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PAPERS and REPORTS (please scroll down for workshop summaries and presentations)

Synthesis Report "Resource-efficient Land Use - Towards a global sustainable land use standard (GLOBALANDS)"

Prepared by Uwe R. Fritsche, Ulrike Eppler, Leire Iriarte, Sabine Laaks (IINAS), Stephanie Wunder, Timo Kaphengst (Ecologic Institute), Franziska Wolff, Dirk Heyen (Öko-Institut), Alexa Lutzenberger (Leuphana University) October 2015.

As a final output of the project this report summarises major findings of the research and discussions undertaken in the project. More specifically, future pathways towards global sustainable land use are described and recommendations for the German policy are given. The report ends with open questions and by outlining future research needs.

Discussion Paper "Exploring options for strengthening sustainable land use within the UN Convention on Biological Diversity"

Prepared by Franziska Wolff (Öko-Institut) and Timo Kaphengst (Ecologic Institute), June 2015.

This discussion paper takes a closer look to the CBD as one of the Rio Conventions with a promising potential to foster sustainable land use in international policies. Conceptual elements of the CBD with direct and indirect links to sustainable land use are explored, a potential "land protocol" under the CBD is discussed and other ways forward how sustainable land use could be strenghtened under the CBD are presented.

Issue Paper "The private sector, CSR and sustainable land use: recent trends"

Prepared by Franziska Wolff and Dennis Klink (Öko-Institut), June 2015.

This Issue Paper provides an update of our earlier ‘governance screening’ on global sustainable land use with a focus on the private sector. First, recent developments with regard to frameworks and instruments for sustainable land use by the private sector are reviewed. Second, policies on sustainable land use of three selected corporations are analysed in terms of their effectiveness.

Issue Paper "Urban-Rural Linkages and Global Sustainable Land Use"

Prepared by Ulrike Eppler, Uwe R. Fritsche, Sabine Laaks (IINAS), May 2015.

The Issue Paper gives an up-to-date overview on linkages between urban and rural development and analyzes, which impacts urbanization and rural migration have globally and in several countries, and how this affects sustainable land use. Furthermore, the paper draws conclusions regarding policy options.

Discussion Paper "International governance screening of global urban policies and their impacts on sustainable land use"

Prepared by Stephanie Wunder (Ecologic Institute) and Franziska Wolff (Öko-Institut), April 2015.

This GLOBALANDS discussion paper aims to explore the opportunities that can be seized through global urban policies to improve sustainable land use. Specifically it 1. provides an overview of the most important policies that explicitly aim to address urban development on UN level; 2. shows how priorities and paradigms have changed over time (urbanisation and sustainable development in general and consideration of land issues in particular); 3. focuses on the question how far these policies tackle the urban-rural linkage and to what extent they aim to improve sustainable land use within and beyond the formal boundaries of urban settlements.

Issue Paper "Urban Food Systems and Global Sustainable Land Use"

Prepared by Uwe R. Fritsche, Sabine Laaks, Ulrike Eppler (IINAS), April 2015.

This Issue Paper compiles current knowledge on urban food systems - especially urban agriculture - in developing and industrialized countries and draws conclusions with regard to their role for a global sustainable land use.

Discussion Paper "The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and its relevance for global sustainable land use"

Prepared by Christiane Gerstetter (Ecologic Institute), March 2015.

The paper analyses the possible impact of TTIP on future land use. Three main trajectories relevant for land use impacts are identified: a) changes in the type and intensity of land-use as a result of different and extended trade and investment flows, b) the impact on existing regulation relevant to land use, and c) the impact on such regulation in the future.

Discussion Paper "The World Bank Safeguards Policies - Chance or risk for global sustainable land use?"

Prepared by Timo Kaphengst (Ecologic Insitute), February 2015.

In July 2014 the World Bank has launched a two years consultation process for the review of its new Environmental and Social Framework (ESF). This paper outlines the relevant aspects of the World Bank Safeguards from the perspective of sustainable land use. It unveils major omissions in the New Framework regarding land rights, the treatment of indigenous people and environmental impacts and recommends a much stronger alignement of the New Framework with the Voluntary Guidelines on Land Tenure (VGGT).

Working Paper "Global Sustainable Land Use: Concept and Examples for Systemic Indicators"
Prepared by Uwe R. Fritsche, Ulrike Eppler, Leire Iriarte (IINAS), Darmstadt, Berlin, Madrid, January 2015

This working paper is meant to stimulate the discussion on indicators for global sustainable land use, especially in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), where indicators play a particular role in measuring progress of goals and targets.The paper discusses the limitations of current approaches for land use indicators and develops a conceptual framework of sustainability metrics focussing on land management. From theses metrics, the concept of systemic indicators (SI) is derived and applied for agriculture and forestry. In the last section some preliminary thoughts on the implementation of the SI approach are outlined.

