Local consumption and global land use

With increasing demand for land-intensive products globally and expansion of capital stock and infrastructure, it is important to understand how land is used in the production of goods and services. In this chapter, we track land use along global supply chains to examine how much and for what purpose a country uses land in other countries’ territories in order to support consumption and lifestyles of their own population. Our results show that 24% of total global land use is embodied in international trade, i.e. it is used for the consumption of export production. Consumers in rich countries tend to displace land by consuming non-food products, such as paper, machinery and equipment, and services, which account for more than 50% of their total land use. In emerging economies, the share of land use for non-primary products is also growing. Urbanization, rising incomes and changes in diets in emerging countries are reflected in the increasing consumption of agricultural products as well as other goods and services and thus contribute to land displacement domestically and abroad, further increasing land conversion and pressure on ecosystems.