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The challenge of feeding the world while conserving half the planet

Author

Listed:
  • Zia Mehrabi

    (University of British Columbia
    University of British Columbia)

  • Erle C. Ellis

    (University of Maryland, Baltimore County)

  • Navin Ramankutty

    (University of British Columbia
    University of British Columbia)

Abstract

Amid widespread concerns about biodiversity loss, a single clear conservation message is engaging leading conservationists: the proposal to give half the surface of the Earth back to nature. Depending on the landscape conservation strategy, we find that, globally, 15–31% of cropland, 10–45% of pasture land, 23–25% of non-food calories and 3–29% of food calories from crops could be lost if half of Earth’s terrestrial ecoregions were given back to nature.

Suggested Citation

  • Zia Mehrabi & Erle C. Ellis & Navin Ramankutty, 2018. "The challenge of feeding the world while conserving half the planet," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 1(8), pages 409-412, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natsus:v:1:y:2018:i:8:d:10.1038_s41893-018-0119-8
    DOI: 10.1038/s41893-018-0119-8
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    Cited by:

    1. Csaba Centeri & Dénes Saláta & Alfréd Szilágyi & György Orosz & Szilárd Czóbel & Viktor Grónás & Ferenc Gyulai & Eszter Kovács & Ákos Pető & Julianna Skutai & Zsolt Biró & Ákos Malatinszky, 2021. "Selected Good Practices in the Hungarian Agricultural Heritage," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-20, June.
    2. Bonilla-Moheno, Martha & Aide, T. Mitchell, 2020. "Beyond deforestation: Land cover transitions in Mexico," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    3. Marini, Michele & Caro, Dario & Thomsen, Marianne, 2023. "Investigating local policy instruments for different types of urban agriculture in four European cities: A case study analysis on the use and effectiveness of the applied policy instruments," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    4. Esther Reith & Elizabeth Gosling & Thomas Knoke & Carola Paul, 2020. "How Much Agroforestry Is Needed to Achieve Multifunctional Landscapes at the Forest Frontier?—Coupling Expert Opinion with Robust Goal Programming," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-27, July.
    5. Jianqiao Zhao & Yue Cao & Le Yu & Xiaoxuan Liu & Yichuan Shi & Xiaoping Liu & Rui Yang & Peng Gong, 2021. "Identifying Potential Cropland Losses When Conserving 30% and 50% Earth with Different Approaches and Spatial Scales," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-15, July.
    6. Li, Shicheng & Zhang, Heng & Zhou, Xuewu & Yu, Haibin & Li, Wangjun, 2020. "Enhancing protected areas for biodiversity and ecosystem services in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    7. Gaël Mariani & Fabien Moullec & Trisha B Atwood & Beverley Clarkson & Richard T Conant & Leanne Cullen-Unsworth & Bronson Griscom & Julian Gutt & Jennifer Howard & Dorte Krause- Jensen & Sara M Leavit, 2024. "Co-benefits and trade-offs between Natural Climate Solutions and Sustainable Development Goals," Post-Print hal-04756965, HAL.
    8. Edward B. Barbier, 2022. "The Policy Implications of the Dasgupta Review: Land Use Change and Biodiversity," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 83(4), pages 911-935, December.
    9. Maritza Satama & Eva Iglesias, 2020. "Fuzzy Cognitive Map Clustering to Assess Local Knowledge of Ecosystem Conservation in Ecuador," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-26, March.

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