Planer

An ESRC Investment
Esrc_logo
  • Home
  • About
  • Research
  • Events
  • Blog
Home Homepage Competing demands for land

Competing demands for land

How can the multiple and sometimes competing demands we make from our land, such as expansion of housing or increased production of low-carbon bioenergy, be managed both now and into the future, as population grows and climate variability increases?

These questions are addressed in the Nexus Network thinkpiece on ‘The nexus in a changing climate: a critique of competing demands for UK land‘ from Maria Sharmina, Claire Hoolohan, Alice Bows-Larkin, Paul Gilbert and Kevin Anderson from the University of Manchester, Paul Burgess and Jerry Knox from Cranfield University, James Colwill from Loughborough University and David Howard from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.

Download the thinkpiece here Sharmina et al 2015

Outline

The thinkpiece explored interdependencies at the energy/food/water nexus and questioned how these are currently addressed within policy.

The paper starts by highlighting the range of land uses and goes on to analyse some of the key policies currently playing a role in influencing UK land use. It then questions how current land uses and their related policies affect the UK’s resilience in the medium to long term (e.g. out to 2050) against the backdrop of ongoing and future climatic changes, the drive to deliver deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and changing demand for resources.

Conclusions

The thinkpiece authors conclude there are many metrics, models and tools designed to quantify the capacity of land required for particular outcomes. But such tools can have serious limitations, such as relying mostly on macro-economic factors, shrinking the nexus, and excluding qualitative information.

A tradition of disjointed management often leaves energy, food and water in competition, with policies and tools ill-equipped to provide appropriate and sustainable solutions.

 

Guide for further research and policy

The authors suggest a number of series questions to guide further research and policy in the nexus:

  • What are the additional policy challenges for land use posed by climate change, given the already complex policy environment?
  • What are the socio-economic and environmental trade-offs between meeting bioenergy targets, increasing food production and complying with environmental regulations or aspirations?
  • Where are the main vulnerabilities of the UK’s land system, given current trends and policies?
  • Does the current and anticipated future use of land match the intended outcomes of the policies?
  • What further research is needed to assess the resilience of different blends of nexus components?
  • How can academics assist policymakers through the provision of dynamic, flexible and practical decision support tools both in the near and longer term?
  • How can policymakers be encouraged to factor in the various interdependencies of the nexus and who would have the authority/remit to oversee this?
  • What underpins the design and implementation of an overarching longer-term vision for UK land use, taking into account both spatial and temporal interdependencies?

 

Read the full thinkpiece here Sharmina et al 2015

 

Image credit: With thanks to Alex Pepperhill on flickr.

Oct 15, 2015 The Nexus Network
Tweet
Follow @uk_nexus
6 years ago energy, environment, food, watercompeting demands, decision-making, land use, policy2,966
The Nexus Network
Energy, food and water security in West AfricaPhoto competition: what does the nexus mean to you?
You Might Also Like
 
Nexus POSTnote now available
 
Call for Virtual Agricultural Nitrogen Centres: with Brazil, China and India

Nexus logo social

Nexus Network on Twitter
Tweets by @
Explore the site
Info

Research coordinator: Cian O’Donovan

Communications and engagement: Becky Ayre

Read our privacy policy here.

Accessibility Statement

 

about the nexus network

The Nexus Network has been a linked investment from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) in the UK, supporting a community of researchers and stakeholders to tackle nexus interdependencies, trade-offs and decision-making processes. Read more.

2015- 2018. The Nexus Network. Website designed, developed and maintained by Atoms and Bits.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Reject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT