Climate-related disasters and agricultural land conversion: towards prevention policies

Abstract

ABSTRACT Climate-related disasters (CRDs) and hazards such as droughts, floods, and storms are the main patterns of natural events in long-term weather cycles which are potentially affected by climate change. Unsustainable use of land has contributed to the increase of vulnerability to disasters. Disasters and land use change have become major concerns all over the world. Agricultural land conversion (ALC) has been identified as one of the most significant drivers that influences ecosystems, and poses numerous challenges to agricultural development and human life. This systematic review study aimed to review the drivers and effects of ALC and CRDs on the one hand and their relations on the other. The paper further proposes a prevention policy framework towards the management of ALC and CRDs including three dimensions, i.e. monitoring-based policies, driver-based policies, and effect-based policies. All three types of these policies are important and essential because ALC and CRDs and their effects and drivers are interdependent. The study concludes that managing these phenomena not only needs to control and monitor their drivers but also requires preventing the effects. Avoiding the drivers and effects also involves monitoring the past, present, and future of ALC and CRD trends.