Global achievements in sustainable land management

Abstract

Identification and development of sustainable land management is urgently required because of widespread resource degradation from poor land use practices. In addition, the world will need to increase food production to meet the nutritional needs of a growing global population without major environmental degradation. Ongoing climate change and its impacts on the environment is an additional factor to consider in identifying and developing sustainable land use practices. The objectives of this paper are to: (1) provide a background to the need for sustainable land management, (2) identify some of its major components, and (3) discuss some examples of sustainable land management systems that are being practiced around the world. Some common components of this type of management are: (1) understanding the ecology of land management, (2) maintenance or enhancement of land productivity, (3) maintenance of soil quality, (4) increased diversity for higher stability and resilience, (5) provision of economic and ecosystem service benefits for communities, and (6) social acceptability. Several examples of sustainable land management systems are discussed to illustrate the wide range of systems that have been developed around the world including agroforestry, conservation agriculture, and precision agricultural systems. Improved technology, allowing for geater environmental measurement and for improved access and sharing of information, provides opportunities to identify and develop more sustainable land management practices and systems for the future.

Keywords

• Soil degradation
• Ecosystem services
• Diversity
• Soil quality
• Agroforestry
• Conservation agriculture
• Precision agriculture