Representing justice in global land-use scenarios can align biodiversity benefits with protection from land grabbing

Camille Venier-Cambron*, Levi T. Helm, Žiga Malek, Peter H. Verburg

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

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Abstract

Protecting biodiversity while meeting food demands is a critical challenge due to rising competition over land. The predominant focus on spatial efficiency in land-use modeling frameworks can dichotomize these objectives and ignore local realities by disregarding biodiversity outside priority areas and the land-use needs of communities who depend on local land systems for their nutrition. We develop a spatially explicit exploratory scenario for 2050 that promotes whole-region biodiversity intactness using a land-system-specific intactness index and incorporates differentiated food futures by protecting important land systems for land-dependent communities from conversion for larger-scale objectives. These are pursued alongside SSP2 “business-as-usual” agricultural demands, uncovering potential tradeoffs. Our results highlight the importance of forest mosaics in agricultural landscapes alongside targeted intensification for meeting food and biodiversity goals and that protecting land-dependent communities does not compromise larger-scale objectives. This demonstrates that land-use models can integrate diverse values, including certain conceptualizations of justice, into sustainability scenarios.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)896-907
Number of pages12
JournalOne Earth
Volume7
Issue number5
Early online date12 Apr 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 17 May 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Elsevier Inc.

Funding

This research was partly funded through the 2017\u20132018 Belmont Forum and BiodivERsA joint call for research proposals, under the BiodivScen ERA-Net COFUND programme , and with the funding organization The Dutch Research Council NWO (grant E10005 ).

FundersFunder number
Dutch Research Council NWOE10005

    Keywords

    • biodiversity intactness
    • environmental justice
    • food sovereignty
    • land-use modeling
    • sustainability scenarios

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