1. Indicator

(a)     Name: Land use change

(b)     Brief Definition: Change over time of the distribution of land uses within a country.  Land use is characterized by the arrangements, activities and inputs that people undertake in a specific land cover type to produce, change or maintain it.  Land use defined in this way establishes a direct link between land cover and the actions of people in their environment. Thus, a land use can be defined as a series of activities undertaken to produce one or more goods or services.  A given land use may take place on one, or more than one, piece of land and several land uses may occur on the same piece of land.  By this definition, land use provides a basis for analysis of social, economic and environmental characteristics and allows distinctions between land uses, where required.

(c)     Unit of Measurement: Proportion of each category of land use changed to another land use over a given period of time.

(d)         Placement in the CSD Indicator Set: The indicator is part of the set of indicators of consumption and production patterns.  It is not included in the general CSD indicator set.  

2. Policy Relevance

(a)     Purpose: The purpose of this indicator is to highlight changes in the productive or protective uses of land resources to facilitate sustainable land use planning and policy development. 

(b)         Relevance to Sustainable/Unsustainable Development: Information on land use change is critical for integrated and sustainable land use planning. Such information is useful for identifying opportunities to protect critical land uses or promote future allocation aimed at providing the greatest sustainable benefits for people.  

Changes in arable and permanent crop land and wooded areas give important information about a country's evolving endowment in agricultural and forest resources, both from an economic and an environmental perspective. Economically, changes in land use will, for example, result in changes in the volume of produce available and influence employment opportunities. From an environmental point of view, unsustainable land use is an important factor in erosion and desertification, may pose a threat to ecosystems, and lead to natural habitat loss and landscape changes. Changes which lead, for example, to inappropriate farming and grazing practices, or to environmentally insensitive construction or mining activities, are significant from a sustainability viewpoint. This indicator acts as a synoptic measure for the myriad of more specific environmental and natural resource changes significant to sustainable development.  

(c)     International Conventions and Agreements:  There are no international agreements. 

International Targets / Recommended Standards: Generally, international targets for this indicator do not exist. However, certain minimal contiguous limits or proportions of total land area have been established for certain needed or desirable land uses, for example protected areas (see Protected Area as a Percent of Total Area indicator).  

(e)        Linkages to Other Indicators: The interpretation of this indicator is significantly improved if it is considered with indicators of land quality. It is also closely linked to many other social, economic, environmental, and institutional indicators related to population (for example, population growth rate, rate of growth of urban population, population density, population dynamics in mountain areas), energy and mineral reserves, land affected by desertification, sustainable use of natural resources in mountain areas, arable land per capita, wood harvesting intensity, protected areas as a percent of total land area, and sustainable development strategies.  

3. Methodological Description

(a)        Underlying Definitions and Concepts: The underlying concepts and definitions for land use classifications are widespread and varied. Work coordinated by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is currently underway to harmonize classification systems and databases to improve national and international land use information. This includes the development of definitions and protocols, a computerized land use database structure, and a broadly accepted structure of land use classifications. 

(b)        Measurement Methods: Land use change data can be obtained by various means:  periodic mapping and monitoring, partly on the basis of land cover information; remote sensing, supported by ground surveys; and agricultural censuses. It is essential to use a uniform classification of land use and cover. The FAO/United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) approach is recommended (see reference in section 7 below). Land use and land cover database software is available. Use of these tools will lead to the production of uniform results and statistics.  

(c)        Limitation of the Indicator: The indicator by itself does not identify the causes or pressures leading to changes in land use. At the international level, sufficient harmonization of land use classification has yet to be achieved. Geo-referenced land use change data are generally not available. 

(d)        Status of the Methodology: A methodology has not been agreed to by any intergovernmental fora.  

(e)                Alternative Definitions / Indicators: Not available.  

4. Assessment of Data

(a)        Data Needed to Compile the Indicator: The data required includes land use statistics, remote sensing coverage, dependable agricultural census data on land uses, and dependable land use maps, all updated at regular intervals.  

(b)        National and International Data Availability: Broad land use statistics are available for most countries.  However, variable definitions, and the lack of consistent land use change data which is spatially referenced are serious impediments to, for example, temporal analysis and international comparisons. 

(c)                Data References:  Data are available from national governments and regional and international programmes which focus on land use information.  

5. Agencies Involved in the Development of the Indicator

Lead Agency:   The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The contact point is the Assistant Director General, Sustainable Development Department, FAO

Fax no. (39-06) 5705-3369.  

Other Organizations: The United Nations Environment Programme is a partner in the development of this indicator. National experts from governments and institutes, for example the International Institute for Aerospace Survey and Earth Sciences and the Institute for Terrestrial Ecology, have also contributed.  

6. References

(a)                Readings:

FAO.  Land cover classification system:  Classification concepts and user manual (with CD-ROM)).  Rome, 2000.  179 pp.  ISBN 92-5-104216-0.  

FAO.  Land use planning applications:  Proceedings of an expert consultation.  World Soil Resources Reports 68.  Rome, 1992.  212 pp.  ISBN 92-5103131-2.  

(b)               Internet sites:

http://www.fao.org/ag/agl/agll/lclu.htm

http://www.fao.org/sd/eidirect/eire0057.htm

http://www.uni-bonn.de/ihgp/lucc/scienceplan/sp3.html