Towards Sustainable Land Use
Aligning Biodiversity, Climate and Food Policies

Land use is central to many of the environmental and socio-economic issues facing society today. This report examines on-going challenges for aligning land-use policy with climate, biodiversity and food objectives, and the opportunities to enhance the sustainability of land-use systems. It looks at six countries – Brazil, France, Indonesia, Ireland, Mexico and New Zealand – with relatively large agricultural and forestry sectors and associated greenhouse gas emissions, many of which also host globally important biodiversity. Drawing on these countries’ relevant national strategies and plans, institutional co-ordination and policy instruments, the report provides good practice insights on how to better align land use decision-making processes and to achieve stronger coherence between land use, climate, ecosystems and food objectives.
Also available in: French
Data and trends relevant to sustainable land use
This chapter highlights some of the important data and trends in areas relevant to the land-use, biodiversity, climate and food nexus across the case study countries (Brazil, France, Indonesia, Ireland, Mexico and New Zealand), regionally and globally. This includes information on trends in land-cover change and ecosystems, greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and LULUCF (land use, land use change and forestry), the emissions intensity of agricultural production and trends in protected area coverage. The chapter also highlights the economic importance of international trade in agricultural and forestry products, and its impact on land use in the case study countries.
Also available in: French