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Boakes EH, Dalin C, Etard A, Newbold T. Impacts of the global food system on terrestrial biodiversity from land use and climate change. Nat Commun 2024; 15:5750. [PMID: 38982053 PMCID: PMC11233703 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49999-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2023] [Accepted: 06/27/2024] [Indexed: 07/11/2024] Open
Abstract
The global food system is a key driver of land-use and climate change which in turn drive biodiversity change. Developing sustainable food systems is therefore critical to reversing biodiversity loss. We use the multi-regional input-output model EXIOBASE to estimate the biodiversity impacts embedded within the global food system in 2011. Using models that capture regional variation in the sensitivity of biodiversity both to land use and climate change, we calculate the land-driven and greenhouse gas-driven footprints of food using two metrics of biodiversity: local species richness and rarity-weighted species richness. We show that the footprint of land area underestimates biodiversity impact in more species-rich regions and that our metric of rarity-weighted richness places a greater emphasis on biodiversity costs in Central and South America. We find that methane emissions are responsible for 70% of the overall greenhouse gas-driven biodiversity footprint and that, in several regions, emissions from a single year's food production are associated with global biodiversity loss equivalent to 2% or more of that region's total land-driven biodiversity loss. The measures we present are relatively simple to calculate and could be incorporated into decision-making and environmental impact assessments by governments and businesses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth H Boakes
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Gower Street, London, UK.
- Institute for Sustainable Resources, Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources, University College London, Central House, 14 Upper Woburn Place, London, UK.
| | - Carole Dalin
- Institute for Sustainable Resources, Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources, University College London, Central House, 14 Upper Woburn Place, London, UK
- Laboratoire de Géologie de L'École Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, UMR8538 CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Adrienne Etard
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Gower Street, London, UK
- International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Schlossplatz 1, A-2361, Laxenburg, Austria
| | - Tim Newbold
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Gower Street, London, UK
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2
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Klinnert A, Barbosa AL, Catarino R, Fellmann T, Baldoni E, Beber C, Hristov J, Paracchini ML, Rega C, Weiss F, Witzke P, Rodriguez-Cerezo E. Landscape features support natural pest control and farm income when pesticide application is reduced. Nat Commun 2024; 15:5384. [PMID: 38918388 PMCID: PMC11199556 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48311-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 06/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Future trajectories of agricultural productivity need to incorporate environmental targets, including the reduction of pesticides use. Landscape features supporting natural pest control (LF-NPC) offer a nature-based solution that can serve as a partial substitute for synthetic pesticides, thereby supporting future productivity levels. Here, we introduce a novel approach to quantify the contribution of LF-NPC to agricultural yields and its associated economic value to crop production in a broad-scale context. Using the European Union as case study, we combine granular farm-level data, a spatially explicit map of LF-NPC potential, and a regional agro-economic supply and market model. The results reveal that farms located in areas characterized by higher LF-NPC potential experience lower productivity losses in a context of reduced synthetic pesticides use. Our analysis suggests that LF-NPC reduces yield gaps on average by four percentage points, and increases income by a similar magnitude. These results highlight the significance of LF-NPC for agricultural production and income, and provide a valuable reference point for farmers and policymakers aiming to successfully invest in landscape features to achieve pesticides reduction targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Klinnert
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre, C/Inca Garcilaso 3, 41092, Seville, Spain.
| | - Ana Luisa Barbosa
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre, C/Inca Garcilaso 3, 41092, Seville, Spain
| | - Rui Catarino
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Via Enrico Fermi 2749, 21027, Ispra, Italy
| | - Thomas Fellmann
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre, C/Inca Garcilaso 3, 41092, Seville, Spain
| | - Edoardo Baldoni
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre, C/Inca Garcilaso 3, 41092, Seville, Spain
| | - Caetano Beber
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre, C/Inca Garcilaso 3, 41092, Seville, Spain
| | - Jordan Hristov
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre, C/Inca Garcilaso 3, 41092, Seville, Spain
| | | | - Carlo Rega
- European Commission, Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Franz Weiss
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Via Enrico Fermi 2749, 21027, Ispra, Italy
| | - Peter Witzke
- EuroCARE Bonn GmbH, Buntspechtweg 22, D-53123, Bonn, Germany
- Institute for Food and Resource Economics, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
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3
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Patterson JJ, Feola G, Kim RE. Negotiating discord in sustainability transformations. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2310186121. [PMID: 38662571 PMCID: PMC11127004 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2310186121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Policy action for sustainability transformation faces inherent and ever-present sources of conflict, pushback, and resistance (i.e., discord). However, conceptual frameworks and policy prescriptions for sustainability transformations often reflect an undue image of accord. This involves simplified assumptions about consensus, steering, friction, discreteness, and additiveness of policy action, conferring an unrealistic view of the potential to deliberately realize transformation. Instead, negotiating discord through continuously finding partial political settlements among divided actors needs to become a key focus of policy action for sustainability transformations. Doing so can help to navigate deeply political settings through imperfect but workable steps that loosen deadlock, generate momentum for further policy action, and avoid complete derailment of transformation agendas when discord arises.
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Affiliation(s)
- James J. Patterson
- Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, 3585CBUtrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Giuseppe Feola
- Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, 3585CBUtrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Rakhyun E. Kim
- Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, 3585CBUtrecht, The Netherlands
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4
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López I Losada R, Rosenbaum RK, Brady MV, Wilhelmsson F, Hedlund K. Agent-Based Life Cycle Assessment enables joint economic-environmental analysis of policy to support agricultural biomass for biofuels. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 916:170264. [PMID: 38253104 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2023] [Revised: 01/15/2024] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
Production of agricultural biofuels is expected to rise due to increasing climate change mitigation ambitions. Policy interventions promoting targeted bioenergy solutions can be motivated by the large environmental externalities present in agricultural systems and the local context of biomass production co-benefits. Introducing energy crops in crop rotations in arable land with depleted Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) levels offers the potential to increase SOC stocks and future crop yields as a step towards more sustainable agricultural systems. However, the environmental performance of a policy incentive for energy crops with SOC co-benefits is less evident when considering its land-use effects within and outside of the target agricultural system. We study the potential impacts of a change in agricultural policy on regional agricultural structure and production, and the environment with an Agent-Based Life Cycle Assessment approach. We simulate a policy payment that would achieve adoption of grass leys in crop rotations corresponding to 25 % of the highly productive land in an intensive farming region of southern Sweden. Although enhancing soil health in SOC-depleted farming regions is a desirable environmental objective, its significance is limited within the life-cycle performance of the payment. Instead, crop-displacement impacts and the grass potential as biofuel feedstock are the main drivers. The active utilisation of grasses for biofuel purposes is key in reaching a positive environmental evaluation of the policy instrument. Our environmental evaluation is likely generalisable to other regions with similar technological levels and farming intensity, while our analysis on structural shifts is specific to the policy instrument and agricultural production system under study. Overall, our work provides a method to contrast regional effects and global environmental impacts of policy instruments supporting agricultural biomass for biofuels prior to implementation. This contributes to the environmental assessment of land-based biofuels at a time when their sustainability is highly debated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raül López I Losada
- Centre for Environmental and Climate Science, Lund University, 223 62 Lund, Sweden.
