scholarly journals Land use intensification affects the relative importance of climate variation and active land degradation: convergence of six regions around the world

Author(s):  
María E. Sanjuan ◽  
Jaime Martinez-Valderrama ◽  
Alberto Ruiz ◽  
Gabriel del Barrio

We explored the relative importance of climate oscillations and human-driven disturbances on the change of vegetation biomass in agroecosystems, and whether it is associated with land use. The study was carried out in the drylands of the Iberian Peninsula, NW Maghreb, Palestinian West Bank, Mozambique, China and NE Brazil, using satellite time-series and the corresponding climate fields, at ten-year observation periods with spatial and temporal resolutions of 1000 m (250 m in Palestine) and one year, respectively. For each region, we separated the relative weights of climate and time by fitting multiple-stepwise regressions to a vegetation index as the dependent variable, and annual aridity (Aridity) and year number (Time) as predictors. The relative strength of the resulting standard partial regression coefficients was then compared by the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test, and their combined associations with land uses were determined using chi-square tests. Some points of convergence are: 1. The relative weights of Aridity and Time depend on particular regional conditions and can be determined. 2. Such weights are associated with land use intensification, such that if vegetation increases over Time, Aridity increases its relative importance with intensification; if vegetation is degrading, Aridity is always more important than Time. 3. Aridity is an indicator of vulnerability to climate warming. Resilience can be improved by reducing land use intensification. 4. Vulnerability may worsen under constant climate if agriculture is intensified. These patterns enhance an integrated understanding of Sustainable Development Goals Indicator 15.3.1, particularly its land cover and productivity trend components.

Author(s):  
Jiren Xu ◽  
Fabrice G. Renaud ◽  
Brian Barrett

AbstractA more holistic understanding of land use and land cover (LULC) will help minimise trade-offs and maximise synergies, and lead to improved future land use management strategies for the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, current assessments of future LULC changes rarely focus on the multiple demands for goods and services, which are related to the synergies and trade-offs between SDGs and their targets. In this study, the land system (combinations of land cover and land use intensity) evolution trajectories of the Luanhe River Basin (LRB), China, and major challenges that the LRB may face in 2030, were explored by applying the CLUMondo and InVEST models. The results indicate that the LRB is likely to experience agricultural intensification and urban growth under all four scenarios that were explored. The cropland intensity and the urban growth rate were much higher under the historical trend (Trend) scenario compared to those with more planning interventions (Expansion, Sustainability, and Conservation scenarios). Unless the forest area and biodiversity conservation targets are implemented (Conservation scenario), the forest areas are projected to decrease by 2030. The results indicate that water scarcity in the LRB is likely to increase under all scenarios, and the carbon storage will increase under the Conservation scenario but decrease under all other scenarios by 2030. Our methodological framework and findings can guide regional sustainable development in the LRB and other large river basins in China, and will be valuable for policy and planning purposes to the pursuance of SDGs at the sub-national scale.


