The research group of Assistant Professor Keigo Noda of the Faculty of Applied Biological Sciences, Gifu University, Akiko Iida, Specially Appointed Lecturer of the Graduate School of Engineering, the University of Tokyo, Tetsushi Watanabe, and Associate Professor Kazutoshi Osawa of the Faculty of Agriculture, Utsunomiya University We have developed a method for evaluating efficiency and sustainability.
According to Gifu University, the research group investigated the relationship between changes in land use over about 100 years on Babeldaob Island, the Republic of Palau, sediment runoff, which is an environmental burden, and population density, which means social development.
As a result, resource-use type land use such as the production of commercial crops had high land resource utilization efficiency for population growth, but low material cycle and ecosystem sustainability.It was found that in a small-population society, self-sufficiency, and in a large society, land use that prioritizes nature conservation enhances the sustainability of material cycles and ecosystems.
In island areas, not only land but also various resources are restricted and depend on external resources.This research clarified the relationship between the use of resources on the island and the environmental load, but at the same time, it became clear that the use of resources outside the island and the environmental load are occurring, and that there is a trade-off relationship between the two. ..
In the future, the research group will develop indicators that can clearly indicate this trade-off, and will contribute to the sustainable development of the island region.
Paper information:[Environmental Research Letters] Efficiency and sustainability of land-resource use on a small island