| | - Ralph K Rosenbaum
- Sustainability in Biosystems Research Programme, Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA), 08140 Caldes de Montbui, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Mark V Brady
- Centre for Environmental and Climate Science, Lund University, 223 62 Lund, Sweden; AgriFood Economics Centre, Department of Economics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 220 07 Lund, Sweden
| | | | - Katarina Hedlund
- Centre for Environmental and Climate Science, Lund University, 223 62 Lund, Sweden; Department of Biology, Lund University, 223 62 Lund, Sweden
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5
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Galli A, Antonelli M, Wambersie L, Bach-Faig A, Bartolini F, Caro D, Iha K, Lin D, Mancini MS, Sonnino R, Vanham D, Wackernagel M. EU-27 ecological footprint was primarily driven by food consumption and exceeded regional biocapacity from 2004 to 2014. NATURE FOOD 2023; 4:810-822. [PMID: 37709937 PMCID: PMC10513931 DOI: 10.1038/s43016-023-00843-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023]
Abstract
The European Union (EU) plans to decarbonize the region by 2050. As highlighted by the Green Deal and Farm to Fork Strategy, food systems are essential for this transition. Here we investigate the resource dependence and carbon emissions of the EU-27's food systems from 2004 to 2014 via an ecological footprint (EF)-extended multi-regional input-output approach, accounting for demand and supply (including trade), and considering multiple externalities. Food contributes towards almost a third of the region's EF, and appropriates over half of its biocapacity. Average reliance on biocapacity within national borders decreased, while reliance on intra-EU biocapacity increased; yet a quarter of the biocapacity for food consumption originates from non-EU countries. Despite a reduction in both total EF and food EF over the study period, EU-27 residents demand more from nature than the region's ecosystems can regenerate-highlighting the need for new or strengthened food and trade policies to enable a transformation to sustainable EU food systems.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Marta Antonelli
- Global Footprint Network, Geneva, Switzerland
- Impacts on Agriculture, Forests and Ecosystem Services (IAFES), Fondazione Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici (CMCC), Viterbo, Italy
| | - Leopold Wambersie
- Global Footprint Network, Oakland, CA, USA
- École de technologie supérieure, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Anna Bach-Faig
- Food Lab Research Group (2021 SGR 01357), Faculty of Health Sciences, Open University of Catalonia (UOC), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Fabio Bartolini
- Department of Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Dario Caro
- Department of Environmental Science, Aarhus University, Roskilde, Denmark
- Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, Seville, Spain
| | | | - David Lin
- Global Footprint Network, Oakland, CA, USA
| | | | - Roberta Sonnino
- Centre for Environment and Sustainability, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK.
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6
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Li Y, Zhong H, Shan Y, Hang Y, Wang D, Zhou Y, Hubacek K. Changes in global food consumption increase GHG emissions despite efficiency gains along global supply chains. NATURE FOOD 2023:10.1038/s43016-023-00768-z. [PMID: 37322300 DOI: 10.1038/s43016-023-00768-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2022] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to food consumption complement production-based or territorial accounts by capturing carbon leaked through trade. Here we evaluate global consumption-based food emissions between 2000 and 2019 and underlying drivers using a physical trade flow approach and structural decomposition analysis. In 2019, emissions throughout global food supply chains reached 30 ±9% of anthropogenic GHG emissions, largely triggered by beef and dairy consumption in rapidly developing countries-while per capita emissions in developed countries with a high percentage of animal-based food declined. Emissions outsourced through international food trade dominated by beef and oil crops increased by ~1 Gt CO2 equivalent, mainly driven by increased imports by developing countries. Population growth and per capita demand increase were key drivers to the global emissions increase (+30% and +19%, respectively) while decreasing emissions intensity from land-use activities was the major factor to offset emissions growth (-39%). Climate change mitigation may depend on incentivizing consumer and producer choices to reduce emissions-intensive food products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanxian Li
- Integrated Research on Energy, Environment and Society (IREES), Energy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen (ESRIG), University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Honglin Zhong
- Academy of Plateau Science and Sustainability, Qinghai Normal University, Xining, China
- Institute of Blue and Green Development, Weihai Institute of Interdisciplinary Research, Shandong University, Weihai, China
| | - Yuli Shan
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
| | - Ye Hang
- Integrated Research on Energy, Environment and Society (IREES), Energy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen (ESRIG), University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
- College of Economics and Management & Research Centre for Soft Energy Science, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, China
| | - Dan Wang
- Integrated Research on Energy, Environment and Society (IREES), Energy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen (ESRIG), University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Yannan Zhou
- Integrated Research on Energy, Environment and Society (IREES), Energy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen (ESRIG), University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
- Business School, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
| | - Klaus Hubacek
- Integrated Research on Energy, Environment and Society (IREES), Energy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen (ESRIG), University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.
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7
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Morkunas M, Volkov A. The Progress of the Development of a Climate-smart Agriculture in Europe: Is there Cohesion in the European Union? ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2023; 71:1111-1127. [PMID: 36648532 DOI: 10.1007/s00267-022-01782-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2022] [Accepted: 12/31/2022] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
The development of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is crucial in ensuring the creation of a low-carbon society and mitigation of climate change. These tasks require concerted actions from multiple stakeholders since the very concept of CSA is rather complex and requires multi-dimensional consideration. This study defines and applies various indicators to evaluate the development of CSA in the European Union (EU). To do this, three different multi-criteria decision-making methods, namely Simple Additive Weighting (SAW), Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) and Vlse Kriterijumska Optimizacija Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR; multi-criteria optimization and compromise solution), were employed for the construction of a composite indicator. A combination of both objective (entropy) and subjective (Analytic Hierarchy Process) weighting techniques was utilized to derive the weights of the indicators. The leaders in the EU in terms of CSA are Austria, Denmark and the Netherlands, whereas the countries with the lowest levels of CSA development are Cyprus, Greece and Portugal. This study also revealed divergence in the development of these practices in the EU-24 for the period 2004-2019. Thus, a more inclusive approach is needed to ensure the spread of climate-smart ideas in European agriculture sectors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mangirdas Morkunas
- Faculty of Economics and Business administration, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania.
