As land becomes a limiting resource in most societies, the lack of a long-term strategic framework for the integrated planning of land use becomes more critical.
Defective land tenure structure in many countries is a major hindrance to effective introduction of integrated land use planning. In the absence of effective social control over private land use, misuse of grazing and pasture land is continuing at an alarming rate in many countries; similarly, conservation and development of water resources have been made difficult due to a defective pattern of water rights. Deforestation is further evidence of ineffective land use planning and absence of adequate state control over the national resources. Coordination between land reform and land use planning is crucial to the integrated development of cultivated land, grazing areas and forests, and to solving the problems of shepherds and nomads, who have not been integrated into the general economy of the country.