Communication on "Land as a Resource"

Transcription

1 Communication on "Land as a Resource" State of Indicator Development for Land Use Efficiency in the EU Jacques DELSALLE European Commission, DG Environment GLOBALANDS 4th International Expert Workshop Paris, 7 October 2014

2 Policy Background 2011 EU2020 Strategy / Road Map for resource-efficient Europe (RERM) Milestone: By 2020, EU policies take into account their direct and indirect impact on land use in the EU and globally, and the rate of land take is on track with an aim to achieve no net land take by 2050; soil erosion is reduced and the soil organic matter increased, with remedial work on contaminated sites well underway" Rio+20 outcome document The future we want : land and soil degradation recognized as a global problem Milestone on land: "strive to achieve a land degradation neutral world in the context of sustainable development th Environment Action Programme for the EU calls for setting targets on land take and on a number of crucial soil quality aspects (erosion, organic matter and contamination).

3 What will be the Communication about? Raising awareness about : the value of land as a resource for crucial ecosystem services (provisioning, regulating, cultural, etc.); the limitation of the resource and how it is affected by land take and land degradation; how the gap can increase particularly in the context of global challenges (increase in population, food demand, bioenergy, climate change) Providing pointers for further action at EU level: Evaluate the effectiveness of current policy instruments at National, EU and global levels; Define the sustainable level of ambition for a set of objectives (targets?) for pressures, state, impacts or responses Assess options for EU contribution to a more sustainable management of land as a resource.

4 Land as a Resource: at the crossroad of objectives 1 and 2 of 7 th Environmental Action Programme (EAP) (1) Protect, conserve and enhance natural capital Principle of land degradation neutrality (incl no-net land take) Link to water and biodiversity policies + further policy on soil Identification of scope and limitation of potential trade-offs between land uses Land as a resource (2) Resourceefficient, green and competitive low-carbon economy Maximizing socioeconomic benefits from land use Efficient allocation: Matching land use and land suitability Reduce land use, increase recycling

5 Towards a definition for land use efficiency Maximizing the net socio-economic benefits from land use, Territorial value added? Value of ecosystem services Externalities: energy, pollution Take into account land footprint Impact on jobs without degrading natural capital, Natural Capital accounting: soil, water, biodiversity Temporal, geographical dimension of potential trade-offs taking into account the suitability of land for different functions Soil quality Water resources Habitats & ecosystems Climatic conditions Topography Localisation

6 Resource-efficient use of Land Natural Capital Maximizing socio-economic benefits from land functions (flows) Settlements, infrastructures Recreation Extraction + abiotic energy sources Land efficiency Land Natural Capital Biodiversity Regulating services Provision of land-based products

7 Land functions: bringing together indicators to assess land efficiency Settlements, Infrastructures Recreation Impacts land take Biodiversity Abiotic resources Impacts unsustainable intensification Land based products Regulating services

8 Land functions: bringing together indicators to assess land efficiency Health & Pollution policies Europe 2020 Green Jobs Settlements, Infrastructures Transport Policy Cohesion & Urban Policy Biodiversity Strategy Water Policy Recreation Biodiversity Multiple functions: how to deal with synergies and tradeoffs? Regulating services Abiotic resources Land based products Bioeconomy Energy Climate Adaptation Forest Strategy CAP

9 Global/Continental scenarios LUMP Components and Workflow Definition of Land use claims ECONOMY DEMOGRAPHY AGRICULTURE FORESTRY Demand for resources, commodities and energy Demand settings Demand Module Definition and implementation of EU Policy Alternatives Current land-use Location-specific suitabilities and policy-related suitabilities Definition and implementation of policy options and Dynamic Population measures Land-use Change Simulation Projected Population map Projected Accessibility map Projected Land Use Change Impact analysis Land-use indicators: Land-use maps Change hotspots Regional changes Exposure to CC driven events Land-use based indicators Thematic indicators: Water Quantity - Availability Water Demand - Use Adaptation Measures Land available for biomass supply

10 Screening of indicators (ongoing) Consistency with international indicators Pressures Availability for past trends indicators Suitability for modelling scenarios Land claims Suitability Soil quality Water resources Accessibility Land use changes Land cover Land use Land management Direct impacts Yields Ecosystem services Energy / nutrient balance Accessibility Habitat conservation Wider impacts Impacts on regional growth and jobs Trade Relevance EU policy

11 Focus on economic impacts Business-as-usual Growth & Jobs strategy "Land-efficient" G&J Strategy Urban and infrastructure drivers Bio-economy drivers Direct and indirect LU changes Land efficiency policies Economic impacts Impacts on the production process of inefficient land resources allocation (mismatch between land use and land suitability) Lower outputs Higher or more expensive inputs (nutrients, water, energy) Impacts of land degradation Opportunity costs Distributive effects Higher vulnerability to disasters (floods, droughts, forest fires, etc.)

12 To sum up: Knowledge Base (monitoring, datasets, assessments) Land degradation & efficiency indicators Mainstreaming into EU Policies On-going identification and application at EU level of Land indicators Draft proposal available for discussion end-2014 public and stakeholder consultation Two-ways interaction with further policy proposals at EU level: Concrete integration of sustainable land management in EU policy and funding instruments Strategy for knowledge base (remote sensing, in-situ observations, geo-localisation reported or statistical data, research agenda, etc.)

13 Thank you for your attention!