| | - Artiom Volkov
- Department of Economics and Rural Development, Lithuanian Centre of Social Sciencies, Vilnius, Lithuania
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8
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9
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Bidoglio GA, Mueller ND, Kastner T. Trade-induced displacement of impacts of global crop production on oxygen depletion in marine ecosystems. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 873:162226. [PMID: 36801408 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Revised: 01/09/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
In our globalized world, local impacts of agricultural production are increasingly driven by consumption in geographically distant places. Current agricultural systems strongly rely on nitrogen (N) fertilization to increase soil fertility and crop yields. Yet, a large portion of N added to cropland is lost through leaching / runoff potentially leading to eutrophication in coastal ecosystems. By coupling data on global production and N fertilization for 152 crops with a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)-based model, we first estimated the extent of oxygen depletion occurring in 66 Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) due to agricultural production in the watersheds draining into these LMEs. We then linked this information to crop trade data to assess the displacement from consuming to producing countries, in terms of oxygen depletion impacts associated to our food systems. In this way, we characterized how impacts are distributed between traded and domestically sourced agricultural products. We found that few countries dominate global impacts and that cereal and oil crop production accounts for the bulk of oxygen depletion impacts. Globally, 15.9 % of total oxygen depletion impacts of crop production are ascribable to export-driven production. However, for exporting countries like Canada, Argentina or Malaysia this share is much higher, often up to three-quarters of their production impacts. In some importing countries, trade contributes to reduce pressure on already highly affected coastal ecosystems. This is the case for countries whose domestic crop production is associated with high oxygen depletion intensities, i.e. the impact per kcal produced, such as Japan or South Korea. Next to these positive effects trade can play in lowering overall environmental burdens, our results also highlight the importance of a holistic food system perspective when aiming to reduce the oxygen depletion impacts of crop production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giorgio A Bidoglio
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBIK-F), Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
| | - Nathaniel D Mueller
- Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA; Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Thomas Kastner
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBIK-F), Frankfurt am Main, Germany
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10
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Pörtner HO, Scholes RJ, Arneth A, Barnes DKA, Burrows MT, Diamond SE, Duarte CM, Kiessling W, Leadley P, Managi S, McElwee P, Midgley G, Ngo HT, Obura D, Pascual U, Sankaran M, Shin YJ, Val AL. Overcoming the coupled climate and biodiversity crises and their societal impacts. Science 2023; 380:eabl4881. [PMID: 37079687 DOI: 10.1126/science.abl4881] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/22/2023]
Abstract
Earth's biodiversity and human societies face pollution, overconsumption of natural resources, urbanization, demographic shifts, social and economic inequalities, and habitat loss, many of which are exacerbated by climate change. Here, we review links among climate, biodiversity, and society and develop a roadmap toward sustainability. These include limiting warming to 1.5°C and effectively conserving and restoring functional ecosystems on 30 to 50% of land, freshwater, and ocean "scapes." We envision a mosaic of interconnected protected and shared spaces, including intensively used spaces, to strengthen self-sustaining biodiversity, the capacity of people and nature to adapt to and mitigate climate change, and nature's contributions to people. Fostering interlinked human, ecosystem, and planetary health for a livable future urgently requires bold implementation of transformative policy interventions through interconnected institutions, governance, and social systems from local to global levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- H-O Pörtner
- Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany
- Department of Biology and Chemistry, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
| | - R J Scholes
- Global Change Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - A Arneth
- Atmospheric Environmental Research, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
| | - D K A Barnes
- British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, Cambridge, UK
| | - M T Burrows
- Scottish Association for Marine Science, Oban, Argyll, UK
| | - S E Diamond
- Department of Biology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - C M Duarte
- Red Sea Research Centre (RSRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
- Computational Bioscience Research Centre (CBRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - W Kiessling
- Geozentrum Nordbayern, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, Erlangen, Germany
| | - P Leadley
- Laboratoire d'Ecologie Systématique Evolution, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, AgroParisTech, 91400 Orsay, France
| | - S Managi
- Urban Institute, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - P McElwee
- Department of Human Ecology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
| | - G Midgley
- Global Change Biology Group, Botany and Zoology Department, University of Stellenbosch, 7600 Stellenbosch, South Africa
| | - H T Ngo
- Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), Bonn, Germany
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, Rome, Italy
| | - D Obura
- Coastal Oceans Research and Development-Indian Ocean (CORDIO) East Africa, Mombasa, Kenya
- Global Climate Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - U Pascual
- Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3), Leioa, Spain
- Basque Foundation for Science (Ikerbasque), Bilbao, Spain
- Centre for Development and Environment, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - M Sankaran
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bellary Road, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
| | - Y J Shin
- Marine Biodiversity, Exploitation and Conservation (MARBEC), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Université Montpellier, Insititut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER), CNRS, 34000 Montpellier, France
| | - A L Val
- Brazilian National Institute for Research of the Amazon, 69080-971 Manaus, Brazil
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11
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Pungas L. Invisible (bio)economies: a framework to assess the 'blind spots' of dominant bioeconomy models. SUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE 2023; 18:689-706. [PMID: 36743453 PMCID: PMC9890435 DOI: 10.1007/s11625-023-01292-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2021] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Bioeconomy as a new promissory discourse neither challenges the paradigm of economic growth, nor questions its embeddedness in capitalist (neo-)colonial patriarchal power relations. However, the calls for a 'genuine' socio-ecological transformation and for alternative bioeconomy visions imply exactly a destabilization of these power relations. Drawing on the Bielefeld subsistence approach and on its colonialism-capitalism-patriarchy nexus, I argue that the latest bioeconomy strategy and policy papers of both the EU and Estonia each disregard certain spheres of the bioeconomy due to the three-dimensional power relations. As a seemingly neutral political discourse, the bioeconomy is shaped by cultural assumptions and narratives that determine and perpetuate what is deemed worthy of protection and what is pushed aside as merely 'natural'. As such, the current bioeconomy papers promote a 'biomass-based model of capital accumulation' that is essentially built on the prerequisite of the subordination, devaluation, appropriation and/or exploitation of (1) different geographical regions, (2) ecological foundations, and (3) prevalent bioeconomy practices. As a widespread agricultural practice in Eastern Europe, Food Self-Provisioning (FSP) serves as a good example of how predominant bioeconomy models (1) simply operate as new forms of postcolonial development discourse, instead of embracing the plurality of decolonial 'alternatives to development'; (2) deepen the human-nature dichotomy by regarding nature as a mere resource to be extracted more efficiently instead of cultivating mutually nourishing partnership-like relation(ship)s with nature; and (3) maintain the separation between monetized and maintenance economies, rather than fostering ethics of care to overcome the structural separation between the latter.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lilian Pungas
