Sustainable intensification of agriculture and economy in the Pampas grasslands under climate change

Abstract

Any human activity has some damaging impact if compared with a baseline of no human presence on the planet. There is no doubt intensification of livestock, agriculture, and forestry, along with the services and infrastructure generated around them have produced important changes in the coverage and land use in the Rio de la Plata Graslands (RPG). They include loss of native grasslands and afforestation that threatens the habitat of the local flora and fauna. However, the economic and social importance of the RPG is immense. The concept of sustainable intensification, which has been widely used in the Southern Cone, is aligned with the concerns observed at the national, regional, and global levels about the causes and effects of climate change. Also, it fits as well with the urgencies posed by environmental issues, which have led the countries to seek agreement and set common contribution goals to reduce the effects of different human activities on the environment and climate. Consequently, the countries sharing the Pampas biome are developing public policies related to the sustainable intensification approach, covering issues of natural resource preservation, mitigation, and adaptation to climate change. The Uruguay case study opened a new approach to achieve sustainable development goals in the agricultural sector.