Understanding the pan-European region’s economic relationships between human activities and anthropogenic landscapes requires not only an appreciation of processes that occur within its borders, but also a consideration of the indirect links between populations and lands that lie on either sides of regional boundaries (Wiedmann 2009). The EU-28, and especially its more western part, occupies a role as one of the strongest net importers of the benefits of land use beyond its borders through global trade (Weinzettel et al. 2013). Yu et al. (2013) calculate that in 2007, the EU-27 as a whole was associated with 27 per cent of the global total displacement of agricultural-land use through trade. As such, while only 14 per cent of agricultural land use – the combination of croplands, timberlands and pasturelands – located within Western Europe was associated with exports to satisfy final demand (including consumption) in other world regions, 58 per cent of the land required for final demand in Western Europe was located outside of the region (Bergmann and Holmberg 2016).


Europe as a region is highly integrated within and dependent on global flows of land use embodied in trade. In 2007, Western Europe had only 0.7 hectares of agricultural land use per person, but a final demand of 1.4 hectares per person. The Russian Federation and Eastern Europe, on the other hand, were net exporters of embodied agricultural land use, having 2.0 hectares available per person but a final demand of only 1.6 hectares worth of products per person (Bergmann and Holmberg 2016). It is also important to consider that global land use is indirectly required to produce manufactured goods and services used in Europe.


A report by the International Resource Panel (UNEP 2014b) calculated the global cropland requirements of the EU, finding that 0.31 hectares per person were required in 2007. This is one-fourth more than what is available domestically in the EU; one-third more than the cropland globally available per person in 2007; and it is well over the “safe operating space” concept orientation value of 0.20 hectares for 2030 (UNEP 2014b).


In this sense, Africa is a major “donor” of land use to the pan- European region through trade, and finds itself reaping the benefits of only 0.6 hectares of land per person (the effective area that goes to food and income of the African individual), while using 1.3 hectares per person, much of the benefit actually accrues to others. This imbalance will continue as long as structural differences in industrial production capacity of developing economies remain weak.


The migration crisis affecting Europe, with over a million migrants and asylum seekers, is primarily due to political and civil conflicts, as well as economic factors such as poverty and the economic attractiveness of potential host countries. However, the causal links between soil fertility decline, human hardships and the decision to emigrate are beginning to emerge (Cunfer and Krausmann 2009).


2.8.6 Urban sprawl and green infrastructure Urbanization, particularly the spatial extension of cities, is a well-known cause of land-use change, reflected mostly by the loss of arable land (Panagos et al. 2015b), natural habitats and biodiversity. Urban sprawl is driven by population growth, increased incomes, demand for housing and transport connectivity, while it is constrained by the cost of commuting, agricultural land values, rent and the amenity values of agricultural land and green space. Analysis of the EU Urban Audit Database showed an overall 18 per cent average increase in urbanized areas and a 9.43 per cent decrease in the density of a sample of European cities between 1990 and 2006 (Oueslati et al. 2015). Both of these trends were highest in Southern European cities. Northern European cities showed the lowest average increase in urbanized areas, while Western European cities had the lowest reduction in population density.


Different trends are emerging throughout Europe regarding population growth and dynamics. For instance, compared to neighboring England, Scotland and Wales, both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland experienced more significant population growth between 2001 and 2011. Ireland’s fertility rate currently stands at 2.1, which is the highest in the EU. Interestingly, there is a drastic difference between Germany


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GEO-6 Assessment for the pan-European Region


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