The predominant land use in Denmark is agriculture, which has had negative effects on the aquatic environment, bothmarine and freshwater, due to excess nutrient runoff and resulting eutrophication. The current condition does not fullfillthe European Water Framework Directive’s goal of ‘Good ecological condition’ in all aquatic environments. InDenmark, forests only account for a small proportion of the land use, and despite an increase over the past twocenturies, the currently small forested area has had negative consequences for biodiversity since a majority of thespecies in Denmark are dependent on forests for habitat. The current efforts do not meet Denmark’s commitment tofulfill the United Nations Convention on Biological diversity. Similar to other countries, Denmark is obligated to reduceits carbon dioxide emissions according to the Paris agreement, with reduction goals of 40 % in 2030 and 80-95% in2050. The aim of the present thesis, is to assess whether reforestation on agricultural land can ensure that Denmarkreaches the international obligations for water quality and biodiversity at the same time as reducing climate impact byincreasing carbon sequestration, without significant land use conflict between agriculture and forest.This aim is pursued through an analysis of spatial data using a Geographical Information System, where threescenarios are created to assess differences in policy priorities.Based on the result of the spatial analysis, carbon sequestration estimates are calculated to assess the extent towhich forests could contribute to reducing the Danish climate impact, by increasing carbon sequestration. Theparameters used in the spatial analysis were found through a literature review, and the data for the spatial analysis wereaccessed in official and university databases.The main findings of the spatial analysis suggest that the areas with the highest potential agricultural value andthe areas with the highest potential for forest ecosystem services are not overlapping to a significant degree. Thisimplies that the areas that would have the highest levels of trade-offs between these goals when transitioning to forest,can continue the current land use without being needed for reforestation. The areas where agricultural value is low, andwhere reforestation would provide high levels of forest ecosystem services, are best suited for land use change. Theseareas were found to cover a substantial part of the study area, varying depending on three different scenarios, and areestimated to have the potential to contribute greatly to Denmark’s international commitments for water quality andbiodiversity. The carbon sequestration estimates show that if an area of approximately 7 % of Zealand was reforested,the sequestered amounts of carbon dioxide would correspond to a large portion of the emissions reductions necessary tofulfill Denmark’s obligations in the Paris Agreement.

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In 2017, Sweden adopted a climate policy framework to meet zero emissions of greenhouse gases until the year 2045. In order for this to happen, Sweden must undergo a so-called green transition in which wind power could play a significant role. On the other hand, this development is not as indisputable as it seems, as it encounters resistance from other parties who share legitimate interests, for the land use, namely the Sami. This essay will therefore highlight the possible land use conflicts that may arise during the establishment of the wind turbines. The essay will be based on the collected empirical evidence that was done via interviews with the various parties, the wind power industry, and representatives from the reindeer herding Sami. This conflict over the land use can be restated as a wicked problem. That is, these two in a sense equally valid claims to the land use cannot easily be resolved as there exists no hierarchy of which claim is more important, or which claim is “right” which is also one of the main frameworks that will be analyzed in this essay together with potential environmental justice where this concept is discussed from three different perspectives. The results of this study show that the indigenous people feel that the menace from the wind farms not only threatens reindeer husbandry but also their culture and that these conflicts are due to too little consideration being given to it. Even though the Sami villages are compensated for the encroachments, the lost reindeer pastures are something they feel cannot be fully compensated. The conclusion refers that the main and alternatively the best solution to this insidious problem is to have an early dialogue with both parties and that a greater understanding needs to happen for the Sami to realize their importance. / Sverige antog 2017 ett klimatpolitiskt ramverk för att klara nollutsläpp av växthusgaser fram till år 2045. För att det ska ske måste Sverige genomgå en så kallad grön omställning där vindkraft kan spela en betydande roll. Dessutom är denna utveckling inte så obestridlig som den verkar, eftersom den möter motstånd från andra parter som delar legitima intressen, för markanvändningen, nämligen de renskötande samerna. Denna uppsats kommer belysa de möjliga markanvändningskonflikter som kan uppstå vid etableringen av vindkraftverken. Uppsatsen kommer att baseras på den insamlade empiri som gjorts via intervjuer med de olika parterna, vindkraftsindustrin och representanter från renskötande samer. Denna konflikt om markanvändningen kan återges som ett lömskt problem (wicked problem). Det vill säga att dessa två i en mening lika giltiga anspråk på markanvändningen kan inte lätt lösas eftersom det inte finns någon hierarki över vilket påstående som är viktigast, eller vilket påstående som är "rätt", vilket också är en av huvudramarna som kommer att analyseras i denna uppsats tillsammans med potentiell miljörättvisa där detta koncept diskuteras ur tre olika perspektiv. Resultaten av denna studie visar att urbefolkningen upplever att hotet från vindkraftsparkerna inte bara hotar rennäringen utan även deras kultur och att dessa konflikter beror på att det tas för lite hänsyn till det. Även om samebyarna kompenseras för intrången är de förlorade renbetesmarkerna något som de upplever inte kan kompenseras fullt ut. Slutsatsen visar att den främsta och alternativt bästa lösningen på detta lömska problem är att ha en tidig dialog med, och att en större förståelse behöver ske utifrån båda parter.

MENVSC / Department of Ecology and Resource Management / This study uses lens to understand conflict over the use of land and its resources in the Mapungubwe area. The main underlying assumption of the study is that various land use activities that are not compatible with each other lead to land use conflict. The aim of the study is to assess land use conflict in the Mapungubwe area. In particular, the study intends to find out the historical and contemporary land-use conflict, compare and contrast the historical conservation objectives with the current conservation objectives in the Mapungubwe area, find out the reasons that made farmers to oppose conservation objectives now and in the 1940s and to investigate the effects of historical and contemporary land use conflict in the Mapungubwe area. In order to achieve these objectives, primary and secondary data were collected. Secondary data that was used included historical documents about Mapungubwe, Hansards or House of Assembly debates of South Africa from 1940 to 1948, newspapers articles, books and journal articles. Secondary data were used to find out the historical land use conflict that took place in the Mapungubwe area. Primary data were collected through semi-structured interviews with private game farmers, commercial irrigation farmers, farm workers (former and current), Mapungubwe National Park officials and land claimants. Field observations were used to corroborate information collected through interviews. Primary data were collected in order to find out the contemporary land use conflict taking place in the Mapungubwe area. The main findings of this study are that land use conflict in Mapungubwe area is not new; rather it started in the 1940s when the United Party government intended to establish the Dongola Wildlife Sanctuary. However, the idea of a wildlife sanctuary led to land use conflict, particularly between farmers and the ruling United Party government. In other words, land use conflict was mainly among conservationists (who were members of United Party) and farmers. Unfortunately, the idea of a wildlife sanctuary in the Mapungubwe area was caught up in political battles between the governing United Party and the opposition National Party that eventually led to its abandonment following the electoral victory of the National Party in the general elections of 1948. The study also found that the contemporary Mapungubwe is also affected by land use conflict. The conflict is mainly because of various land use activities including irrigation farming, game farming, mining, settlement, and land claims that are not compatible with conservation. Land use activities including irrigation and ii game farming, settlement and mining are happening within and around Mapungubwe National Park. This has made it difficult to consolidate the core area of Mapungubwe National Park. As a result, although Mapungubwe National Park has been established in 1995, the park remains fragmented. This study has used Mapungubwe as a case study to demonstrate that the interest over land and its resources in an area by various stakeholders create land use conflict. / NRF