragmentation. In 2007, an innovative approach to land banking was released in Galicia, northern Spain. Drawing from a monitoring project conducted on this initiative, this paper offers a description of the characteristics of the Galician Land Bank by grounding it in its specific social milieu. Articulating policy with context allows us to analyze how land banking simultaneously answers and is being challenged by its social conditions. Results reveal how land banking the Galician way is, to some degree, a creative answer to its contextual circumstances but that further steps might be taken to reinforce this dialogue. These include envisioning agriculture as a more integrated and multipurpose activity together with the need to incorporate more participatory approaches to mobilize stakeholders.