A nexus perspective on competing land demands: wider lessons from a UK policy case study

Sharmina, Maria; Hoolohan, Claire; Bows-Larkin, Alice; Burgess, Paul J.; Colwill, James; Gilbert, Paul; Howard, David ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4494-7450; Knox, Jerry; Anderson, Kevin. 2016 A nexus perspective on competing land demands: wider lessons from a UK policy case study. Environmental Science & Policy, 59. 74-84. 10.1016/j.envsci.2016.02.008

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2016.02.008

Abstract/Summary

As nations develop policies for low-carbon transitions, conflicts with existing policies and planning tools are leading to competing demands for land and other resources. This raises fundamental questions over how multiple demands can best be managed. Taking the UK as an empirical example, this paper critiques current policies and practices to explore the interdependencies at the water-energy-food nexus. It considers how current land uses and related policies affect the UK’s resilience to climate change, setting out an agenda for research and practice relevant to stakeholders in land-use management, policy and modelling. Despite recent progress in recognising such nexus challenges, most UK land-related policies and associated science continue to be compartmentalised by both scale and sector and seldom acknowledge nexus interconnections. On a temporal level, the absence of an over-arching strategy leaves inter-generational trade-offs poorly considered. Given the system lock-in and the lengthy policy-making process, it is essential to develop alternative ways of providing dynamic, flexible, practical and scientifically robust decision support for policy-makers. A range of ecosystem services need to be valued and integrated into a resilient land-use strategy, including the introduction of non-monetary, physical-unit constraints on the use of particular services.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.1016/j.envsci.2016.02.008
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Parr
ISSN:	1462-9011
Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:	Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.
Additional Keywords:	water–energy–food, nexus, land use policy, resilience, climate change, ecosystem services
NORA Subject Terms:	Management
Date made live:	07 Mar 2016 11:10 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/513137

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

10.1016/j.envsci.2016.02.008

UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:

Parr

ISSN:

1462-9011

Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:

Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.

Additional Keywords:

water–energy–food, nexus, land use policy, resilience, climate change, ecosystem services