Proceedings ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veidemane

The sustainable development goals (SDGs) for 2030 are established to address global challenges including environment and human well-being. The SDGs are interconnected and achievement of them requires consideration of the planet’s ecosystems and resources - land, water and air. Ecosystem services (ES) approach has a high potential for better planning, policy and decision making. Understanding how different ecosystems (e.g., forests, rivers, wetlands, grasslands) contribute to the social and economic benefits is critical to ensure the long-term biodiversity protection and sustainable use of ecosystems. A conceptual framework linking biodiversity and ecosystem condition (its structure and functions), and ES to human well-being has been well-established in EU by so called MAES process (Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystem Services) lead by the European Commission. The framework is applied in recent research studies and projects, as well as national MAES processes. Various methods are applied for MAES in terms to determine biophysical, economic and social values and to deliver integrated ecosystem assessment. Assessment of ES and trade off analysis shall provide a new perspective for land use planning and decision making at different administrative and spatial levels and in different sectoral policies. EU and national policies for instance on agriculture, fishery, forestry, climate should account the benefits provided by relevant ecosystems and to ensure that the values are not diminished but rather enhanced during the implementation of the policies. Terrestrial and water ecosystems are interconnected as land-based human activities creates pressure that impacts the conditions in water ecosystems and thus delivery of ES by rivers and lakes. For example, intensive agricultural land use produces food for people and income; however, the activity also most frequently causes problems with water quality and quantity in the catchment area and a loss of biodiversity. A risk of such trade-off shall be handled in policy development. Ecosystems also contributes to the resilience of communities by reducing the risk of natural hazards and mitigate adverse impacts. Regulating services such as flood control are substituting investments in flood protection ensured by forests, wetlands and grasslands instead of human built infrastructure. Appropriate land cover and land use shall serve as a basic flood protection measure. Natural processes are increasingly recognised to create new-type solutions that use and deploy the properties of natural ecosystems and their services in an “engineered” way. A wide range of measures called also as nature-based solutions provide another opportunity to work with nature towards global sustainability.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mads Christensen ◽  
Jamal Jokar Arsanjani

The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) presents a roadmap and a concerted platform of action towards achieving sustainable and inclusive development, leaving no one behind, while preventing environmental degradation and loss of natural resources. However, population growth, increased urbanisation, deforestation, and rapid economic development has decidedly modified the surface of the earth, resulting in dramatic land cover changes, which continue to cause significant degradation of environmental attributes. In order to reshape policies and management frameworks conforming to the objectives of the SDG’s, it is paramount to understand the driving mechanisms of land use changes and determine future patterns of change. This study aims to assess and quantify future land cover changes in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by simulating a future landscape for the SDG target year of 2030 in order to provide evidence to support data-driven decision-making processes conforming to the requirements of the SDG’s. The study follows six sequential steps: (a) creation of three land cover maps from 2010, 2015 and 2019 derived from satellite images; (b) land change analysis by cross-tabulation of land cover maps; (c) submodel creation and identification of explanatory variables and dataset creation for each variable; (d) calculation of transition potentials of major transitions within the case study area using machine learning algorithms; (e) change quantification and prediction using Markov chain analysis; and (f) prediction of a 2030 land cover. The model was successfully able to simulate future land cover and land use changes and the dynamics conclude that agricultural expansion and urban development is expected to significantly reduce Virunga’s forest and open land areas in the next 11 years. Accessibility in terms of landscape topography and proximity to existing human activities are concluded to be primary drivers of these changes. Drawing on these conclusions, the discussion provides recommendations and reflections on how the predicted future land cover changes can be used to support and underpin policy frameworks towards achieving the SDG’s and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.


Sari Pediatri ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 178
Author(s):  
Wara Fitria Tristiyanti ◽  
Didik Gunawan Tamtomo ◽  
Yulia Lanti Retno Dewi

