How to use land sustainably and efficiently

On October 21, 2008, in Hanoi, the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations in collaboration with the Vietnam Soil Science Association organized a Workshop. “Sustainable and efficient land use”.

The land we have today is not just “natural resources for free to humans” as C. Marx said, but also the result of many previous generations left behind. In turn, we must leave this source of life to future generations and must make it more fertile and richer, because we are using "assets borrowed from children and grandchildren" as most countries in the world believe.

Sustainable land use is a dynamic and integrated concept, involving economic, social, cultural, environmental, present and future. Sustainable land use is the reduction of land and water degradation to a minimum, reducing production costs by using internal resources efficiently and applying appropriate management systems. Sustainable land use in agriculture is directly related to specific farming systems to maintain and increase income, protect natural resources and promote rural development.

Today, sustainable land use has become an important, global strategy because:

One is, Land resources are extremely valuable. In any country, land is the main means of agricultural and forestry production, the territorial basis for the distribution of national economic sectors. No matter how modern science and technology are, people still have to live on land.

Second, Land resources are limited, and arable land is even less. The entire continent has only 13,340 million hectares (excluding 1,360 hectares of permafrost); most of which are limited for production due to being too cold, dry, steep, poor in nutrients, or too salty, acidic, polluted, or damaged by production activities or war bombs. Currently, the arable land area is 3,030 million hectares.

Third, The area of natural land and cultivated land per capita is decreasing due to population growth pressure, urbanization and industrialization. The average area of cultivated land per capita in the world is 0.23 ha, many Asian and Pacific countries are 0.15 ha, Vietnam is 0.11 ha. According to calculations by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), with the current average production level, to have enough food, each person needs 0.4 ha of cultivated land.

Four is, Due to natural conditions, negative human activities, and consequences of war, a significant area of the continent has been, is being, and will be degraded or polluted, leading to a reduction or loss of productivity and many other serious consequences.

To ensure effective and sustainable land use, the presentations focused on the following main orientations:

The first, giving priority to the use of good land for agriculture, reserving poor land (with low productivity) for non-agricultural purposes. Balancing the pressure of population growth and economic growth. Managing the agricultural system to ensure maximum long-term production while maintaining soil fertility. Ensuring the development of forest resources to satisfy commercial, fuel, construction and civil needs without causing water loss and soil degradation.

Monday, Land use on the basis of planning ensures immediate and long-term benefits for land users and the community. When allocating land use for the national economic sector, it is necessary to use maps, land documents and newly constructed land classification assessments, improve the quality of planning and forecast long-term use.

Tuesday, Use land in accordance with natural ecological conditions, according to comparative advantages, do not impose nature according to subjective will to avoid investing too much but ineffectively. For example, increasing the coffee growing area in the Central Highlands; sweetening coastal land in the Mekong Delta to grow rice... need to be carefully calculated because of high costs and biodiversity degradation.

Wednesday, Implement a diversified development strategy, exploiting multi-purpose agriculture: agro-forestry, agriculture-forestry-fishery, agriculture-forestry and eco-tourism... Manage the basin to protect land and water, develop irrigation, maintain ecological balance. Develop perennial crops with high commercial value. Apply appropriate cultivation processes and technologies for each region, ecological unit and crop system. Develop fertilizer industry and intensive farming.

Thursday, Improve the legal system, policies for land resource management and conservation. Promote agricultural, fishery and forestry extension, technology transfer, science and technology, land and forest allocation, hunger eradication and poverty reduction. Promote regional and international cooperation in implementing policies, programs, projects and action plans to protect and use land economically, effectively and sustainably./.