Ecosystem services-based land planning for environmental impact avoidance

In the face of current challenges for sustaining human well-being, there is a need for multifunctional landscapes, where land can be allocated to economic activities while minimizing negative externalities. The framework of spatial conservation prioritization (SCP) can be used to identify areas of outstanding ecosystem services (ES) provision, and inform the allocation of different land uses. We present a methodological approach that uses the SCP framework to integrate ES in land-use planning, and apply it to a case study in Uruguay, South America. As in many parts of the world available information on ES is scarce, we generate models of ES provision using spatial multicriteria modeling supported on expert elicitation, to identify areas suitable for agriculture and afforestation, where land use changes have lowest impact on environmental quality. Our results provide a ranking of the landscape that might be used to promote the expansion of these activities in some areas while discouraging it in others in order to achieve sustainability. This approach might be particularly useful for informing Strategic Environmental Assessments, aimed at balancing productive activities with environmental protection. Our study shows that by taking into account ES provision, land uses can be allocated in areas that maximize yields, while reducing their negative environmental impacts.