Svensk text: scrolla ner

Over the past decade, food production has been strained by multiple crises. The COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, war, and inflation all affect how we manage our land. This has made it an increasingly urgent issue to discuss and find answers to – both globally and at the Nordic level.

– For the future, we need to reflect on the role that agriculture and agricultural land play in times of crisis, and how the green sector can prepare to handle such crises, says Sofie Andersson, project coordinator at Nordic Agri Research (NKJ).

But it’s not only different types of crises that affect the food system. More and more new interests are placing demands on land as a vital resource. We want to create green energy, build housing, and protect biodiversity – just a few examples of land-intensive activities. Clearly, we need discussion and new solutions to meet all these needs.

Nordic Agri Research (NKJ) is now engaging in this discussion and offering recommendations for future cooperation on land use issues. The Nordic countries have a long tradition of collaborating to solve shared challenges. Tackling land use issues and balancing society’s various needs while maintaining national food security is no exception – and is facilitated through increased Nordic exchange.

– Competition for agricultural land creates both local and national conflicts. Through collaboration between the Nordic countries, we can help resolve these conflicts more effectively and quickly than we could individually, says Sofie Andersson.

The Nordic countries share similarities and differences in how they manage land use. They have similar planning systems, where local authorities hold the main responsibility, but differ in the types of national policy tools used to influence or regulate local planning. There is a lot they can learn from each other. In some areas, a common knowledge base would also facilitate cooperation in crisis management – for example, the development of soil maps for potential arable and pasture land, and common definitions of soil quality.

See all recommendations, statistics, and facts on land use in the Nordic countries

Swedish text:

Jordbruksmark under press – fler och fler avgörande behov kräver tillgång på mark

Arealen jordbruksmark har länge minskat i de nordiska länderna. Idag förväntas åkermark fylla många fler syften än enbart matproduktion – och det är brådskande att diskutera hur vi gemensamt kan hantera de konflikter som uppstår.

Under det senaste decenniet har livsmedelsproduktionen satts under press av flera olika kriser. Covid-19-pandemin, klimatförändringar, krig och inflation påverkar hur vi använder vår mark. Därför är det nu mer angeläget än någonsin att diskutera dessa frågor – både globalt och på nordisk nivå.

– För framtiden behöver vi reflektera över vilken roll jordbruket och jordbruksmarken spelar i krissituationer, och hur den gröna sektorn kan förbereda sig för att hantera sådana kriser, säger Sofie Andersson, projektkoordinator på Nordic Agri Research (NKJ).

Men det är inte bara olika typer av kriser som påverkar livsmedelssystemet. Allt fler nya intressen ställer krav på marken som resurs. Vi vill skapa grön energi, bygga bostäder och skydda biologisk mångfald – bara några exempel på markkrävande verksamheter. Det är tydligt att vi behöver diskussioner och nya lösningar för att möta alla dessa behov.

Nordic Agri Research (NKJ) engagerar sig nu i dessa frågor och presenterar rekommendationer för framtida samarbete kring markanvändning. De nordiska länderna har en lång tradition av att samarbeta för att lösa gemensamma utmaningar. Att hantera markanvändning och balansera samhällets olika behov, samtidigt som den nationella livsmedelssäkerheten tryggas, är inget undantag – och det underlättas av ett ökat nordiskt utbyte.

– Konkurrensen om jordbruksmark skapar både lokala och nationella konflikter. Genom samarbete mellan de nordiska länderna kan vi lösa dessa konflikter mer effektivt och snabbare än vad länderna kan var för sig, säger Sofie Andersson.

De nordiska länderna har både likheter och skillnader i hur markanvändningen hanteras. De har liknande planeringssystem, där det huvudsakliga ansvaret ligger på lokal nivå, men skiljer sig åt i vilka nationella styrmedel som används för att påverka eller reglera den lokala planeringen. Här finns mycket att lära av varandra. Inom vissa områden skulle en gemensam kunskapsbas också underlätta samarbete vid krishantering – till exempel genom utveckling av jordartskartor över potentiell åker- och betesmark, samt gemensamma definitioner av markkvalitet.

Se alla rekommendationer, statistik och fakta om markanvändning i de nordiska länderna här

How can we balance the multiple needs of land use in the Nordic region? Nordic Agri Research (NKJ) and Nordic Forest Research (SNS) invite you to a conference where challenges and opportunities in land use will be discussed from both research and policy perspectives.