Background Paper "Deutschlands Rolle in der internationalen Landnutzungspolitik - Ableitung von nationalen Empfehlungen zur Stärkung nachhaltiger Landnutzung"

Prepared by Stehanie Wunder, Timo Kaphengst (Ecologic Institute), Uwe R. Fritsche, Ulrike Eppler (IINAS) and Franziska Wolff (Öko-Institut), November 2014.

This background paper was compiled for the preparation of the 5th GLOBALANDS workshop held at 18 Nov. 2014 in Berlin. It is written in German language. After summarising the main conclusions from the project`s research activities so far, the paper discusses possible governance forms for a sustainable land use at global level. The subsequent chapters highlight different windows of opprtunities to further strengthening sustainable land use in international policies. The paper ends with recommendations for the German government for a meaningful engagement in international policy processes to foster sustainable land use.

Working Paper "Global Land Use Analysis" (for German version click here)

Prepared by Alexa Lutzenberger, Mario Brillinger and Steffen Pott (Leuphana University Lüneburg), May 2014.

This working paper examines the actual land use (agriculure and forestry) at global level as well as the fields of human settlements, transport, infrastructure, population development and raw material withdrawals. It includes an intensive literature review and evaluation and a data based analysis of direct land-use changes.

Discussion Paper "Towards a definition of global sustainable land use? A discussion on theory, concepts and implications for governance"

Prepared by Timo Kaphengst, January 2014.

The discussion paper is an attempt to frame a definition of a “sustainable land use” in a pragmatic way. The paper starts with a short overview on prevalent sustainability theories, discussing “the battle” between a strong and a weak concept of sustainability and explaining the role of “natural capital” and “reproduction” in the context of land use. After that, some of the few concepts on sustainable land use will be presented and discussed in the context of their applicability for the purposes of the GLOBALANDS project. Where possible, the discussion will unveil, whether these concepts could be subordinated either under the strong or rather the weak sustainability concept. The paper ends with some concluding remarks on crucial components for a definition of sustainable land use at global scale and upcoming challenges for land use governance.

Discussion Paper “Governance screening of global land use”
Prepared by Stephanie Wunder, Timo Kaphengst, Lucy Smith, Johanna von der Weppen (Ecologic Institute) and Franziska Wolff, Dirk Arne Heyen, Andreas Herrmann (Öko-Institut), Berlin, October 2013.

In the paper “Governance screening of global land use,” the GLOBALANDS partners screen and analyze international policies which have the potential to generate high sustainability impacts on global land use. For each international policy field, the most relevant policies are analyzed in relation to their objectives, mechanisms, and (estimated) relevance for sustainable land use. The analysis provides an overview as to how the specific policy influences sustainable land use and thereby provides insights into opportunities and barriers.

The screening goes beyond the main land-use sectors, such as agriculture and forestry, and includes policies from diverse sectors and subjects that have an important impact on large areas of land, even if the impacts are indirect and not intended by the specific policies (e.g., trade and investment policies). “Windows of Opportunity” for future action on the international policy level are identified (e.g., implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, development of Sustainable Development Goals, further development of climate policies/ REDD+, etc.).
The screening also finds that current international policies do not address the most significant drivers of unsustainable land use (either not effectively or not at all), such as population growth, increasing consumption and (western) diets.

In total, more than 120 international policies are analyzed. The analysis provides a thorough overview of policies at the international/global level as well as the EU level. In addition, ten national case studies provide further insights into different land-related policies (Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Cuba, Kenya, Niger/Burkina Faso, India, Australia, Belgium, and Germany).

Working Paper “Global Land Use Scenarios: Findings from a review of key studies and models”

Prepared by Uwe R. Fritsche, Ulrike Eppler, Darmstadt, April 2013.

This working paper of the GLOBALANDS project compiles existing projections on global land use and respective scenarios for 2030 and 2050. It is based on an overview of studies and models. The paper takes into account the variation of relevant parameters between scenarios to derive a synopsis of key “drivers“ of future global land use which will be used in later project phases.

Working paper “LAND USE TRENDS, DRIVERS AND IMPACTS. Key findings from a review of international level land use studies”

Prepared by Dr. Karlheinz Knickel, Frankfurt, May 2012.

This paper summarizes some key data and conclusions from a range of analyses and reports related to global level land use change. Emphasis is on publications from the main institutions engaged in this sphere. The idea is to document the common ground in existing studies as well as identify different views where they exist.
The focus is on major trends in land use and includes the main influences and drivers that demand need and broad scope for action. The paper complements the analysis based on official land use statistics produced by Lutzenberger (2012), and the scenario result analysis by Fritsche (2013).

Presentation, „Global Land Use Governance“ by Stephanie Wunder (Ecologic Institute) at the German biomass symposium „Biomasse – Kein Kraut gewachsen?“ Wie lassen sich Anbau und Verbrauch von Biomasse in nachhaltige Bahnen lenken? The presentation took place in Berlin on November 15, 2012.