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

在全球范围内，由于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对国内消费糖的需求增加，甘蔗种植面积正在增加。在一些国家，土地利用的这些变化是通过改变现有的用于维持生计的农业用地而发生的；而在其他地区，原生植被被广泛取代，用于新的甘蔗种植。在这两种情况下，这种大规模工业化单一种植的趋势可能对土地利用、农业生态、粮食安全和生态系统服务产生重大影响。人们还对气候变化对土地利用和粮食安全的影响表示关切，因为降雨变化对产量的压力越来越大；它还可能对雨养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。该项目的目的是发起一项国际计划，以促进跨学科科学、网络和社区建设。重点将放在了解甘蔗生产持续扩大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。该项目将以巴西、印度和南非为重点，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。该行业也面临着提高资源效率和增强对未来气候不确定性抵御能力的压力。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，并将鼓励一种综合农艺、气候、环境和社会经济知识的更跨学科和更全面的方法。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、遥感和决策空间建模方面具有专长。

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.