Road Map Toward Accelerating a Just Land Transition in California

The document argues for a "just land transition" in California to address groundwater depletion, which may require repurposing up to 1 million acres of irrigated agriculture. It outlines a framework based on community-centered principles and provides a roadmap of interventions for the state legislature, regulatory agencies, local governments, and philanthropy to ensure benefits reach frontline communities and agricultural workers.

• Groundwater depletion caused by irrigated agriculture in California's San Joaquin Valley may necessitate transitioning between 500,000 and 1 million acres of land to different uses to achieve sustainability.
• A just land transition is defined as a strategic shift from unsustainable, water-intensive farming toward a sustainable system that prioritizes community economic development, pollution reduction, systemic injustice, and climate resilience.
• The brief establishes several 'north star' principles for the transition, including the recognition of Indigenous rights and tribal sovereignty, the use of public funds for public benefits, and ensuring that frontline communities—those closest to cropland transition and climate impacts—lead decision-making and receive direct benefits.
• Short-term legislative recommendations include creating an explicit definition of "meaningful benefit" for Proposition 4 funding and establishing pathways for community land trusts, tribal governments, and farmer cooperatives to purchase land directly.
• Regulatory and local government recommendations focus on requiring affirmative community support for projects using public funds and developing civic infrastructure, such as community choice aggregators for renewable energy and community land trusts.
• Philanthropic efforts should focus on convening diverse partnership tables, funding networks of local elected officials, and expanding direct investment in community-based organizations to build local capacity for project implementation.
• Long-term goals for the state include the creation of a California Just Land Transition Master Plan with public investment estimates, a Just Land Transition Opportunity Zones Program, and the integration of just transition principles into zoning and land use decisions.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2025). Road Map Toward Accelerating a Just Land Transition in California. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2025-05/roadmap-just-land-transition-ca-policy-brief.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Road Map Toward Accelerating a Just Land Transition in California. 2025. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2025-05/roadmap-just-land-transition-ca-policy-brief.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Road Map Toward Accelerating a Just Land Transition in California |date=May 2025 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2025-05/roadmap-just-land-transition-ca-policy-brief.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2025road, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Road Map Toward Accelerating a Just Land Transition in California}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2025}, month = may, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2025-05/roadmap-just-land-transition-ca-policy-brief.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }