Land Use Analysis And Planning For Sustainable Food Security

This book reconciles competing and sometimes contradictory forms of land use, while also promoting sustainable land use options. It highlights land use planning, spatial planning, territorial (or regional) planning, and ecosystem-based or environmental land use planning as tools that strengthen land governance. Further, it demonstrates how to use these types of land-use planning to improve economic opportunities based on sustainable management of land resources, and to develop land use options that strike a balance between conservation and development objectives. Competition for land is increasing as demand for multiple land uses and ecosystem services rises. Food security issues, renewable energy and emerging carbon markets are creating pressures for the conversion of agricultural land to other uses such as reforestation and biofuels. At the same time, there is a growing demand for land in connection with urbanization and recreation, mining, food production, and biodiversity conservation. Managing the increasing competition between these services, and balancing different stakeholders’ interests, requires efficient allocation of land resources.

In a context of escalating food demand and pressure on natural resources, this study emphasizes the importance of land evaluation and land-use planning. Only with a rational use of resources can we enhance productivity while maintaining resilient ecosystems. The publication stresses the importance of collaborative processes to meet the interwoven challenges of population growth, competition for limited resources, land degradation, biodiversity loss and climate change.

Foreword. Nature and scope. Overview of the planning process. Steps in land-use planning. Methods and sources.

As urban populations rise rapidly and concerns about food security increase, interest in urban agriculture has been renewed in both developed and developing countries. This book focuses on the sustainable development of urban agriculture and its relationship to food planning in cities. It brings together the best revised and updated papers from the Sixth Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP) conference on Sustainable Food Planning. The main emphasis is on the latest research and thinking on spatial planning and design, showing how urban agriculture provides opportunities to develop and enhance the spatial quality of urban environments. Chapters address various topics such as a new theoretical model for understanding urban agriculture, how urban agriculture contributes to restoring our connections to nature, and the limitations of the garden city concept to food security. Case studies are included from several European countries, including Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Spain, Turkey and the UK, as well as Australia, Canada, Cameroon, Ethiopia and the United States (New York and Los Angeles).

A food system is sustainable if it delivers food and nutrition security for all without compromising the economic, social, and environmental bases to generate food security and nutrition for future generations. Sustainable food systems are vital in ensuring global health and ending malnutrition in all its forms. Assessing important dimensions of the food system such as nutrition, sustainable agriculture, food loss and waste can provide stakeholders with necessary information to evaluate the strength of their country’s food systems and determine where more support is needed. Developing Sustainable Food Systems, Policies, and Securities is a pivotal reference source that explores the nature, extent, and causes of nutrition problems across the world as well as the role that agricultural policy plays in these issues. The book supports the development of sustainable food systems, policy options, and securities by various countries in order to successfully maintain sustainable food production systems. Featuring research topics such as food security, carbon emissions, and nutrition, the book is ideally designed for economists, environmentalists, food producers, policymakers, researchers, academicians, and students seeking coverage on agricultural and sustainability issues.

The urgent need to enhance sustainable development in developing countries has never been greater: poverty levels are growing, land conversions are uncontrolled, and there is rapid loss of biodiversity through land use change. This timely book highlights the need for integrated assessment tools for developing countries, considering the long-term impacts of decisions taken today. The success of land use policies has in the past often been hampered by the fact that we simply do not know enough about their impact on sustainable development across developing countries. This book contributes to bridging this knowledge gap whilst facilitating the successful design and implementation of land use policies. The challenge of land use changes in response to changes in the policy environment – macro policy, agricultural and forest policy, environmental policy – is explored with a focus on the South. Detailed case studies encompassing seven countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America are presented via a common framework of analysis. In each case, sustainable development concerns are identified from environmental, economic and social perspectives. The interrelated causes of these problems are analysed by identifying key drivers and relevant land use policies, and the potential impact of prioritized land use policies are then discussed. This important book will prove invaluable to academics, researchers, postgraduate students and policy makers concerned with land-use planning, sustainable development and environmental studies.