The role of food and land use systems in achieving India’s sustainability targets
The food and land use sector is a major contributor to India’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. On one hand, India is committed to sustainability targets in the Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sectors, on the other, there is little clarity whether these objectives can align wit...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac788a |
| _version_ | 1827869851897561088 |
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| author | Chandan Kumar Jha Vartika Singh Miodrag Stevanović Jan Philipp Dietrich Aline Mosnier Isabelle Weindl Alexander Popp Guido Schmidt Traub Ranjan Kumar Ghosh Hermann Lotze-Campen |
| author_facet | Chandan Kumar Jha Vartika Singh Miodrag Stevanović Jan Philipp Dietrich Aline Mosnier Isabelle Weindl Alexander Popp Guido Schmidt Traub Ranjan Kumar Ghosh Hermann Lotze-Campen |
| author_sort | Chandan Kumar Jha |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The food and land use sector is a major contributor to India’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. On one hand, India is committed to sustainability targets in the Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sectors, on the other, there is little clarity whether these objectives can align with national developmental priorities of food security and environmental protection. This study fills the gap by reviewing multiple corridors to sustain the AFOLU systems through an integrated assessment framework using partial equilibrium modeling. We create three pathways that combine the shared socio-economic pathways with alternative assumptions on diets and mitigation strategies. We analyze our results of the pathways on key indicators of land-use change, GHG emissions, food security, water withdrawals in agriculture, agricultural trade and production diversity. Our findings indicate that dietary shift, improved efficiency in livestock production systems, lower fertilizer use, and higher yield through sustainable intensification can reduce GHG emissions from the AFOLU sectors up to 80% by 2050. Dietary shifts could help meet EAT-Lancet recommended minimum calorie requirements alongside meeting mitigation ambitions. Further, water withdrawals in agriculture would reduce by half by 2050 in the presence of environmental flow protection and mitigation strategies. We conclude by pointing towards specific strategic policy design changes that would be essential to embark on such a sustainable pathway. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:50:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-731f77b7779b4c72aba10f177f12b7cb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:50:56Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-731f77b7779b4c72aba10f177f12b7cb2023-08-09T15:13:22ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262022-01-0117707402210.1088/1748-9326/ac788aThe role of food and land use systems in achieving India’s sustainability targetsChandan Kumar Jha0Vartika Singh1Miodrag Stevanović2Jan Philipp Dietrich3Aline Mosnier4Isabelle Weindl5Alexander Popp6Guido Schmidt Traub7Ranjan Kumar Ghosh8Hermann Lotze-Campen9Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) , Ahmedabad, IndiaIndian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) , Ahmedabad, India; Department of Agricultural Economics, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin , Berlin, Germany; International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) , New Delhi, IndiaPotsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association , Potsdam, GermanyPotsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association , Potsdam, GermanyUN Sustainable Development Solutions Network , Paris, FrancePotsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association , Potsdam, GermanyPotsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association , Potsdam, GermanyUN Sustainable Development Solutions Network , Paris, FranceIndian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) , Ahmedabad, IndiaDepartment of Agricultural Economics, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin , Berlin, Germany; Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association , Potsdam, GermanyThe food and land use sector is a major contributor to India’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. On one hand, India is committed to sustainability targets in the Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sectors, on the other, there is little clarity whether these objectives can align with national developmental priorities of food security and environmental protection. This study fills the gap by reviewing multiple corridors to sustain the AFOLU systems through an integrated assessment framework using partial equilibrium modeling. We create three pathways that combine the shared socio-economic pathways with alternative assumptions on diets and mitigation strategies. We analyze our results of the pathways on key indicators of land-use change, GHG emissions, food security, water withdrawals in agriculture, agricultural trade and production diversity. Our findings indicate that dietary shift, improved efficiency in livestock production systems, lower fertilizer use, and higher yield through sustainable intensification can reduce GHG emissions from the AFOLU sectors up to 80% by 2050. Dietary shifts could help meet EAT-Lancet recommended minimum calorie requirements alongside meeting mitigation ambitions. Further, water withdrawals in agriculture would reduce by half by 2050 in the presence of environmental flow protection and mitigation strategies. We conclude by pointing towards specific strategic policy design changes that would be essential to embark on such a sustainable pathway.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac788aSSPsfood securityagricultural productivitySDGsclimate changemitigation |
| spellingShingle | Chandan Kumar Jha Vartika Singh Miodrag Stevanović Jan Philipp Dietrich Aline Mosnier Isabelle Weindl Alexander Popp Guido Schmidt Traub Ranjan Kumar Ghosh Hermann Lotze-Campen The role of food and land use systems in achieving India’s sustainability targets Environmental Research Letters SSPs food security agricultural productivity SDGs climate change mitigation |
| title | The role of food and land use systems in achieving India’s sustainability targets |
| title_full | The role of food and land use systems in achieving India’s sustainability targets |
| title_fullStr | The role of food and land use systems in achieving India’s sustainability targets |
| title_full_unstemmed | The role of food and land use systems in achieving India’s sustainability targets |
| title_short | The role of food and land use systems in achieving India’s sustainability targets |
| title_sort | role of food and land use systems in achieving india s sustainability targets |
| topic | SSPs food security agricultural productivity SDGs climate change mitigation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac788a |
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