Latar belakang. Obesitas pada balita menjadi perhatian World Health Organization (WHO) dengan menetapkan masalah obesitas sebagai salah satu indikator untuk mengatasi masalah melalui Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Pada tahun 2015, prevalensi obesitas balita secara global mencapai 6,2% atau 42 juta balita. Faktor penyebab obesitas di antaranya adalah durasi tidur, asupan makanan, dan aktivitas fisik.Tujuan. Untuk menganalisis hubungan durasi tidur, asupan makanan, dan aktivitas fisik dengan kejadian obesitas pada balita usia 3-5 tahun beserta tingkat risiko di wilayah Kota Yogyakarta. Metode. Jenis penelitian ini adalah kasus-kontrol dengan jumlah total subjek adalah 144 balita di wilayah Kota Yogyakarta. Jumlah subjek pada masing-masing kelompok adalah 72 balita. Data durasi tidur diperoleh melalui kuesioner Children’s Sleep Habit Questionnaire (CSHQ) tervalidasi, data asupan makanan dikumpulkan dengan kuesioner recall makan 2x24 jam, dan data aktivitas fisik diperoleh dari kuesioner recall aktivitas fisik 24 jam. Data dianalisis menggunakan uji Chi- square dan regresi logistik. Hasil. Terdapat hubungan yang signifikan antara durasi tidur, asupan makanan, dan aktivitas fisik dengan kejadian obesitas pada balita usia 3-5 tahun (p<0,005). Balita dengan durasi tidur kurang (lama tidur <10 jam) berisiko menjadi obesitas 2,5 (OR=2,49; IK95%: 1,04-5,93) kali lebih besar dibandingkan dengan balita dengan durasi tidur yang cukup (lama tidur ≥10jam). Balita dengan asupan makanan lebih (asupan energi >110 % AKG) berisiko menjadi obesitas 4,4 (OR=4,42; IK95%: 2,02-9,69) kali lebih besar dibandingkan dengan balita dengan asupan makanan cukup (asupan energi 80-110% AKG). Balita dengan aktivitas fisik sangat ringan (PAL<1,5) berisiko menjadi obesitas 6,1 (OR=6,15; IK95%: 2,73-13,85) dibandingkan dengan balita dengan aktivitas fisik ringan atau sedang. Kesimpulan. Durasi tidur, asupan makanan, dan aktivitas fisik, secara signifikan berhubungan dengan kejadian obesitas pada balita usia 3-5 tahun.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Frederick Johnson ◽  
Nick J.B. Isaac ◽  
Agustin Paviolo ◽  
Manuela Gonzalez-Saurez

Land-use and climate change have been linked to wildlife population declines, but the role of socioeconomic factors in driving declines, and promoting population recoveries, remains relatively unexplored despite its likely importance. Here, we evaluate a comprehensive array of potential drivers of population changes observed in some of the world's most charismatic species - large mammalian carnivores. Our results reveal a strong role of human socioeconomic development, which we find has a greater impact on population change than habitat loss and climate change. Increases in socioeconomic development are linked to sharp population declines but, importantly, once development is high, carnivore populations have the potential to recover. These links between human development and wildlife population health highlight the challenges ahead to achieve the different UN Sustainable development goals.


2021 ◽  
Vol 892 (1) ◽  
pp. 012084
Author(s):  
B W van Assen ◽  
D H Azahari ◽  
K Obaideen ◽  
H R Al Jaghoub

Abstract Oil palm cultivation is under scrutiny by various stakeholders, arguing that it is the main cause for Indonesia’s deforestation. This paper highlights the decades of forest degradation before the first land clearing for oil palm within the context of Indonesia’s development policies. Using ‘direct photointerpretation’ of ‘Historical Imagery’, it assesses the forest degradation and deforestation caused by oil palm cultivation in Indonesia, particularly in light of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Forest degradation has direct trade-offs with most of the SDGs, with the most affected SDGs being Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG12) and Life on Land (SDG15). Historical satellite imagery indicates that the first land clearing for the 176 Kha of oil palm estates sampled palm occurred around 1994. In contrast, only half of this area contained (natural) forests in 1984- a decade before the first land clearing. None of the remaining forests were (near) intact natural forests; all were (heavily) degraded and their biodiversity was strongly compromised. This indicates that oil palm cultivation is not linked to the degradation of Indonesia’s natural forests. Regarding SDG12, we found significant positive impacts from both the direct and indirect land-use changes by oil palm. For SDG15, we observed major positive impacts from the direct land-use changes and minor positive impacts from the indirect land-use changes. Hence, we conclude that oil palm cultivation in the sampled estates has positive impacts on Indonesia’s SDGs and Indonesia’s development policies align with its SDGs.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taco Niet ◽  
Nastaran Arianpoo ◽  
Kamaria Kuling ◽  
Andrew Wright

