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The EEA report 'Landscapes in transition: an account of 25 years of land cover change in Europe,' takes a closer look at the emerging trends over the last two and a half decades in land use and their environmental impacts. The dominant trend is the continued and accelerating shift from rural to urban use, influenced mostly by economic activities and urban lifestyle demands — such as high mobility and consumption patterns.
The increased covering up of fertile land with buildings, transport infrastructure and industry offers economic benefits but also highlights the need to maintain Europe's natural and landscape resources. Pro-active and integrated policies on land planning, agriculture, recreation, tourism, transport, energy and other sectors can limit the negative effects of land take. In cities, smart and sustainable solutions for urban development — such as recycling old industrial lands into new uses and creating more green spaces — will be needed, the report says.
The report also highlights that good land management can lead to a wide diversity of land use between rural and urban settings. It can also protect fertile lands for food and biomass production by ensuring effective means to promote soil functions, such as carbon storage and prevent soil erosion. As such, managing the land resource well is essential for a wider societal transition to sustainability, the report argues.
People's surrounding physical landscapes can be useful for monitoring changes in society and the environment. However, there are still significant gaps in the knowledge and policy responses to manage land in Europe in an environmentally and societally sound way. One key element to fill these gaps is Copernicus, the European satellite system for monitoring the Earth, which will increase the precision and relevance of land-monitoring data.
For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/highlights/unsustainable-land-use-threatens-european-landscapes or scan the QR code.
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