Recent article published in the Journal of Migration and Development for people who are working on human migration and urban land usage and land cover change, might be interested in this study. As rural-urban human migration occurs in big cities, we often don't fully recognize their impact on the…

Loss of biodiversity and pressures on ecosystem services are global challenges. Land cover change is the best measure available to monitor pressures on terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity. The OECD is developing new indicators on land cover changes and conversions.

Most emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O) are linked to the use of nitrogen (N) fertiliser in agriculture, highlighting a need for agricultural management practices that reduce emissions while maintaining agronomic productivity. A new study has assessed the long-term impact of conventional tillage (CT —…

The European Commission (EC), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Network of European Regions Using Space Technologies (NEREUS) have launched a new report consisting of 99 stories from European public authorities that showcases how they benefit from Copernicus, the European Union’s Earth…

The study examines long-term land use/land cover change (LUCC) at a finer scale in a semi-arid region of India. The objectives were to study and quantify the spatiotemporal LUCC and uncover the major drivers causing the change in the Mula Pravara river basin, which is located in a semi-arid region…

Land and soil underpin life on our planet. The way we currently use these vital and finite resources in Europe is not sustainable. Human activities — growing cities and infrastructure networks, intensive agriculture, pollutants and greenhouse gases released to the environment — transform Europe’s…

The Paris Agreement introduced an ambitious goal of limiting warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. Here we combine a review of modelled pathways and literature on mitigation strategies, and develop a land-sector roadmap of priority measures and regions that can help to achieve the 1.5 °C…

This paper evaluates the feasibility of introducing a Land Degradation Neutral (LDN) scheme as an activity of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).

Action on soil sustainability must move beyond the farm and into the boardroom

Humankind has always relied on clues from the environment to survive, to plant seeds when the rains come, to harness wind power to grind grain. It is only in the last few decades that we have the tools to observe the entire planet. Technology and scientific collaboration allow us to measure the full…

Global warming’s greater than anticipated impact on permafrost will release huge amounts of methane and carbon dioxide as the soil thaws.

This publication is a Technical report by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Commission’s science and knowledge service. It aims to provide evidence-based scientific support to the European policymaking process. The scientific output expressed does not imply a policy position of the…

This indicator is defined as the amount of land area that is degraded. The measurement unit for indicator 15.3.1 is the spatial extent (hectares or km2) expressed as the proportion (percentage) of land that is degraded over total land area.

Conflict over the extraction of coal and gas resources has rapidly escalated in communities throughout the world. Using an environmental justice lens, this multidisciplinary book explores cases of land use conflict through the lived experiences of communities grappling with such disputes