PT-8 :: Competition between land uses

Sub-topics: land-use efficiency; bioenergy demand
Competition for land is increasing as demand for multiple land uses and ecosystem services grows. A growing quest for bioenergy for climate change mitigation, exacerbates this competition for land in Europe. This is happening in parallel with other growing demands from land systems for urbanization and comfort, and other ecosystem services such as food production, water resources and biodiversity. Inappropriate policy decisions on different levels could have profound effects, intensifying competition for land. Increased competition may stimulate efficiency but negative effects are likely in the absence of appropriate regulations. Some possible negative effects of increased competition for land include pressures on biodiversity, rising food prices and GHG emissions. Thus, potentially negative environmental and socioeconomic aspects of land-use competition deserve more research. Analyses and planning at the landscape level might be increasingly important to minimize and balance the trade-offs that arise from land-use competitions as well as maximize the synergies around land uses and ecosystem services. The land-use efficiency is one of the priorities on the EU countries, and governments need to ensure the efficient supply of multiple ecosystem services from land system.
Specific research questions (following the conceptual model of INSPIRATION):
Demand/Natural Capital:
• Identify the land functions that are being competed, understand to what extent they are exclusive or might be reconciled and identify the competing actors and through what socioeconomic mechanisms.
• Understand the main political drivers that lead to conflicts of interests.
Why: Essential for future strategies to conflict management.
Land management:
• Delineate and plan political and economic approaches.
Why: to resolve land-use conflits and minimise impact on society, ecosystem services.
Net-impacts:
• Identify the impacts of land competition on environment, economy and society (e.g. on loss of biodiversity, on food provision)
Why: To improve consciousness among policy makers for policies efficiency to minimize land conflict.