The Nordic Land Use Conference
– solutions for sustainable land use in the Nordic region
Place: Hótel Varmaland, Borgarnes, Iceland
Time: May 7, 2025
Programme: scroll down

The conference aims to engage researchers and civil servants in a dialogue on national policy needs related to land use. Therefore, participants from the political sector, research organizations, and other relevant stakeholders are welcome.

The program will begin with a presentation of the upcoming report “Changes to Agricultural Land Use in the Nordic Countries – and Future Prospects for Collaboration”, providing an overview of changes in land use and future opportunities for collaboration. This will be followed by keynote speakers who will delve into the conference’s overarching theme.

The conference will then continue with thematic sessions that delve deeper into current issues. These sessions will bring together research projects and policy examples from the Nordic countries, with discussions led by experienced moderators to foster a dynamic and constructive dialogue.

Don’t miss the opportunity to participate in this important conference and contribute to the development of more sustainable land use in the Nordic region!

Register here THE CONFERENCE IS CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE 
Registration fee is 1.500 SEK and includes lunch, conference refreshments and a three course dinner.

Target group
Developers or owners of concrete examples within the themes and current and potential users of them (this includes researchers, state officials, municipal workers, interest groups, intergovernmental organisations and private land owners, primarily in the Nordic region).

Preliminary program:

09:00–09.30 Registration

09:30–09:45 Opening statement

09:45–10.00 Presentation of report and purpose of conference

10:00–10:45 Keynote speaker 1

10:45–11.00 Coffee break

11:00–11:45 Panel discussion: The role of land use planning in preparedness

12.00–13.00 Lunch and networking

13.00–15:00 Thematic session 1 & 2 (parallel), see information below

15:00–17:00 Thematic session 3 & 4 (parallel) see information below

17.15 – 17.45 Conclusions & sum up

18:30 Networking dinner

Thematic sessions
Each thematic session will engage the participants in a discussion on solutions and challenges to get there within the chosen topic. The session will begin with 2-3 presentations of best practices, tools and models which will be followed by a workshop.

 Thematic session 1
Managing conflicting policy goals in land use management – Energy production

Description: The first two sessions will look into different tools, models and conclusions made from different parts of the Nordic region on how to handle conflicting policy goals and how various considerations and land-use interests can be balanced. This session will specifically focus on photovoltaics, how they can co-exict within landscapes, strategies and guidelines for handling the increased demand for photovoltaics.

Thematic session 2
Managing conflicting policy goals in land use management – functional landscapes

Description: The first two sessions will take a look into different tools, models and conclusions made from different parts of the Nordic region on how to handle conflicting policy goals and how various considerations and land-use interests can be balanced. This session will specifically focus on functional landscapes, for example the potentials of increasing biodiversity within a production landscape and steering instruments to prioritize between different national and international policy goals.

Thematic session 3
Spatial tools to support decision- and policymaking

Description: Spatial data, analysis and models can offer knowledge foundation to make decisions in high complexity situations. This session includes how to meet the challenge of data security, potentials of combinations of spatial data and sources and investigating how the establishment of the EU soil monitoring can be utilized for land use planning.

Thematic session 4
Multistakeholder dialogues in land use planning

Description: Dialogues can serve as a powerful tool to balance private and public interests in land use and to increase acceptance for land use changes amongst actors within a landscape. Improved cooperation between different stakeholders can also increase the likelihood that synergies in land use are exploited. This session explores local examples of stakeholder dialogues in the Nordic region and looks into the results and key learnings of them, to ultimately consider how these models and tools can be scaled or transferred to other parts in the Nordic region.

Organisers
Nordisk Kommitté för Jordbruks- och matforskning (NKJ) and SamNordisk Skogsforskning (SNS) / funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers

Background
During the Nordic Committee of Senior Officials for Fisheries, Aquaculture, Agriculture, Food and Forestry (EK-FJLS Agriculture and Forestry) meeting in Hardanger in April 2022, land use conflicts related to food production and agricultural land were discussed. The committee members recognised that agricultural and arable land is a limited resource, and that strategies and political guidelines to limit agricultural land loss and ensure food security while also ensuring that other national needs are met differ among Nordic countries. Following this discussion, Nordic Agri Research (NKJ) and Nordic Forest Research (SNS) were assigned to provide the committee with further knowledge on the situation of agricultural land and how agricultural land use disputes are handled in the Nordic countries. The results from this upcoming report form the foundation for this conference.