We in Finland have a need to exchange experiences and knowledge espesially inside EU region. EU regulations effect similarly to national regulations of Land Consolidations in all 27 EU countries and we need knowledge how we can effectively do Land Consolidations and Natiolan regulations according EU demand of EU regulations and also promote EU programs. I can quess that need for this is same with accession countries. Offcourse secondary intress is Land Consolidation practicies around the world.   

I am very much interested in how other countries balance the need for more sustainable agricultural sector, and the impact this has on the sector and LC. Especially, as Kalle indicates within the EU as we have one overarching policy in the EU. How do countries deal with the agricultural policies, subsidies (CAP) and need to reduce further pollution (of soil and water) to protect the environment and ensure liveability (health concerns for the people). And what is the effect on LC and other land policy instruments?

In the Netherlands, the nitrogen emissions caused a huge political and societal debate as it has a (financial) impact on the sector. Other, upcoming issues in the societal debate are the water quality (about 96% of surface water does not meet the quality requirements - agriculture is one of the main sources of pollution), and health issues (animal diseases infecting people, e.g. Q fever, bird flu). Scientific insights are ahead of the societal and political debate. How to benefit from this? And what could be the role of LC and land policy?

In developing countries the experiences in agriculture and with LC pose ethical questions too. Some countries do not learn - or want to learn - from experiences elsewhere (to the extent that experiences are appropriate given the differences in context). Also, pressure on land is high, especially in developing countries with population growth in combination with subsistence farming. Inheritance traditions are one example where land as a resource is further subdivided to the extent it is not beneficial for agriculture anymore. No easy answers, yet still worth to discuss. 

Sharing good practices and experiences related to land consolidation between countries and regions has been and will be an effective way to improve the quality of law and the effectiveness of land consolidation activities. Sharing experiences carried out only at the level of individual countries is undoubtedly valuable and can bring quick results, because they take place within a uniform legal framework and with the participation of people implementing land consolidation in a similar way. However, only going beyond one's own organizational and legal system, by learning completely different ways of solving problems, makes it possible to significantly improve national systems: from the legal framework (although its change is usually very slow), organizational framework, financing principles, up to technical methods of solving individual problems or even detailed design issues.

Many countries have specialized knowledge, developed over many decades, related to the use of land consolidation to solve specific problems (for example, managing water excess or scarcity), and have developed excellent solutions related to the participation of landowners, well-functioning principles of project financing, and effective implementation of investment activities. The exchange of experience should remain an important tool for the development of national approaches to the implementation of multipurpose land consolidation. Using proven solutions is definitely faster than trying to develop and test them independently in individual countries, especially because the LC tools are still evolving and will continue to do so as new problems and challenges emerge in rural development.

In the case of Poland, the exchange of knowledge and experience at the international level is, unfortunately, at a very low level. In most cases (with a few exceptions) it does not exist. This applies to both institutions implementing land consolidation projects (which function at the level and structure of regional governments) and at the government level, where the legal and organizational framework is created or modified.

In the FAO Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia we see the need to further scale up sharing of good practices and experiences, not only between Western and Central European countries with a long land consolidation tradition and countries in Eastern Europe in the process of introducing land consolidation and land banking instruments but also to share the experiences with countries in other regions where farmers are also suffering from land fragmentation and small farm sizes and where there is also great potential to apply multi-purpose land consolidation. Countries in Europe can also learn from land consolidation experiences in other regions, e.g. from South Asia where several countries like China and Japan also have a long tradition.

We are actively using the FAO Regional Technical Platform on Green Agriculture where we have a dedicated page on our land tenure work with links to recent publications:

https://www.fao.org/platforms/green-agriculture/areas-of-work/natural-resources-biodiversity-green-production/land-management-instruments/en 

In the case of countries with existing traditions and programs for implementing land consolidation and in the case of countries preparing to implement these procedures, the exchange of experience with other countries is extremely valuable and should continue. Referring to the Turkish experience, we can share extensive experience in managing limited water resources for agricultural purposes as well as experiences related to effectively combining the land consolidation procedure with the implementation of infrastructure projects. These experiences may be valuable for other countries, especially those with similar problems of water scarcity in agriculture. On the other hand, enterprise size cannot be increased through land consolidation projects in Türkiye. It would be beneficial to known this system to Türkiye by benefiting from the experiences of other countries, such as the effective use of land banking, to increase the efficiency of land consolidation projects (such a study is currently being carried out within the framework of FAO-Türkiye Partnership Programme). It is also important for developing a new approach to the land valuation process in Türkiye.