Abstract BackgroundThere have been numerous studies that consider the nexus interactions between energy systems, land use, water use and climate adaptation and impacts. These studies have filled a gap in the literature to allow for more effective policymaking by considering the trade-offs between land use, energy infrastructure as well as the use of water for agriculture and providing energy services. Though these studies fill a significant gap in the modelling literature, we argue that more work is needed to effectively consider policy trade-offs between the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to avoid missing important interactions.ResultsWe examine the 17 SDGs individually to determine if it should be included in a modelling framework and the challenges of doing so. We show that the nexus of climate, land, energy and water needs to be expanded to consider economic well-being of both individuals and the greater economy, health benefits and impacts, as well as land use in terms of both food production and in terms of sustaining ecological diversity and natural capital. Such an expansion will allow energy systems models to better address the trade-offs and synergies inherent in the SDGs. Luckily, although there are some challenges with expanding the nexus in this way, we feel the challenges are generally modest and that many model structures can already incorporate many of these factors without significant modification.Finally, we argue that SDGs 16 and 17 cannot be met without open-source models and open data to allow for transparent analysis that can be used and reused with a low cost of entry for modellers from less well off nations.ConclusionsTo effectively address the SDGs there is a need to expand the common definition of the nexus of climate, land, energy, and water to include the synergies and trade-offs of health impacts, ecological diversity and the system requirements for human and environmental well-being. In most cases, expanding models to be able to incorporate these factors will be relatively straight forward, but open models and analysis are needed to fully support the SDGs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 67 (No. 7) ◽  
pp. 277-285
Author(s):  
Claudia V. Montanía ◽  
Teresa Fernández-Núñez ◽  
Miguel A. Márquez

This paper examines the global soybean market in a holistic way, analyses the land use and other historical determinants of soybean exports, such as labour and capital endowments, soybean productivity, international prices and demand conditions through an empirical model. In addition, it pays particular attention to the role of leading exporters in the export changes and the nature of the connections between them in an interrelated system. The results suggest that the productivity per hectare and the land used to harvest soybeans are the main factors explaining soybean exports in a global context. The analysis also reveals that Brazil, the current market leader, positively influences the other exporters. On the contrary, minor exporters such as Ukraine, Paraguay, or Canada present competitive relationships with the major exporters. The nature of the relationships between the exporters and the pressure on natural resources highlight the importance of government involvement in developing joint strategies that ensure the growth of this sector and the achievement of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.


SOIL ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan Bouma ◽  
Luca Montanarella

Abstract. Our current information society, populated by increasingly well-informed and critical stakeholders, presents a challenge to both the policy and science arenas. The introduction of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) offers a unique and welcome opportunity to direct joint activities towards these goals. Soil science, even though it is not mentioned as such, plays an important role in realizing a number of SDGs focusing on food, water, climate, health, biodiversity, and sustainable land use. A plea is made for a systems approach to land use studies, to be initiated by soil scientists, in which these land-related SDGs are considered in an integrated manner. To connect with policy makers and stakeholders, two approaches are functional. The first of these is the policy cycle when planning and executing research, which includes signaling, design, decision making, implementation, and evaluation. Many current research projects spend little time on signaling, which may lead to disengagement of stakeholders. Also, implementation is often seen as the responsibility of others, while it is crucial to demonstrate – if successful – the relevance of soil science. The second approach is the DPSIR approach when following the policy cycle in land-related research, distinguishing external drivers, pressures, impact, and responses to land use change that affect the state of the land in the past, present, and future. Soil science cannot by itself realize SDGs, and interdisciplinary studies on ecosystem services (ESs) provide an appropriate channel to define contributions of soil science in terms of the seven soil functions. ESs, in turn, can contribute to addressing the six SDGs (2, 3, 6, 12, 13, and 15) with an environmental, land-related character. SDGs have a societal focus and future soil science research can only be successful if stakeholders are part of the research effort in transdisciplinary projects, based on the principle of time-consuming "joint learning". The internal organization of the soil science discipline is not yet well tuned to the needs of inter- and transdisciplinary approaches.


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