ABSTRACT
J. Rognes and P. Sky describe land consolidation in the Norwegian context, the official name of which is 'jordskifte', which is normally translated in English as 'land consolidation'. At a fundamental level, the land consolidation and land readjustment process is intended to restructure outdated or unsatisfactory land ownership patterns. Many of the landscape elements are modified over periods of time and the function they fulfilled in former agricultural systems has been superseded to accommodate the continued modernisation of agriculture. Considerations of the multi-functional characteristic of rural areas, transforming the conventional characteristics into the provision of an integrated rural society with an increased variety of professional and job opportunities. Land consolidation is of high political importance in most of the transitional countries and is under pressure of time. To fulfil these demands, land consolidation must be achieved in the shortest possible time, and as cheaply as possible. To achieve this, traditional standards must be lowered.
