Prioritising Land Use in the Midst of a Climate and Nature Emergency

LUNZ Hub co-lead Heiko Balzter recently contributed to this Zoological Society of London and The British Ecological Society repot on reorganising land use to secure a sustainable future.

The report lays out the role of land use in driving biodiversity loss and climate change, but also as a force for good in human wellbeing. It considers the various challenges, priorities and knowledge gaps in the sector, before giving ten key messages for scientists, civil society and policymakers:

To Scientists:

• Generate evidence and solutions in collaboration with those who are responsible for the land
• Make multifunctionality measurable and applicable
• Ensure that land is included as a system in research

To Civil Society: 

• Help initiate a nuanced national conversation on land demands
• Engage with new thinking around fiscal policy
• Bring nature into economic and social policies

To Policy Makers: 

• Address both supply and demand sides
• Develop a whole government and integrated land use management approach
• Build a land use forecasting infrastructure
• Establish a national environmental observatory