Hydro-social and environmental impacts of sugarcane production on land use and food security

在全球范围内，甘蔗面积正在增加，原因是对生物乙醇的需求不断增长，以及由于日益繁荣和社会经济发展，国内消费对糖的需求增加。在一些国家，土地利用的这些变化是通过将现有的农业用地用于生存而发生的；而在另一些地区，为了种植新的甘蔗，当地植被被广泛取代。在这两种情况下，这种大规模工业单一种植的趋势可能会对土地利用、农业生态、粮食安全和生态系统服务产生重大影响。人们还担心气候变化对土地利用和粮食安全的影响，因为降雨的多变性增加了对产量的压力；这也可能对旱地甘蔗生产的可行性造成更大的不确定性，从而增加灌溉用水需求。重点将放在了解持续扩大甘蔗生产所产生的水文社会和环境影响、效益和权衡，以及其对全球粮食安全的更广泛影响。该项目将把重点放在巴西、印度和南非，在这些国家，农业是经济的重要基石、经济增长的基础和重要的生计来源。该项目涉及来自英国、美国、印度、巴西、南非和澳大利亚的研究人员，将鼓励采取更多跨学科和整体的方法，整合农学、气候、环境和社会经济知识。该联盟在农业系统、土地利用建模、社会科学、气候影响评估、农村资源经济学、地理信息系统、遥感和用于决策的空间建模方面拥有专门知识。

Globally, the area of sugarcane is rising in response to growing demand for bioethanol and increased demand for sugar for domestic consumption due to increased prosperity and socio-economic development. In some countries, these changes in land use are happening through conversion of existing agricultural land used for subsistence; whilst in other areas there has been extensive displacement of native vegetation for new cane cultivation. In both cases, this trend towards large-scale industrial mono-cropping is likely to have major impacts on land-use, agro-ecology, food security and ecosystem services. There are also concerns regarding the impact of climate change on land use and food security with rainfall variability putting increased pressure on yields; it is also likely to create greater uncertainty on the viability of rainfed cane production and thus increase water demand for irrigation.The aim of this project is to launch an international programme to foster trans-disciplinary science, networking and community building. The focus will be on understanding the hydro-social and environmental impacts, benefits and trade-offs that arise through the continued expansion of cane production, and its broader consequences global food security. The project will focus on Brazil, India and South Africa, where agriculture is an important cornerstone of the economy, a basis of economic growth and a significant source of livelihood. It is also a sector under pressure to improve resource efficiency and increase resilience to future climate uncertainty.The project involves researchers from the UK, the USA, India, Brazil, South Africa and Australia and will encourage a more trans-disciplinary and holistic approach integrating agronomic, climatic, environmental and socio-economic knowledge. The consortium has expertise in agricultural systems, land use modelling, social science, climate impact assessment, rural resource economics, GIS, remote sensing and spatial modeling for decision-making.