- Institute for Sociology/Junior Research Group Flumen, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Jena, Germany
- Berlin, Germany
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12
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Triantafyllidis V, Mavroeidis A, Kosma C, Karabagias IK, Zotos A, Kehayias G, Beslemes D, Roussis I, Bilalis D, Economou G, Kakabouki I. Herbicide Use in the Era of Farm to Fork: Strengths, Weaknesses, and Future Implications. WATER, AIR, AND SOIL POLLUTION 2023; 234:94. [PMID: 36744192 PMCID: PMC9885073 DOI: 10.1007/s11270-023-06125-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2022] [Accepted: 01/21/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Climate change mitigation is a major concern of the European Union (EU). In 2019, the EU presented the European Green Deal (EGD), a new environmental strategy that aimed to neutralize climate change by 2050. Within its policy areas, the EGD included the Farm to Fork (F2F) Strategy that aims to reduce pesticide use by 50%, by 2030. This reduction was proposed due to the supposed negative effects of pesticides on the environment and its biota. Among the different pesticide groups (herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, etc.) though, herbicides are perhaps the hardest to reduce. This review aimed to shed light to any factors that might hinder the reduction of herbicide use; thus, the implementation of the Farm to Fork Strategy underlines some of its weaknesses and highlights key points of a viable herbicide reduction-related policy framework. The literature suggests that integrated weed management (IWM) consists perhaps the most suitable approach for the reduction of herbicides in the EU. Even though it is too soon to conclusively assess F2F, its success is not impossible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vassilios Triantafyllidis
- Department of Business Administration of Food & Agricultural Enterprises, University of Patras, Agrinio, Greece
| | - Antonios Mavroeidis
- Department of Crop Science, Laboratory of Agronomy, Agricultural University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Chariklia Kosma
- Department of Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering, University of Patras, Mesolonghi, Patras, Greece
| | | | - Anastasios Zotos
- Department of Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering, University of Patras, Mesolonghi, Patras, Greece
| | - George Kehayias
- Department of Food Science & Technology, University of Patras, Agrinio, Greece
| | - Dimitrios Beslemes
- Department of Agriculture Crop Production and Rural Environment, University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece
| | - Ioannis Roussis
- Department of Crop Science, Laboratory of Agronomy, Agricultural University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Dimitrios Bilalis
- Department of Crop Science, Laboratory of Agronomy, Agricultural University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Garyfalia Economou
- Department of Crop Science, Laboratory of Agronomy, Agricultural University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Ioanna Kakabouki
- Department of Crop Science, Laboratory of Agronomy, Agricultural University of Athens, Athens, Greece
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13
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Viña A, Liu J. Effects of global shocks on the evolution of an interconnected world. AMBIO 2023; 52:95-106. [PMID: 35997989 PMCID: PMC9396606 DOI: 10.1007/s13280-022-01778-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2021] [Revised: 05/16/2022] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
As the world grows more interconnected through the flows of people, goods, and information, many challenges are becoming more difficult to address since human needs are increasingly being met through global supply chains. Global shocks (e.g., war, economic recession, pandemic) can severely disrupt these interconnections and generate cascading consequences across local to global scales. To comprehensively evaluate these consequences, it is crucial to use integrated frameworks that consider multiple interconnections and flows among coupled human and natural systems. Here we use the framework of metacoupling (human-nature interactions within as well as across adjacent and distant systems) to illustrate the effects of major global shocks on the evolution of global interconnectedness between the early 1900s and the 2010s. Based on these results we make a few actionable recommendations to reduce the negative impacts of an ongoing global shock, the COVID-19 pandemic, to promote global sustainability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrés Viña
- Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, 1405 S. Harrison Road, Suite 115 Manly Miles Bldg, East Lansing, MI 48823-5243 USA
- Department of Geography, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599 USA
| | - Jianguo Liu
- Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, 1405 S. Harrison Road, Suite 115 Manly Miles Bldg, East Lansing, MI 48823-5243 USA
- Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48823 USA
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14
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Alexander P, Arneth A, Henry R, Maire J, Rabin S, Rounsevell MDA. High energy and fertilizer prices are more damaging than food export curtailment from Ukraine and Russia for food prices, health and the environment. NATURE FOOD 2023; 4:84-95. [PMID: 37118577 DOI: 10.1038/s43016-022-00659-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 11/04/2022] [Indexed: 04/30/2023]
Abstract
Higher food prices arising from restrictions on exports from Russia or Ukraine have been exacerbated by energy price rises, leading to higher costs for agricultural inputs such as fertilizer. Here, using a scenario modelling approach, we quantify the potential outcomes of increasing agricultural input costs and the curtailment of exports from Russia and Ukraine on human health and the environment. We show that, combined, agricultural inputs costs and food export restrictions could increase food costs by 60-100% in 2023 from 2021 levels, potentially leading to undernourishment of 61-107 million people in 2023 and annual additional deaths of 416,000 to 1.01 million people if the associated dietary patterns are maintained. Furthermore, reduced land use intensification arising from higher input costs would lead to agricultural land expansion and associated carbon and biodiversity loss. The impact of agricultural input costs on food prices is larger than that from curtailment of Russian and Ukrainian exports. Restoring food trade from Ukraine and Russia alone is therefore insufficient to avoid food insecurity problem from higher energy and fertilizer prices. We contend that the immediacy of the food export problems associated with the war diverted attention away from the principal causes of current global food insecurity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Alexander
- School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
- Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Security, The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush Campus, Midlothian, UK.
