Overview
How we define and estimate “land use change” (LUC) is crucial for managing our precious natural resources. Accurate LUC estimates significantly influence decision-making and program development, directly affecting:
- Farmer and rancher livelihoods
- Biodiversity
- Water security
- Food security
- Energy security
- Other critical ecosystem services
However, achieving accurate LUC estimation is challenging due to a lack of consensus, disparate data sources, and non-harmonized calculation methods.
To address these challenges, the United Soybean Board/U.S. Soy, Carbon A List, and a broad range of stakeholders from academia, industry, and more have united to form the Land Use Change Initiative (LUCI). This project aims to define, identify, and resolve the issues impeding precise land use change measurement.
Join the effort!
Mission
Through deep cooperation and transparency, LUCI builds capacity, alignment, awareness, and implementation support to assess, manage and address Land Use Change and its impacts in the United States.
The Approach
Our project involves a series of workshops and meetings with participants from academia, industry, non-profit organizations, conservation groups, producer groups and more. Two dedicated working groups focus on strategic and technical challenges, working towards identifying development needs for land use change quantification assessment.
Our Actions
- Scaling through participation: Growing multi-stakeholder working groups and workshops to gain momentum
- Technical efforts: Comparing assessment methods to inform markets and conversations
- Understanding drivers and pathways for action: Investigating the factors driving land use change and identifying actionable pathways
- Research and white papers: Increasing awareness of the issues and promoting action through published research
- Hosting Land Use Change Summit 24
Our Long-term Path
- Building consensus: Achieving critical mass to harmonize approaches for land use change quantification.
- Ensuring balanced representation: Maintaining a diversity of perspectives in our efforts and directions.
- Leveraging existing work: Constructively building on current research and initiatives.
Join us in this vital initiative to ensure sustainable land use practices and the well-being of our natural resources.
Project Resources and Products
The Primer Report provides background information on issues associated with estimating land use change to support the two Land Use Change Assessment Workshop sessions which were conducted on April, 2023.
The Proceedings Report outlines a two-part workshop that was held to convene a multi-stakeholder group focused on the state of the science and key gaps in LUC assessment, data, and methodologies. This document outlines how one of the leading contemporary efforts to gain consensus among diverse stakeholders proceeded.
The White Paper describes critical issues and gaps, and identifies where the opportunities exist for implementing change.
Connect
To express interest in joining a Working Group or otherwise contributing to the project, please fill out the Expression of Interest form.
The United Soybean Board cannot influence government regulations or policy.