Food Security

Population is growing all over the world and is becoming predominantly urban, which requires a re-evaluation of how peri-urban areas are conserved and managed and how city dwellers are fed. The European Environment Agency estimates that around 75% of people live in urban areas, and that the growth of European cities in recent years has come about mainly on lands which were originally farmlands. According to figures from the United Nations Environment Programme, loss of farmland due to urbanising will amount to between 1.6 and 3.3 million de hectares a year between 2000 and 2030.

Studies on the situation in Spain carried out by the Observatorio para la Sostenibilidad en España (Observatory for Sustainability in Spain) have quantified an increase in artificial surface of 29.5% between 1987 and 2000, which was more intense in peri-urban areas around large cities and mainly affected farmland with high agrological value.