Progress in the Study of the Drivers of the Transformation of Arable Land Use

Abstract

The sustainable use of arable land is a necessity to ensure future global food security. Arable land provides most of the food and necessities of life for human beings, and is the key to achieving the "poverty-free" (Sustainable Development Goals 1, hereinafter referred to as SDG1), "zero hunger" (SDG2), "sustainable cities and communities" (hereinafter referred to as SDG2) and "sustainable cities and communities" (hereinafter referred to as SDG2) objectives of the United Nations Sustainable Development Programme. SDG1 (hereinafter referred to as "SDG1"), "Zero Hunger" (SDG2), "Sustainable Cities and Communities" (SDG11), and "Climate Action" (SDG13) of the United Nations Sustainable Development Programme (SDP), "terrestrial organisms" (SDG15), and other key resource-environmental elements of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Cropland expansion and cropland intensification have been important strategies for increasing food production, but with the global depletion of cropland reserves, increasing food production by expanding the area of cropland is no longer viable, and the pressure for food security has shifted to the existing cropland, which accounts for 38 per cent of the global terrestrial area. In the last 20 years, global food production has almost doubled, but the area of arable land has increased by only 9%. Demand for food is accelerating in tandem with rapid global economic and social development, population expansion and improved diets. The global demand for food is expected to increase by about 70 to 100 per cent by 2050, which not only puts enormous pressure on existing arable land but also poses a great challenge to the future food security of the world. The sustainable use of existing arable land is the only way to meet the growing demand for food and avoid a global food crisis.