| | - Almut Arneth
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Atmospheric Environmental Research (IMK-IFU), Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
- Geography & Geo-ecology, Campus Süd, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Roslyn Henry
- Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, King's College, Aberdeen, UK
| | - Juliette Maire
- School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Sam Rabin
- Center for Environmental Prediction, School of Environmental & Biological Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
| | - Mark D A Rounsevell
- School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Atmospheric Environmental Research (IMK-IFU), Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
- Geography & Geo-ecology, Campus Süd, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany
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15
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Searchinger T, James O, Dumas P, Kastner T, Wirsenius S. EU climate plan sacrifices carbon storage and biodiversity for bioenergy. Nature 2022; 612:27-30. [PMID: 36443604 DOI: 10.1038/d41586-022-04133-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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16
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Röös E, Mayer A, Muller A, Kalt G, Ferguson S, Erb KH, Hart R, Matej S, Kaufmann L, Pfeifer C, Frehner A, Smith P, Schwarz G. Agroecological practices in combination with healthy diets can help meet EU food system policy targets. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 847:157612. [PMID: 35901890 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2022] [Revised: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 07/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Agroecology has been proposed as a strategy to improve food system sustainability, but has also been criticised for using land inefficiently. We compared five explorative storylines, developed in a stakeholder process, for future food systems in the EU to 2050. We modelled a range of biophysical (e.g., land use and food production), environmental (e.g., greenhouse gas emissions) and social indicators, and potential for regional food self-sufficiency, and investigated the economic policy needed to reach these futures by 2050. Two contrasting storylines for upscaling agroecological practices emerged. In one, agroecology was implemented to produce high-value products serving high-income consumers through trade but, despite 40% of agricultural area being under organic management, only two out of eight EU environmental policy targets were met. As diets followed current trends in this storyline, there were few improvements in environmental indicators compared with the current situation, despite large-scale implementation of agroecological farming practices. This suggests that large-scale implementation of agroecological practices without concurrent changes on the demand side could aggravate existing environmental pressures. However, our second agroecological storyline showed that if large-scale diffusion of agroecological farming practices were implemented alongside drastic dietary change and waste reductions, major improvements on environmental indicators could be achieved and all relevant EU policy targets met. An alternative storyline comprising sustainable intensification in combination with dietary change and waste reductions was efficient in meeting targets related to climate, biodiversity, ammonia emissions, and use of antibiotics, but did not meet targets for reductions in pesticide and fertiliser use. These results confirm the importance of dietary change for food system climate change mitigation. Economic modelling showed a need for drastic changes in consumer preferences towards more plant-based, agroecological and local foods, and for improvements in technology, for these storylines to be realised, as very high taxes and tariffs would otherwise be needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elin Röös
- Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.
| | - Andreas Mayer
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Institute of Social Ecology (SEC), Schottenfeldgasse 29, Vienna, Austria
| | - Adrian Muller
- Department of Socioeconomics, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL, Ackerstrasse 113, 5070 Frick, Switzerland
| | - Gerald Kalt
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Institute of Social Ecology (SEC), Schottenfeldgasse 29, Vienna, Austria
| | - Shon Ferguson
- Department of Economics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden; Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN), Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Karl-Heinz Erb
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Institute of Social Ecology (SEC), Schottenfeldgasse 29, Vienna, Austria
| | - Rob Hart
- Department of Economics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Sarah Matej
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Institute of Social Ecology (SEC), Schottenfeldgasse 29, Vienna, Austria
| | - Lisa Kaufmann
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Institute of Social Ecology (SEC), Schottenfeldgasse 29, Vienna, Austria
| | - Catherine Pfeifer
- Department of Socioeconomics, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL, Ackerstrasse 113, 5070 Frick, Switzerland
| | - Anita Frehner
- Department of Socioeconomics, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL, Ackerstrasse 113, 5070 Frick, Switzerland
| | - Pete Smith
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, 23 St Machar Drive, Aberdeen AB24 3UU, UK
| | - Gerald Schwarz
- Thünen Institute of Farm Economics, Bundesallee 63, 38116 Braunschweig, Germany
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17
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Kovak E, Blaustein-Rejto D, Qaim M. Genetically modified crops support climate change mitigation. TRENDS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 27:627-629. [PMID: 35148945 DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2022.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2021] [Revised: 12/27/2021] [Accepted: 01/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Genetically modified (GM) crops can help reduce agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In addition to possible decreases in production emissions, GM yield gains also mitigate land-use change and related emissions. Wider adoption of already-existing GM crops in Europe could result in a reduction equivalent to 7.5% of the total agricultural GHG emissions of Europe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma Kovak
- The Breakthrough Institute, Berkeley, CA, USA.
| | | | - Matin Qaim
- Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany; Institute for Food and Resource Economics, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
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18
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Zurek M, Hebinck A, Selomane O. Climate change and the urgency to transform food systems. Science 2022; 376:1416-1421. [PMID: 35737771 DOI: 10.1126/science.abo2364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Without rapid changes to agriculture and food systems, the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change will not be met. Food systems are one of the most important contributors to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but they also need to be adapted to cope with climate change impacts. Although many options exist to reduce GHG emissions in the food system, efforts to develop implementable transformation pathways are hampered by a combination of structural challenges such as fragmented decision-making, vested interests, and power imbalances in the climate policy and food communities, all of which are compounded by a lack of joint vision. New processes and governance arrangements are urgently needed for dealing with potential trade-offs among mitigation options and their food security implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monika Zurek
- Food Systems Transformation Group, Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Aniek Hebinck
- Dutch Research Institute for Transitions (DRIFT), Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - Odirilwe Selomane
- Centre for Sustainability Transitions, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
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19
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Sun Z, Behrens P, Tukker A, Bruckner M, Scherer L. Global Human Consumption Threatens Key Biodiversity Areas. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2022; 56:9003-9014. [PMID: 36350780 PMCID: PMC9228074 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c00506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Key biodiversity areas (KBAs) are critical regions for preserving global biodiversity. KBAs are identified by their importance to biodiversity rather than their legal status. As such, KBAs are often under pressure from human activities. KBAs can encompass many different land-use types (e.g., cropland, pastures) and land-use intensities. Here, we combine a global economic model with spatial mapping to estimate the biodiversity impacts of human land use in KBAs. We find that global human land use within KBAs causes disproportionate biodiversity losses. While land use within KBAs accounts for only 7% of total land use, it causes 16% of the potential global plant loss and 12% of the potential global vertebrate loss. The consumption of animal products accounts for more than half of biodiversity loss within KBAs, with housing the second largest at around 10%. Bovine meat is the largest single contributor to this loss, at around 31% of total biodiversity loss. In terms of land use, lightly grazed pasture contributes the most, accounting for around half of all potential species loss. This loss is concentrated mainly in middle- and low-income regions with rich biodiversity. International trade is an important driver of loss, accounting for 22-29% of total potential plant and vertebrate loss. Our comprehensive global, trade-linked analysis provides insights into maintaining the integrity of KBAs and global biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhongxiao Sun
- Institute
of Environmental Sciences (CML), Leiden
University, 2333 CC Leiden, the Netherlands
- College
of Land Science and Technology, China Agricultural
University, 100193 Beijing, China
| | - Paul Behrens
- Institute
of Environmental Sciences (CML), Leiden
University, 2333 CC Leiden, the Netherlands
- Leiden
University College The Hague, 2595 DG The Hague, the Netherlands
| | - Arnold Tukker
- Institute
of Environmental Sciences (CML), Leiden
University, 2333 CC Leiden, the Netherlands
- The
Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research TNO, 2595 DA The Hague, the Netherlands
| | - Martin Bruckner
- Institute
for Ecological Economics, Vienna University
of Economics and Business, 1020 Vienna, Austria
| | - Laura Scherer
- Institute
of Environmental Sciences (CML), Leiden
University, 2333 CC Leiden, the Netherlands
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20
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Lombardo L, Farolfi C, Tombesi S, Novelli E, Capri E. Development of a sustainability technical guide for the Italian olive oil supply chain. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 820:153332. [PMID: 35074385 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2021] [Revised: 01/17/2022] [Accepted: 01/18/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Italian olive growing must aim at the transition to economically and environmentally sustainable management systems, linked to premium quality production and to a recognized and remunerated context of biodiversity conservation in compliance with the provisions of the European Union New Green Deal and United Nations Agenda 2030. To assist and facilitate companies in this step, a sustainability technical guide for the Italian olive oil supply chain has been developed, with reference to the four pillars of sustainability. The guide, consisting of 42 requirements, was submitted to 18 olive farms from 8 different Italian regions participating in this pilot study, to assess their level of total sustainability and to receive feedbacks throughout the drafting process. Taken as a whole, the companies have proved to be virtuous in meeting the requirements provided, with percentages of compliance ranging from 86 to 96% according to pillar and from 70 to 100% according to company and showed a remarkable spirit of collaboration and involvement in the construction of the guide. In this regard, the text is aimed to represent a participatory standard for Italian institutions and for other olive countries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Lombardo
- Department for Sustainable Food Process, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Via Emilia Parmense 84, 29122 Piacenza, Italy.
