Assessing Global Land Use: Balancing Consumption with Sustainable Supply. A Report of the Working Group on Land and Soils of the International Resource Panel

IPNI LASC contributed at the International Resource Panel of UNEP (United Nations Environmental Programme) to produce this report.
According to UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director, Achim Steiner, "The findings of the International Resources Panel show that the world has witnessed an unprecedented sharp decline in terrestrial ecosystem services and functions during the past decades. Forests and wetlands have been converted to agricultural land to feed growing populations but at a cost that is not sustainable. Recognizing that land is a finite resource, we need to become more efficient in the ways we produce, supply and consume our land-based products. We must be able to define and adhere to the boundaries within which the world can safely operate to save millions of hectares by 2050”.

The report includes a section of "Options for sustaining global use of land" where best management practices, and their effect on processes and properties are discussed, including a special emphasis on 4R Nutrient Stewardship: " 4R Nutrient Stewardship’ (Bruulsema et al., 2008; IFA, 2009) is an example of a framework that can be used to guide the development and application BMPs across the diversity of rapidly evolving social, economic and environmental conditions throughout the world".

The full report and additional materials are available at http://www.unep.org/resourcepanel/Publications/AreasofAssessment/AssessingGlobalLandUseBalancingConsumptionw/tabid/132063/Default.aspx