Land Use and Sustainable Development in Developing Countries (LUPIS) (completed)

About the project

LUPIS is a major international research project financed by the EU and involving a coalition of researchers from 15 different countries in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Europe. Its aim is to develop integrated assessment tools for sustainable development for application by scientists in a selected number of developing countries.

Attention will be given to both natural and agricultural ecosystems. The project provides assessment procedures that enable documentation and understanding on impact of land use policies on sustainable development, taking into account multi-functionalities and European policy options on biodiversity, climate and trade.

Floor M. Brouwer at the Agricultural Economics Research Institute (LEI) in the Netherlands is the coordinater for the project.

The project start was January 2007 and SUM¡¯s responsibility within the project is on subjects related to biodiversity and natural resource management, and more specifically; to develop an analytical framework for the various parts of the project, and publish two books and organize several workshops.

Outcomes

Expected outcomes:

• LUPIS will provide an increased knowledge of the impact of land use policies on socioeconomic and environmental conditions in developing countries.
• Assessment procedures to enhance understanding of land use policy options for sustainable development taking into account the provision of public goods and services.
• Models where biophysical and economic disciplines are integrated for sustainable development.
• A wide range of land use problems are addressed: water pollution in China, agrarian crisis and farmer suicides in India, land degradation in Indonesia, the impact of extension policies in Mali, land degradation in Tunisia, subdivision of land in Kenya, and the effects of highway construction projects in Amazonia, Brazil.
• Analyses for the time horizon; the period 1990-2025, with 2015 for short term projects and 2025-2030 for long term projections.
• A sufficiently flexible framework that facilitates the use of models and builds on capacity building activities undertaken during the project period.
• Analyses across multiple scales and multiple land use sectors.
• LUPIS will analyse multiple land use sectors - that influence the problem in the case study region at multiple scales.

Financing

• European Union

Cooperation