Researching into Bio-Energy Change and Sustainable Land Use

Abstract

Sustainable land management (SLM) (also sometimes referred to as “sustainable land use” by policy makers, developmental planners, and researchers) is a knowledge-based procedure that aims at integrating the management of land, water, biodiversity, and other environmental resources to meet human needs while sustaining ecosystem services and livelihoods. The term sustainable land management is used, for example, in regional planning and soil or environmental protection, as well as in property and estate management. The World Bank defines SLM as “a process in a charged environment between environmental protection and the guarantee claim of ecosystem services on the one hand”. On the other hand, it is about “productivity of agriculture and forestry with respect to demographic growth and increasing pressure in land use”. It is estimated that the human footprint has affected 83% of the global terrestrial land surface. Land use and land cover (LUCC) change has been the most visible indicator of the human footprint and the most important driver of loss of biodiversity and other forms of land degradation. Recent trends on global demand for food and bio-energy change (which are closely linked to food and energy price spikes and volatility) have raised concerns on the impact of LUCC change on biodiversity and other environmental impacts. This paper aims to assess the LUCC change and explores factors which could be addressed to ensure sustainable development. In terms of methodology employed, secondary data have been analyzed using descriptive research method. The paper concludes that integrated economic, geographic and ecological models are required to capture the multiple drivers of LUCC and objectives of ecosystems.