Planetary boundary 7: Land-system change
As major corporations take steps to address this, local populations cite economic destruction.
Taking the time to do light research and write these articles has changed my perspective about the planetary boundaries framework. Themes are emerging from the research. I’ll sum them up at the end of this series. Today’s topic is land-system change.
The first trend that stands out: evidence of concerted action increases as I move down the priority list from the most violated planetary boundaries to those closer to the edge. The evidence suggests that when we have a well-defined policy at the global level, with agreement and action from key actors in the planetary ecosystem, results come.
The key issues in land-system change have been in the spotlight since the 1970s. Since then, boundary violators received unwelcome attention from environmental groups and the media. Deforestation, habitat loss, agricultural expansion, and urbanization continued to violate this planetary boundary, and these changes exacerbated climate change. Despite the growing awareness, battles to protect the remaining ecosystems continue to this day in the Amazon Basin, the Sahel Region and Central Africa, South and Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Australia, China, and the Eastern Himalayas.
Major corporations are taking action to address land-system change. Apple, Danone, Ikea, Microsoft, Nestlé, Patagonia, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, and Walmart have enacted initiatives aligned to the UN SDGs, UN Biodiversity Framework, the Paris Agreement, Forest Stewardship Council certification, and other global policy frameworks. Sustainable land management, supply chain transparency, technology innovation, and adoption of ESG goals have become integral to corporate strategies, governance, and investments.
Conspiracy theorists may disagree agree with my perspective that this is a good thing. They have the capital to make the difference. The mining interests I’m involved with are taking action. We’re not alone.
Reforestation and replanting efforts worldwide offer another significant sign that humanity recognizes we’ve violated this boundary. Initiatives such as Trillion Trees, the Bonn Challenge, the African Green Wall, and China’s reforestation programs work to restore forest around the world. Just those four efforts cover much of the globe where deforestation and destruction of original ecosystems have taken their toll. These efforts involve local communities and provide opportunities for citizens to establish protected areas and to protect indigenous land rights.
A 2022 article on Mongabay.com by Liz Kimbrough, “We’ve crossed the land use change planetary boundary, but solutions await,” provides a point-in-time perspective and a treatise on this subject. Take the time to read it.
From the research I’ve reviewed, and the planetary boundaries visualized by the Stockholm Resilience Centre, it looks like we crossed this boundary in the early 2010s. The acceleration that occurred to cross the boundary between 2009 and 2015 is staggering. Between 2015 and 2023, it looks like the reforestation efforts have offset the continued deforestation. If we can muster the collective will to cease and desist from further destruction and speed up reforestation, we could get meaningful results in the next one to two decades.
Life on Earth is amazingly resilient. If we stop abusing her and give her time to heal and restore balance, she will.
Love, Aventurine
Prompts written by a human (me) to provide insights and supporting facts for today’s article. Try these prompts in GPT-4o to learn more about land-system change and how we can turn this boundary around:
1. I want to understand the current global stance on addressing land-system change. Stockholm University’s Resilience Centre cites land-system change as one of the 9 planetary boundaries affecting overall ecosystem health. Review all information available from non-profits, NGOs, government organizations, and writers who speak to ecological issues affecting humanity and all life on Earth. Output the results in a short-form essay with bullet points that call out the key land-system change issues and what actions are being taken by corporations to address them.
2. Please list ten corporations that are taking decisive action to address land-system change. Respond with a table that includes the company name, name of the initiative, national or global policy the initiative is aligned to, the impact the initiative has made to date, and how that impact is being measured.
3. Which regions and countries today continue to face land-system change threats by corporations and governments?
4. Are reforestation efforts considered part of the scope of effective responses to land-system change?
5. Aside from the corporate actions you’ve already provided in a previous response, what other efforts are considered a vital part of the response to land-system change?
Aventurine is a fictional character from a forthcoming novel series by Author Jeffrey Griffith.
