Why is it so important to restore degraded landscapes? It’s actually very simple.
We rely on healthy ecosystems to provide us with our food, water, clean air, climate stability, social and economic wealth; even our happiness and well-being. We only have to look at history to see the devastating consequences of not valuing or understanding ecosystems: whole civilizations have vanished after overexploiting their natural resources.
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Showing items 1 through 9 of 71.-
Library ResourceJournal Articles & BooksDecember, 2017Global
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Library Resource
Volume 6 Issue 4
Peer-reviewed publicationDecember, 2017GlobalThis paper presents a conceptual model of land as a coupled human–environment system. Land use and land cover are incorporated as elements of the human and environment system respectively. Drivers and associated processes that influence land use, land cover, and land system dynamics are incorporated within a set of sub-systems. The model includes consideration of driving sub-systems as a set of capital funds and flows, and how these are influenced by linkages between processes in the human (socio-economic) and environment systems and sub-systems.
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Library ResourceJournal Articles & BooksDecember, 2017Global
UNDP’s support to countries on sustainable land management and restoration is designed to enhance livelihoods, secure food and water, build resilience and increase carbon storage and sequestration. Drawing on over 40 years of experience and expertise, UNDP assists countries to integrate land and related environmental concerns into national and sectoral development plans and strategies, secure resources, and implement programmes that advance inclusive, sustainable growth and development.
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Library ResourceJournal Articles & BooksJuly, 2017Global
Palm oil is one of the most controversial yet ubiquitous agricultural commodities in the world, used in everyday products ranging from cooking oil and chocolate to toothpaste and soap. Over the past few decades, the palm oil industry has contributed significantly to the economic development of Indonesia and Malaysia, which together produce an estimated 85 to 90 per cent of global supply.
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Library Resource
Sustainability
Peer-reviewed publicationJanuary, 2018GlobalOasis landscape change and its pattern dynamics are considered one of the vital research areas on global land use and landscape change in arid regions. An agricultural oasis is the main site of food security and ecosystem services in arid areas. Recently, the dramatic exploitation of agricultural oases has affected oasis stability, inducing some ecological and environmental issues such as water shortage and land degradation.
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Library Resource
Sustainability
Peer-reviewed publicationJanuary, 2018GlobalLandscape fragmentation typical of the Mediterranean region is the result of long-term settlement history and continuous socioeconomic interactions among countries. In complex agro-ecosystems of the Mediterranean basin, formulation of practical guidelines aimed at counteract soil and land degradation, water depletion, rural area depopulation, and the loss of agricultural knowledge is imperative.
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Library Resource
Volume 6 Issue 4
Peer-reviewed publicationDecember, 2017GlobalThe growing demand for wood to meet EU renewable energy targets has increasingly come under scrutiny for potentially increasing EU import dependence and inducing land use change abroad, with associated impacts on the climate and biodiversity. This article builds on research accounting for levels of primary timber consumption—e.g., toward forest footprints—and developing reference values for benchmarking sustainability—e.g., toward land use targets—in order to improve systemic monitoring of timber and forest use.
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Library Resource
Sustainability
Peer-reviewed publicationJanuary, 2018GlobalCultivated land is an important carrier of grain production, and scientific assessing of cultivated land productivity is of great significance to ensure food security. This paper assessed the overall productivity of cultivated land in Yuanjiang city from the perspectives of quantitative structure, spatial distribution and correlation with national land use. We applied statistical and GIS (geographic information system) spatial analysis methods to 16 secondary indicators of productivity.
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Library ResourceJournal Articles & BooksDecember, 2017Global
The Great Green Wall is one of the main vehicles for delivering the Sustainable Development Goals and the Rio conventions in the Sahel. Biodiversity is the foundation of the Great Green Wall in many ways, determining soil productivity and water cycles and providing the foundation for risk management and resilient ecosystems. The Great Green Wall can make a major contribution to achieving many of the Sustainable Development Goals.
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Library Resource
Sustainability
Peer-reviewed publicationJanuary, 2018GlobalLand degradation is becoming a serious environmental issue threatening fertile agricultural soils and other natural resources. There are many driving forces behind land degradation. The expansion of artificial surfaces due to various economic activities, such as housing, industry, and transport infrastructure, known as soil sealing, constitutes one of the most intensive forms of land degradation in urban regions. Measures to halt and reverse land degradation require both strong land-use management policies, as well as effective spatial planning mechanisms.
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