Reframing the land-sparing/land-sharing debate for biodiversity conservation

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Conservation Biology
• Agricultural Science

Background:

• Debate on land sparing vs. land sharing for biodiversity conservation.
• Growing concerns about feeding a global population with increasing food demands.
• Need to reconcile agricultural land use with biodiversity conservation.

Purpose of the Study:

• Evaluate the land-sparing/land-sharing framework.
• Assess ecological evidence for sparing vs. sharing.
• Examine land-use change, agricultural intensification, and socioeconomic factors.
• Determine optimal agricultural intensification for global food security.

Main Methods:

• Review of ecological evidence on land sparing and sharing.
• Analysis of land-use change studies on agricultural intensification.
• Investigation of socioeconomic and political factors influencing land use.
• Synthesis of findings to address biodiversity and food production trade-offs.

Main Results:

• The land-sparing/land-sharing dichotomy presents limited, often undesirable, conservation options.
• Biodiversity conservation requires both large protected areas and supportive surrounding matrices.
• Protected areas and surrounding matrices are synergistic and not mutually exclusive.
• Wildlife-friendly farming, such as agroecology, shows promise for global food provision.

Conclusions:

• A "both-and" framework (protected areas + wildlife-friendly matrix) is superior to "either-or" (sparing vs. sharing).
• This revised framing necessitates new research priorities for conservation and agriculture.
• Agroecology and similar methods may be key to sustainably feeding the world's population.