There are several key land use challenges in Africa including increased agricultural land decreasing forest cover, sharply increased degraded lands, and competition for land resources. Research is needed to manage tradeoffs between food and cash crops, improve food production while preserving the environment, and clarify land planning decisions in the context of decentralization. Harmonizing land use monitoring and establishing an ecosystem land use information base can help mainstream information to support decision making across scales. Research must connect the spaces of productive land use systems and sustainability to have impact on the main challenges of Future Earth.

1. Engaging research centers in Africa on land
use issues in support of Future Earth
Cheikh Mbow, ICRAF, FE SC Member
Berlin, 19 March 2014
Flash talk session, Global Land Project conference

2. Key Research Challenges related to land use in Africa
• An increase in
agricultural land, and a
corresponding decrease in
forest cover;
• A sharp increase in
heavily degraded lands
from a combination of
drivers;
• A competition in the uses
of land resources
• Lack of critical links
between various land
management objectives

3. Managing the straddles between food and cash
• Markets oriented or hunger
sensitive land use systems
– managing the game-changers food to
cash, intensive to extensive etc.)
• Improve and secure food production
while preserving environmental
sustainability
• Clarify decisions
spheres, participation, land
planning, etc., in the context of
decentralization

4. Harmonize land related information collection
• LULC monitoring
Framework, Indicators
• An Ecosystem-Land Use
System Information Base
• Information support hub
for decision making
• Mainstreaming, capacity
developement
• Scale of the information
(what scale for decision
making?) and scaling-up
good practices

5. Spheres interconnection of Research for
development in Land use systems
• A represents the
space in which
productive
systems occur
• B represents the
space in which
sustainability should
be pursued
Regulations,
Rules, Integr
ation,
Research cannot
have impact if
these bubbles are
not connected

6. Engaging Research Centers on main Challenges
of Future Earth