Climate Change Land Use and Land Cover Change
Tropical deforestation accelerates local warming and loss of safe outdoor working hours. One Earth.
• Research & Reports
WHAT IS PLANETARY HEALTH?
Land Use and Land Cover Change
The conversion of natural habitat to land used for agriculture and industry is occurring rapidly on a global scale, with dire consequences for the structure and function of ecosystems.
Demographic shifts and increased demand for food, animal products, biofuel, and even cosmetics continue to drive the destruction of ecosystems and their services. This extractive activity leads to negative environmental and human health impacts including:
90% Tropical deforestation driven by agriculture, according to the World Wildlife Fund's 2024 Living Planet Report
- Substantial reduction of biological diversity
- Increased local air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from land clearing by burning, which is particularly problematic in tropical and subtropical regions where oil palm cultivation is rapidly increasing
- Soil degradation, which reduces soil ecosystem services such as carbon storage, and increases the risk of desertification
- Nitrogen and phosphorus deposition from agricultural field runoff
- Decreased water quality and quantity
- Increased exposure to water-borne, zoonotic, and vector-borne diseases
The complex interactions between changes in land use, land cover, ecosystem services, and the attendant impacts on human health require longitudinal study across geographic regions in addition to urgent action to re-wild and restore many of the planet’s natural habitats.
Land Use and Land Cover Change Resources
Land Use and Land Cover Change Economics and Economic Systems
Variation in vegetation and ecosystem carbon stock due to the conversion of disturbed forest to oil palm plantation in Peruvian Amazonia. Ecosystems.
• Research & Reports
Biodiversity Loss Land Use and Land Cover Change
Land-use intensity alters networks between biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and services. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
• Research & Reports
Land Use and Land Cover Change Health and Care Systems
Case Study 3: Medical Clinics for Planetary Health
This case study examines a connection between rainforest conservation and affordable healthcare access in communities surrounding Gunung Palung National Park (GPNP) in West Kalimantan, Indonesia.
• Case Studies
Infectious Diseases Land Use and Land Cover Change
Case Study 4: Going Circular
The case study documents how the Aguas Andinas company has increased its energy self-sufficiency and created a valuable suite of products from treated sewage that would have previously been sent to landfill—all while demonstrating that a circular economy model is better for the company’s bottom line and for climate change resilience in Santiago, Chile.
• Case Studies
News Related to Land Use and Land Cover Change
Iraq’s Fraying Food Systems Warn of a Planetary Health Crisis
