Arable land per capita in the world - its changes and consequences to agricultural production

Melina Kraft

Bachelor's thesis

Abstract:

Arable land use has changed drastically in the last century due to changing global agricultural markets, land abandonment, urbanization, and population increases. This thesis is a review of the literature surrounding land use change and its drivers, urbanization, waste handling, and policies in the European Union. It looks at these sectors together to highlight that these are not singular issues to be resolved, but affect one another significantly, and therefore should be considered as one when creating policy for both. The first part is a review of land use from its history to modern-day and provides figures on changing landscapes due to drivers which include demographics, technological advances, institutional influences, farm characteristics, and economics. It expands on urbanization and afforestation as major drivers of modern land use change. Sub-chapter two is a review of waste management schemes throughout Europe, separation rates of selected regions, and which methods of waste separation, collection, and the treatment worked best for specified regions. Sub-chapter three discusses the circular economy agenda, the theory of planned behavior, and is a general overview of European policy as it pertains to waste handling. It includes case studies on what methods worked best and which directives incited change. Sub-chapter four reassociates the waste management and other urbanization consequences to land use change. It discusses the Common Agricultural Policy, agri-environmental schemes, and where they were successfully and unsuccessfully implemented. Current and future trends are addressed. Prague statistics are supplemented throughout the thesis to give comparisons of how the city is performing next to the goals of the EU and other urban areas on the continent. Progress on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals is mentioned. Prague’s Circular Economy initiative is addressed.

Keywords

land use, land use change, agricultural land, arable land, drivers of land use change, urbanization, waste handling, recycling, sustainability, circular economy, policy, agri-environmental scheme

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 22. 4. 2022

Thesis defence

• Supervisor: Theresa Ann Reinhardt Piskáčková, Ph.D.
• Reader: Jana Poláková, Ph.D.

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources

Bachelor programme / field:
Sustainable Use of Natural Resources / Sustainable Use of Natural Resources