Competition for land

Smith, P., Gregory, P.J., van Vuuren, D.P., Obersteiner, M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6981-2769, Havlik, P. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5551-5085, Rounsevell, M., Woods, J., Stehfest, E., et al. (2010). Competition for land. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 365 (1554) 2941-2957. 10.1098/rstb.2010.0127.

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Abstract

A key challenge for humanity is how a future global population of 9 billion can all be fed healthily and sustainably. Here, we review how competition for land is influenced by other drivers and pressures, examine land-use change over the past 20 years and consider future changes over the next 40 years.

Competition for land, in itself, is not a driver affecting food and farming in the future, but is an emergent property of other drivers and pressures. Modelling studies suggest that future policy decisions in the agriculture, forestry, energy and conservation sectors could have profound effects, with diferent demands for land to supply multiple ecosystem services usually intensifying competition for land in the future.

In addition to policies addressing agriculture and food production, further policies addressing the pimary drivers of competition for land (population growth, dietary preference, protected areas, forest policy) could have significant impacts in reducing competition for land. Technologies for increasing per-area productivity of agricultural land will also be necessary. Key uncertainties in our projections of competition for land in the future relate predominantly to uncertainties in the drivers and pressures within the scenarios, in the models and data used in the projections and in the policy intervetions assumed to affect the drivers and pressures in the future.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	competition for land; land use; agriculture; forestry; policy
Research Programs:	Forestry (FOR)
Bibliographic Reference:	Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences; 365(1554):2941-2957 (27 September 2010)
Depositing User:	IIASA Import
Date Deposited:	15 Jan 2016 08:43
Last Modified:	27 Aug 2021 17:21
URI:	https://pure.iiasa.ac.at/9207

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