Wealthy nations outsource their land use
Land use is becoming more globalised, easing pressure on local ecosystems in some areas but raising pressures elsewhere. This study finds that wealthier countries rely less on local and more on imported resources, using the concept of “embodied human appropriation of net primary production” (eHANPP), which tracks how much of the natural inflow of energy and biomass into the biosphere (NPP) humans appropriate through the harvesting or burning biomass and converting natural ecosystems to managed lands. The study identifies five land-use clusters: exporters, outsourcers, intensifiers, intermediates, and the self-sufficient. Exporters like Australia and Canada lead in per capita eHANPP exports, while self-sufficient nations in Africa and Asia rely heavily on local resources. Intensifiers have high energy and material use per biomass unit. Outsourcers, mainly wealthy European countries, depend on eHANPP net-imports, using 43% of their own NPP and importing similar amounts, while consuming four to five times more energy and materials than the global average.