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The impact of interventions in the global land and agri-food sectors on Nature’s Contributions to People and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Journal Article · · Global Change Biology
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15219· OSTI ID:1647592
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7];  [8];  [9];  [10];  [11];  [12];  [13];  [14];  [15];  [14]
  1. Rutgers University
  2. BATTELLE (PACIFIC NW LAB)
  3. UWimona
  4. Norwegian University of Science and Technology
  5. JRC
  6. Institute for Global Climate and Ecology
  7. Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Vietnam)
  8. Makerere Univeristy
  9. UNECA
  10. CGIAR
  11. NIES
  12. French National Institute for Agricultural Research
  13. Argentina
  14. University of Aberdeen
  15. Makerere University
Interlocked challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and land degradation require transformative interventions in the land management and food production sectors to reduce carbon emissions, strengthen adaptive capacity, and maintain or increase food production to 2050. However, deciding which interventions to pursue and understanding their relative synergies with and trade-offs against different social and environmental goals has been difficult without direct comparisons across a range of possible actions. This study examined a series of 40 different options, implemented through land, value chain or risk management, for their relative impacts across 18 Nature’s Contributions to People (also known as ecosystem services) and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. We find that a relatively small number of interventions show significant positive synergies with both SDGs and NCPs; these include improved cropland management, improved grazing land management, improved livestock management, agroforestry, agricultural diversification, increased soil organic carbon content, reduced soil erosion, salinization and compaction, fire management, reduced landslides and hazards, reduced pollution, management of invasive species, sustainable source, and reduced post-harvest losses. Several interventions show strong negative impacts on either SDGs, NCPs or in some cases, both; these include bioenergy and BECCS, afforestation, and some risk sharing measures, like commercial crop insurance. Our results demonstrate that a better understanding of benefits and trade-offs of comparative policy approaches can help decision-makers choose the most effective, or at the very minimum, benign interventions for implementation in specific contexts.
Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
1647592
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-150373
Journal Information:
Global Change Biology, Journal Name: Global Change Biology Journal Issue: 9 Vol. 26
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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