Assessing Global Land Use

Balancing Consumption with Sustainable Supply

The International Resource Panel released a new report last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Entitled Assessing Global Land Use: Balancing Consumption with Sustainable Supply, the report was written by a team led by Stefan Bringezu from the Wuppertal Institute in Germany and included Mark Swilling as a co-lead author. The report integrates research on the challenge of finding sufficient land to meet future demands with research on soil degradation and nutrient cycles. In the past, land as area measured in hectares and soils assessed in terms of nutrient content were regarded as unrelated concerns.  The report shows that if current trends continue, cropland will need to expand by between 20% and 55%. However, from a biodiversity loss perspective, the expansion of cropland needs to be halted. Cities are expected to expand into the most productive lands on the planet. For the Full Report, Summary and short Factsheet, click HERE. For the ppt presentation click HERE.