| | - Camilla Farolfi
- Department for Sustainable Food Process, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Via Emilia Parmense 84, 29122 Piacenza, Italy
| | - Sergio Tombesi
- Department of Agronomy, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Via Emilia Parmense 84, 29122 Piacenza, Italy
| | - Elisa Novelli
- Oleificio Zucchi, Via Acquaviva, 12, 26100 Cremona, Italy
| | - Ettore Capri
- European Observatory on Sustainable Agriculture (OPERA), Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Via Emilia Parmense 84, 29122 Piacenza, Italy.
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21
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Vitillo JG, Eisaman MD, Aradóttir ES, Passarini F, Wang T, Sheehan SW. The role of carbon capture, utilization, and storage for economic pathways that limit global warming to below 1.5°C. iScience 2022; 25:104237. [PMID: 35521539 PMCID: PMC9062320 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The 2021 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, for the first time, stated that CO2 removal will be necessary to meet our climate goals. However, there is a cost to accomplish CO2 removal or mitigation that varies by source. Accordingly, a sensible strategy to prevent climate change begins by mitigating emission sources requiring the least energy and capital investment per ton of CO2, such as new emitters and long-term stationary sources. The production of CO2-derived products should also start by favoring processes that bring to market high-value products with sufficient margin to tolerate a higher cost of goods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jenny G. Vitillo
- Department of Science and High Technology and INSTM, University of Insubria, Via Valleggio 9, I-22100 Como, Italy
- Corresponding author
| | - Matthew D. Eisaman
- Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
| | | | - Fabrizio Passarini
- Department of Industrial Chemistry “Toso Montanari”, University of Bologna, viale del Risorgimento 4, I-40136 Bologna, Italy
| | - Tao Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Clean Energy Utilization, Zhejiang University, NO.38, Zheda Road, Hangzhou, 310027 Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Stafford W. Sheehan
- Air Company, 407 Johnson Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11206, USA
- Corresponding author
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22
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European Green Deal: Threats Assessment for Agri-Food Exporting Countries to the EU. SUSTAINABILITY 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/su14073712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
This article is devoted to assessing and substantiating the threats for countries/exporters of agricultural products to the EU under conditions of the European Green Deal. The revealed comparative advantages index (RCA), comparison method, correlation and regression analysis, and taxonomic method have been applied. According to the RCA index the main causes for the relatively significant volume of agri-food exports by some countries to the EU have been identified; using the comparison method it was found that among the leading countries by agricultural products export to the EU, many states do not meet the European Green Deal target criteria for agriculture. Correlation and regression analysis has revealed that among the chosen factors only the volume of fertilisers use per cropland has direct and strong influence on CO2eq emissions; by a taxonomic method the threats value for the leading agri-food exporters to the EU has been calculated. The major agri-food exporters to the EU under conditions of the European Green Deal targets till 2030 have a high threat regarding reduction of their supply to the Member States in the case of a possible Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism or the introduction of other import restriction mechanisms in future. The results of the study can be used by the government and other executive bodies of the analysed countries to make adequate and rapid decisions to avoid the threats of possible agri-food exports reduction to the EU under the further European Green Deal implementation.
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23
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Cortignani R, Buttinelli R, Dono G. Farm to Fork strategy and restrictions on the use of chemical inputs: Impacts on the various types of farming and territories of Italy. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 810:152259. [PMID: 34896512 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2021] [Revised: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 12/04/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
This study evaluates the impacts of reduction in chemical inputs use, as defined to the Farm to Fork strategy, on the Italian agricultural sector based on current production practices and technologies, as well as market and political framework. The impacts are evaluated in terms of some economic, environmental and social indicators, and are shown and discussed both geographic area and types of farming. The analysis was conducted on all Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) sample of Italian farms in various years, about 40,000 farms, by using the AGRITALIM model. The main results show an improvement in environmental sustainability of agricultural production in terms of lower use of chemical. Negative socio-economic and productive impacts are observed overall in the national territory, but some areas are more affected. The reduction of income could especially affect some types of farming and smaller farms. In conclusion, the Farm to Fork strategy could be a fundamental impetus to review some failings and weaknesses of European agriculture. Our analysis shows that targeted and forward-looking interventions are especially important for some types of farming, production sectors and territories. New research is needed to support the choices of stakeholders regarding policy support and innovation in agriculture. Political interventions are needed to incentivize farmers to adopt environmentally friendly agricultural practices and limit income losses. Genetic and technological innovations could play a fundamental role in limiting the reductions of agricultural production and modernizing farms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raffaele Cortignani
- University of Tuscia, Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences (DAFNE), Italy.
