Chapter 3: Land

The document analyzes how population growth, economic development, and globalization intensify pressures on land resources, leading to ecosystem degradation and resource depletion. It highlights the conflict between perpetual economic growth and biophysical limits, noting that land-use decisions often ignore non-economic ecosystem functions. The text identifies competing demands for food, feed, fuel, and fiber as primary drivers of land conversion and degradation, exacerbated by climate change. It argues that sustainable land management requires improved governance, capacity building, and the engagement of local communities, mentioning strategies such as REDD and community-based resource management.

• Economic growth and land-use decisions frequently ignore biophysical limits and non-economic ecosystem functions, leading to severe degradation of terrestrial ecosystems. The economic impact of deforestation and forest degradation is projected to exceed the losses from the 2008 financial crisis.
• Land resources are under intensifying pressure from simultaneous increases in demand for food, livestock feed, biofuels, and raw materials, which is driven by population growth, changing diets, and specific biofuel policies. This results in land conversion, degradation, and increased pressure on protected areas, further stressed by climate change.
• Globalization and urbanization increase the distance between production and consumption, which obscures the drivers of ecosystem degradation and increases environmental costs related to infrastructure and transport. This trend is both fueled by and contributes to large-scale international land deals.
• Sustainable land management requires governance that engages local communities and recognizes local values, as many previous interventions failed due to a lack of such engagement. Current governance strategies include the UN's REDD programme, certification, and community-based resource management.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2012). Chapter 3: Land. https://www.sei.org/publications/geo-5-chapter-3-land/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Chapter 3: Land. 2012. https://www.sei.org/publications/geo-5-chapter-3-land/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Chapter 3: Land |date=6 June 2012 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/geo-5-chapter-3-land/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2012chapter, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Chapter 3: Land}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2012}, month = jun, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/geo-5-chapter-3-land/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }