This document discusses land and forest use and governance. It notes that land use is surprisingly neglected in global governance due to sovereignty issues. Forests are governed by a complex regime including FLEGT and REDD+. Carbon sinks could store over 200 gigatons of carbon if tree restoration increased forest cover by 0.9 billion hectares. However, climate change may reduce potential forest cover by 223 million hectares by 2050. The document argues that land should be considered a global commons and governed accordingly due to its provision of universal public goods like carbon sequestration, clean water, and resources. Global cooperation can build on local initiatives using principles like financial instruments.

1. Land &
forests
International University in Geneva
Dr. Joachim Monkelbaan

2. Contents
today
Global land use
Pressures on land use
Land use governance
Forests
Carbon sinks
Governing land as a global commons
Questions

6. Land use
Barriers to ‘one regime’: diverse purposes and
stakeholders
Surprisingly neglected in governance (sovereignty?)
Global coordination of land use not explicitly in SDGs
UNCCD: Global Land Outlook (2017)
IPCC special report on land use (2019)

7. Forests
Forest regime complex
FLEGT - Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (EU, 2003)
REDD+
SDG 15: protection, restoration , and sustainable use of terrestrial
ecosystems + sustainable management of forests
Target 6.6: protect and restore water-related ecosystems, incl
forests
Water-energy-food nexus; in land use, food security also intersects
with e.g. biodiversity
Ecosystem services: fuel (biomass), food, medicines, carbon sinks

8. Carbon sinks: tree
restoration potential
• The restoration of trees is among the most effective
strategies for climate change mitigation
• 4.4 billion hectares of canopy cover could exist under
the current climate
• Room for an extra 0.9 billion hectares of canopy cover
• Would store 205 gigatonnes of carbon
• However, the global potential canopy cover may shrink
by ~223 million hectares by 2050
• The IPCC suggests that an increase of 1 billion ha of
forest will be necessary to limit global warming to 1.5°C
by 2050.

9. Governing
land as a
global
commons?
Creutzig (2017) argues that “land must be considered as a global
commons — conceptually by researchers and legally by the
international community. Carbon sequestration and ecosystem
services, such as clean water, medical resources, nutrient recycling
and recreation depend on land and are universal public goods.”
Excluding people from the basic goods and services that land
furnishes, such as food and housing, breaches the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights?
Global cooperation on land use can build on and learn from local
initiatives (cf. Ostrom and eight design principles)
Financial instruments such as land taxes

10. Any questions?
jmonkelbaan@iun.ch