| | - Rebecca Buttinelli
- University of Tuscia, Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences (DAFNE), Italy
| | - Gabriele Dono
- University of Tuscia, Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences (DAFNE), Italy
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24
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Ramcilovic-Suominen S. Envisioning just transformations in and beyond the EU bioeconomy: inspirations from decolonial environmental justice and degrowth. SUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE 2022; 18:707-722. [PMID: 35096181 PMCID: PMC8786589 DOI: 10.1007/s11625-022-01091-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2021] [Accepted: 12/27/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The European Union (EU) is adhering to decarbonization of its economy to tackle what is narrowly framed as 'environmental issues' of our socioecological and civilizational crises-including, but not limited to, climate change and biodiversity loss. A shift to bio-based economy (bioeconomy) is an important component of this effort. This paper applies theoretical ideas from decolonial environmental justice and degrowth, placed in the wider context of transformations, to analyse the EU bioeconomy policy within the global context, and to draw lessons and recommendations for just transformations in the EU bioeconomy policy. I identify five dominant logics and approaches in the EU bioeconomy that act as barriers for just transformations and propose alternative ones that can support such transformations. Barriers and alternatives include (1) framing 'nature' as a resource and service provider for humans, who are seen as separate from nature, and the need to abandon human-nature duality; (2) dominance of economic green growth and technoscientific policy solutions, and the need to place planetary justice at the centre of tackling socioecological crises; (3) a limited approach to justice, and the need to act upon climate and epistemic justice, including self-determination and self-governing authority; (4) the EU's ambition for global leadership and competitiveness in global bioeconomic markets and governance, and the need to redefine global governance towards partnerships based on the principles of solidarity, mutual respect, reconciliation and redistribution of power and wealth; (5) hegemonic politico-economic structures and actor coalitions in charge of the EU bioeconomy, and the need for decentralized bottom-up leadership coalitions that promote direct democracy, local autonomy and sovereignty beyond state. I conclude with reflections on the politics of change and risks of co-optation, with a hope to inspire decolonial and just socioecological transformations in and beyond bioeconomy.
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25
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Mayer A, Kaufmann L, Kalt G, Matej S, Theurl MC, Morais TG, Leip A, Erb KH. Applying the Human Appropriation of Net Primary Production framework to map provisioning ecosystem services and their relation to ecosystem functioning across the European Union. ECOSYSTEM SERVICES 2021; 51:101344. [PMID: 34631401 PMCID: PMC8491453 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2021.101344] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2019] [Revised: 06/22/2021] [Accepted: 07/25/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Human intervention on land enhances the supply of provisioning ecosystem services, but also exerts pressures on ecosystem functioning. We utilize the Human Appropriation of Net Primary Production (HANPP) framework to assess these relations in European agriculture, for 220 NUTS2 regions. We put a particular focus on individual land system components, i.e. croplands, grasslands, and livestock husbandry and relate associated biomass flows to the potential net primary productivity NPP. For the reference year 2012, we find that 469 g dm/m2/yr (38% of NPPpot) of used biomass were harvested on total agricultural land, and that one tonne of annually harvested biomass is associated with 1.67 tonnes dry matter (dm) of HANPP, ranging from 0.8 to 8.1 tonnes dry matter (dm) across all regions. EU livestock systems are a large consumer of these provisioning ecosystem services, and invoking higher HANPP flows than current HANPP on cropland and grassland within the EU, even exceeding the potential NPP in one fifth of all NUTS2 regions. NPP remaining in ecosystems after provisioning society with biomass is essential for the functioning of ecosystems and is 563 g dm/m2/yr or 46% of NPPpot on all agricultural land. We conclude from our analysis that the HANPP framework provides useful indicators that should be integrated in future ecosystem service assessments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Mayer
- Institute of Social Ecology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (Boku), Vienna, Schottenfeldgasse 29, A-1070 Vienna, Austria
| | - Lisa Kaufmann
- Institute of Social Ecology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (Boku), Vienna, Schottenfeldgasse 29, A-1070 Vienna, Austria
| | - Gerald Kalt
- Institute of Social Ecology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (Boku), Vienna, Schottenfeldgasse 29, A-1070 Vienna, Austria
| | - Sarah Matej
- Institute of Social Ecology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (Boku), Vienna, Schottenfeldgasse 29, A-1070 Vienna, Austria
| | - Michaela C. Theurl
- Institute of Social Ecology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (Boku), Vienna, Schottenfeldgasse 29, A-1070 Vienna, Austria
| | - Tiago G. Morais
- MARETEC – Marine, Environment and Technology Centre, Instituto Superior Técnico, LARSyS, Universidade de Lisboa, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Adrian Leip
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Ispra, VA, Italy
| | - Karl-Heinz Erb
- Institute of Social Ecology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (Boku), Vienna, Schottenfeldgasse 29, A-1070 Vienna, Austria
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26
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Exploring Sustainable Aspects Regarding the Food Supply Chain, Agri-Food Quality Standards, and Global Trade: An Empirical Study among Experts from the European Union and the United States. ENERGIES 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/en14185987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Sustainability is increasingly a priority in the policies of the European Union, especially in the Common Agricultural Policy. This paper focuses on Sustainable Development Goals, the European Green Deal, and the Farm to Fork Strategy in an attempt to establish a relationship with the European Union’s trade policy. Three selected components of the agri-food sector—the food supply chain, agri-food quality standards, and global trade—are examined in relation to defined sustainability aspects. The aim is to understand the interrelationship between the three components with specific regard to sustainability, to highlight their high complexity and current relevance, to contribute to systematic analysis in this area, and to present current progress. This qualitative–explorative study is empirically supported by a survey of market experts, and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the European Union and the United States is used as an example. The results show the complexity between the relationships of the three components with a focus on sustainability and reveal a deep uncertainty. The most notable results are the limited level of knowledge and the insufficient attention from business representatives to sustainability aspects. Finally, the study identifies the state of integrating a sustainable perspective into European Union trade policy and provides suggestions for further research.
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de Vries W, Schulte-Uebbing L, Kros H, Voogd JC, Louwagie G. Spatially explicit boundaries for agricultural nitrogen inputs in the European Union to meet air and water quality targets. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 786:147283. [PMID: 33958210 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2020] [Revised: 04/17/2021] [Accepted: 04/17/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Agricultural production in the EU has increased strongly since the 1940s, partly driven by increased nitrogen (N) fertiliser and manure inputs. Increased N inputs and associated losses, however, adversely affect air and water quality, with widespread impacts on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and human health. Managing these impacts requires knowledge on 'safe boundaries' for N inputs, i.e., N flows that do not exceed environmental thresholds. We used a spatially explicit N balance model for the EU to derive boundaries for N losses and associated N inputs for three environmental thresholds: (i) N deposition onto natural areas to protect terrestrial biodiversity (critical N loads), (ii) N concentration in runoff to surface water (2.5 mg N l-1) to protect aquatic ecosystems and (iii) nitrate (NO3-) concentration in leachate to groundwater (50 mg NO l-1) to meet the EU drinking water standard. Critical N losses and inputs were calculated for ~40,000 unique soil-slope-climate combinations and then aggregated at country- and EU-level. To respect thresholds for N deposition, N inputs in the EU need to be reduced by 31% on average, ranging from 0% in several countries to 59% in Ireland and Denmark. The strongest reductions are required in intensive livestock regions, such as Benelux, Brittany and the Po valley. To respect thresholds for N concentration in runoff to surface water, N inputs need to be reduced by 43% on average, ranging from 2% in Estonia to 74% in the Netherlands. Average critical N inputs in view of the threshold for NO3- concentration in leachate to groundwater are close to actual (year 2010) inputs, even though leaching thresholds are exceeded in 18% of agricultural land. Critical N inputs and their exceedances presented in this paper can inform more targeted mitigation policies than flat-rate targets for N loss reductions currently mentioned in EU policies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wim de Vries
- Wageningen University and Research, Environmental Research, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands; Wageningen University and Research, Environmental Systems Analysis Group, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands.
