Advising Decision Makers Managing Carbon Emissions: Roles for Surveyors

Surveyors are central to the resolution of land and property disputes because of their extensive work on the ground (e.g. adjudication) and role in spatial planning and valuation. As competition over land and natural resources increases surveyors can advise decision makers on the tradeoffs/compromises needed to support decisions around food and economic development versus biodiversity preservation and carbon storage.

Global competition over land: A McKinsey Company report finds the world will need to find additional land equivalent to all of Brazil's cropland by 2030 if it is to meet the world's projected demand for food, feed, fuel, and natural capital based on business-as-usual practices. Hotspots of competition for land are already emerging in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa, which are likely to be the source of most additional cropland, leading to increased pressure on forested land and higher land and food prices. As competition rises for the remaining suitable and accessible parcels of land, prices will increase.

A Brazilian highway is a good example of this competition. “The reconstruction of BR-319 highway would provide agribusiness access to additional land, engage in more intensive livestock farming, and implement monoculture practices for large-scale biofuel production. Scientific studies suggest that this project could serve as an incentive for the expansion of cattle ranching, fossil fuel exploration and mining projects”. “Brazil must reassess infrastructure projects that increase deforestation in the region, and this includes examining the BR-319 highway project, which currently has 6,000 km of illicit extensions.” Read more here.

Given this competition over land, and the complex arrangements around trade-offs, how do foreign food, feed, biofuel companies meet their regulatory requirements by not converting natural areas like forests to crops? AdAstra is developing spatial and climate carbon data for companies showing land conversion from natural areas to crops. Land cover from the last 20 years is analysed using billions of data points from satellite imagery. 30x30 meter pixels are used to record land use changes and calculate the carbon emissions over time for different types of crops. Companies can use the data for traceability in their supply chains. Read more here. Great examples of typical land and natural resources trade offs/compromises can be found in this Land Portal webinar on customary land, especially in the question and answer session.

SOME ROLES FOR SURVEYORS TO SUPPORT DECISION MAKERS ON CLIMATE TRADE 0FFS

• Geospatial data provision using combinations of onsite, drone and earth observation data for the private & NGO sectors & the public sector, including for a range of government departments such as, agriculture, forests, mining, water & coastal zone management, as well as for regulating the allocation of land for large scale land-based investments.
• Geospatial data & digital twins to assess land use conflicts in new projects, identify ethical issues related to climate and carbon & land governance issues, potential tradeoffs/compromises & as part of spatial planning.
• A joint land & forest department digital natural resources atlas for carbon assessment & an inventory of Indigenous/customary land rights, including mapping the territory held by different Indigenous/traditional authorities, including disputed territories.
• Prior to the allocation of carbon offsets, conduct a government-led inventory or mapping of community lands, including of pastoralists, for registration/recordal of their land rights using different forms of tenure ranging from full freehold to group rights, local land certificates etc. This should be linked to rural spatial planning, valuation & the demarcation of boundaries of protected areas. Adjudicate land disputes over protected areas boundaries, illegal investors & the use by local communities.
• Support Indigenous/traditional authorities to map, collect & manage data & do spatial planning about land & natural resource allocations, such as to national and international investors. This could give the State an oversight opportunity.
• AND THERE ARE MANY MORE ROLES.

Written by Clarissa Augustinus, Co-Chair, FIG Climate Compass Task Force