IMPORTANCE OF LAND USE LAW AS AN INSTRUMENT FOR ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Land use legislation or planning law is a key component of any serious attempt to integrate environmental objectives into a comprehensive public policy aimed at achieving sustainable development. In most cases in which countries have been successful in implementing environmental policies, the effective use of planning tools and land use legislation appears as a common feature, in conjunction with a mix of traditional “command and control” pollution control legislation and incentives aimed at promoting and rewarding sustainable economic decisions.

In many developing countries, however, land use legislation is not fully integrated into the context of public policies aimed at promoting environmental quality and sustainable development. In some cases, this is due to the scant attention that has been paid at a conceptual level to the importance of land use regulation as a key instrument for implementing environmental policies. In other cases, where land use and planning laws do exist in theory, poor or nonexistent enforcement makes them a weak tool for the achievement of sustainable development goals.

However, the awareness of the importance of land use regulation as an instrument for environmental policy is growing throughout Latin America in general and Argentina in particular. This is evidenced by a growing body of academic papers, public policy documents, and studies carried out by multilateral aid agencies, and by the increasing amount and quality of legislation relating to land use and planning procedures involving public participation and long-term development strategies.