| | - Lena Schulte-Uebbing
- Wageningen University and Research, Environmental Systems Analysis Group, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Hans Kros
- Wageningen University and Research, Environmental Research, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Jan Cees Voogd
- Wageningen University and Research, Environmental Research, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Geertrui Louwagie
- (formerly) European Environment Agency, Kongens Nytorv 6, 1050 Copenhagen, Denmark
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Causal Relations of Upscaled Urban Aquaponics and the Food-Water-Energy Nexus—A Berlin Case Study. WATER 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/w13152029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Aquaponics, the water-reusing production of fish and crops, is taken as an example to investigate the consequences of upscaling a nature-based solution in a circular city. We developed an upscaled-aquaponic scenario for the German metropolis of Berlin, analysed the impacts, and studied the system dynamics. To meet the annual fish, tomato, and lettuce demand of Berlin’s 3.77 million residents would require approximately 370 aquaponic facilities covering a total area of 224 hectares and the use of different combinations of fish and crops: catfish/tomato (56%), catfish/lettuce (13%), and tilapia/tomato (31%). As a predominant effect, in terms of water, aquaponic production would save about 2.0 million m3 of water compared to the baseline. On the supply-side, we identified significant causal link chains concerning the Food-Water-Energy nexus at the aquaponic facility level as well as causal relations of a production relocation to Berlin. On the demand-side, a ‘freshwater pescatarian diet’ is discussed. The new and comprehensive findings at different system levels require further investigations on this topic. Upscaled aquaponics can produce a relevant contribution to Berlin’s sustainability and to implement it, research is needed to find suitable sites for local aquaponics in Berlin, possibly inside buildings, on urban roofscape, or in peri-urban areas.
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Follador M, Soares-Filho BS, Philippidis G, Davis JL, de Oliveira AR, Rajão R. Brazil's sugarcane embitters the EU-Mercosur trade talks. Sci Rep 2021; 11:13768. [PMID: 34215823 PMCID: PMC8253810 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-93349-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The Brazilian government's decision to open the Amazon biome to sugarcane expansion reignited EU concerns regarding the sustainability of Brazil's sugar sector, hindering the ratification of the EU-Mercosur trade agreement. Meanwhile, in the EU, certain conventional biofuels face stricter controls, whilst uncertainty surrounding the commercialisation of more sustainable advanced-biofuels renders bioethanol as a short- to medium-term fix. This paper examines Brazil's land-use changes and associated greenhouse gas emissions arising from an EU driven ethanol import policy and projections for other 13 biocommodities. Results suggest that Brazil's sugarcane could satisfy growing ethanol demand and comply with EU environmental criteria, since almost all sugarcane expansion is expected to occur on long-established pasturelands in the South and Midwest. However, expansion of sugarcane is also driven by competition for viable lands with other relevant commodities, mainly soy and beef. As a result, deforestation trends in the Amazon and Cerrado biomes linked to soy and beef production could jeopardize Brazil's contribution to the Paris agreement with an additional 1 ± 0.3 billion CO2eq tonnes above its First NDC target by 2030. Trade talks with a narrow focus on a single commodity could thus risk unsustainable outcomes, calling for systemic sustainability benchmarks, should the deal be ratified.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Follador
- Joint Research Centre, Bio-Economy Unit, European Commission, Ispra, Italy.
| | | | - George Philippidis
- Aragonese Agency for Research and Development (ARAID), Centre for Agro-Food Research and, Technology (CITA), Agrifood Institute of Aragón (IA2), Government of Aragón, Saragossa, Spain
- Joint Research Centre, Economics of Agriculture Unit, European Commission, Seville, Spain
| | - Juliana Leroy Davis
- Centre for Remote Sensing (CSR), Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | | | - Raoni Rajão
- Centre for Remote Sensing (CSR), Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
- Laboratory of Environmental Services Management (LAGESA), Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
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Agroecological Strategies to Safeguard Insect Pollinators in Biodiversity Hotspots: Chile as a Case Study. SUSTAINABILITY 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/su13126728] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Industrial agriculture (IA) has been recognized among the main drivers of biodiversity loss, climate change, and native pollinator decline. Here we summarize the known negative effects of IA on pollinator biodiversity and illustrate these problems by considering the case of Chile, a “world biodiversity hotspot” (WBH) where food exports account for a considerable share of the economy in this country. Most of Chile’s WBH area is currently being replaced by IA at a fast pace, threatening local biodiversity. We present an agroecological strategy for sustainable food production and pollinator conservation in food-producing WBHs. In this we recognize native pollinators as internal inputs that cannot be replaced by IA technological packages and support the development of agroecological and biodiversity restorative practices to protect biodiversity. We suggest four fundamental pillars for food production change based on: (1) sharing the land, restoring and protecting; (2) ecological intensification; (3) localized knowledge, research, and technological development; and (4) territorial planning and implementation of socio-agroecological policies. This approach does not need modification of native pollination services that sustain the world with food and basic subsistence goods, but a paradigm change where the interdependency of nature and human wellbeing must be recognized for ensuring the world’s food security and sovereignty.
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Mediterranean Landscape Re-Greening at the Expense of South American Agricultural Expansion. LAND 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/land10020204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The stabling of livestock farming implies changes in both local ecosystems (regeneration of forest stands via reduced grazing) and those located thousands of kilometers away (deforestation to produce grain for feeding livestock). Despite their importance, these externalities are poorly known. Here we evaluated how the intensification and confinement of livestock in Spain has affected forest surface changes there and in South America, the largest provider of soybeans for animal feed to the European Union. For this purpose, we have used Spanish soybean import data from Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina and a land condition map of Spain. The area of secondary forest in Spain that has regenerated as a result of livestock stabling has been ~7000 kha for the decade 2000–2010. In the same period, 1220 kha of high value South American ecosystems (e.g., Chaco dry Forest, Amazonian rainforest or Cerrado) have been deforested. While these figures may offer a favorable interpretation of the current industrial livestock production, it is not possible to speak of compensation when comparing the destruction of well-structured ecosystems, such as primary South American forests, with the creation of secondary forest landscapes in Spain, which are also prone to wildfires. Our results highlight how evaluating land use change policies at a national or regional level is an incomplete exercise in our highly telecoupled and globalized world.
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