Integrating the complexity of global change pressures on land and water

Global agriculture is facing multi-faceted challenges, interacting with changing societies and changing environmental conditions. Major transitions in current agricultural systems are required to meet these challenges. Transition pathways need to be analyzed and facilitated in a much broader perspective, including the interaction with societal structures, non-food markets, and the Earth system. Especially the globalization of agricultural production offers potentials to increase productivity but can also endanger food security through volatile food prices or dispossession of rural poor. It thus requires better regulation and suitable institutional settings. Integrated assessment models are helpful tools for analyzing the complex interactions and for deriving multi-targeted development pathways.

► The growing pressure on land and water requires globally coordinated management. ► The interaction of agriculture with other sectors is intense. ► Need to be considered in assessments of future development paths. ► Integrated assessment tools are suitable starting points for better scientific understanding and policy advice.