Decisions about land use have profound implications for climate change, biodiversity and poverty. Global land use change from agricultural and urban expansion is transforming ecosystems from Indonesian rainforest to Colombian tropical grasslands. Decisions about resource consumption on one part of the globe can have profound impacts on the environment in another part of the globe. Agricultural systems should help mitigate the impacts of climate change, not increase them. Conservation of ecosystems that provide ecosystem services and sustain irreplaceable biodiversity should be protected
If adequately planned and implemented agricultural systems can provide incomes and contribute to development and poverty reduction. However, done badly they can result in massive greenhouse gas emissions, loss of biodiversity and social inequity.
Key regions for biomass production are South America and South-East Asia, that´s why the SuLu-project was carried out in Indonesia and Colombia. The pressures on these countries are high, and critical conservation priorities must be identified – including biodiversity, ecosystems and areas critical for rural livelihoods – and methods for preserving must be found.
Consistent tools recognized by government, industry and civil society should be used ahead of the transformation of existing landscapes for biofuel, food and feed production. This is also crucial for improvement of social conditions and to reduce competition between food and biomass production.
Leran more about palm oil production in Colombia through a documentary made by Deutsche Welle.
The television reports and documentaries of Deutsche Welle’s ‘Global Ideas’ media project provide people all over the world with information on model projects which implement biodiversity and climate protection. The media project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety through the IKI.