A land exchange or land swap is the ''voluntary'' exchange of land between two parties, typically a private owner and a government. These parties may include farmers, estate owners, developers, nature organizations, and governments. Land swaps may also take place between two sovereign nations for practical, geographical, or economic reasons.
The exchange of land is undertaken for a variety of reasons, among them the conversion or
rehabilitation of a parcel of land to nature or to further the aims of real estate developers. Exchanges frequently present substantial challenges and risks to conservation efforts, particularly in safeguarding historic landscapes, as well as raising public access concerns for land that transitions from public to private ownership.
After the Netherlands designated the Dutch National Ecological Network,
provincial governments in the country established programs offering financial and organizational assistance for the acquisition of agricultural land and its restoration to more natural habitats.
Examples
Bangladesh and India
*
India–Bangladesh enclaves
Jordan
* Jordan transfer desert lands to Saudi Arabia in exchange to land south of
Aqaba
Aqaba ( , ; , ) is the only coastal city in Jordan and the largest and most populous city on the Gulf of Aqaba. Situated in southernmost Jordan, Aqaba is the administrative center of the Aqaba Governorate. The city had a population of 148, ...
in 1965 so Jordan can extend its only sea access.
Kosovo and Serbia
* Proposed land swap
Kosovo–Serbia land swap
United Kingdom
*The township of
Boycott
A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...
(in the parish of
Stowe), transferred to
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...
.
*The parish of
Swineshead was an exclave of the county surrounded by
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...
, 1278 acres (517 ha). In 1896, the parish was transferred to
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...
in exchange for the parish of
Tilbrook.
[Parliamentary Papers: 1850-1908 Vol. 4 p. 4]
United States
*
United States–Mexico Rio Grande Border Finalization
*
Anglo-American Convention of 1818
Notes
References
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Further reading
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Land law
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