Bills to help conserve agricultural land amid development pressures will become law • Virginia Mercury

The Effort to Preserve Virginia’s Agricultural and Forested Land

The effort to preserve Virginia’s agricultural and forested land will get a streamlined process of protection from future development, following legislation that will become a law later this year.

Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed the bills from Sen. Todd Pillion, R-Washington, and Del. David Bulova, D-Fairfax, that created the Office of Working Lands Preservation by consolidating state resources for grant easements, legally enforceable mechanisms that prevent development on land in perpetuity.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

1. No Poverty
2. Zero Hunger
3. Good Health and Well-being
4. Quality Education
5. Gender Equality
6. Clean Water and Sanitation
7. Affordable and Clean Energy
8. Decent Work and Economic Growth
9. Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
10. Reduced Inequalities
11. Sustainable Cities and Communities
12. Responsible Consumption and Production
13. Climate Action
14. Life Below Water
15. Life on Land
16. Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
17. Partnerships for the Goals

The Importance of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

• The bill — which moves the easement process from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to exist under the Department of Forestry — was sought by the Virginia Farm Bureau, Virginia Agribusiness Council and Virginia Cattlemen’s Association.
• It was introduced just before the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s latest census report in February showed the number of farms in Virginia shrunk by about 10% from 2017 to 2022, mirroring a national trend.

Challenges Faced by Farmers

• The agriculture industry is the largest in the state, producing about $82.3 billion in economic activity annually, according to the Virginia Farm Bureau.
• Yet some advocates said a variety of challenges are making it harder for farmers to earn a living and turn a profit.
• “Increased regulations, rising supply costs, lack of available labor and weather disasters have all squeezed farmers to the point that many of them find it impossible to remain economically sustainable,” said American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall in a statement.

Easing the Easement Process

• Currently in Virginia, the government can hold conservation easements for forested and agricultural land under the Open Space Lands Act.
• The government’s easements for farmland had been overseen by the Office of Farmland Preservation, under the VDACS.
• With the bills’ codification into law, that office will now move to the renamed Office of Working Lands Preservation under the Department of Forestry, to oversee easements for both forestland and farmland.

Preserving Working Lands

• “The beauty of this is it is entirely voluntary,” State Forester Rob Farrell said.
• The forthcoming Office of Working Lands will assist farmers by connecting them to programs to improve water quality, oversee a Century Farm Program that recognizes farms that have existed for a hundred years and a Farm Link program that connects retirement-bound farmers with prospective farmers, similar to “a dating app for farmers,” Moore said.

Balancing Interests

• The new office comes amid the continuing debate about developing farm and forested land for solar, which may provide more lucrative benefits than farming and forestland operations.
• “If we don’t have viable working lands in the future, who’s going to produce our food? Where are we going to get the timber we need to support our forestry industry in the state?” Moore asked in an interview with the Mercury. “As we look at these conservation goals, there’s not one single entity looking at working lands.”

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators Analysis

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 2: Zero Hunger – The article discusses the importance of preserving farmland for food production.
• SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy – The article mentions the challenge of balancing land preservation with clean energy infrastructure creation.
• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities – The article highlights the conversion of farmland to urban and suburban areas.
• SDG 13: Climate Action – The article mentions the growing industry of utility-scale solar in Virginia.
• SDG 15: Life on Land – The article focuses on the preservation of agricultural and forested land.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• Target 2.4: By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding, and other disasters, and that progressively improve land and soil quality.
• Target 7.2: By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.
• Target 11.3: By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated, and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries.
• Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning.
• Target 15.1: By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains, and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• Indicator 2.4.1: Proportion of agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture.
• Indicator 7.2.1: Renewable energy share in the total final energy consumption.
• Indicator 11.3.1: Ratio of land consumption rate to population growth rate.
• Indicator 13.2.1: Number of countries that have communicated the establishment or operationalization of an integrated policy/strategy/plan which increases their ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change, and foster climate resilience and low greenhouse gas emissions development in a manner that does not threaten food production.
• Indicator 15.1.1: Forest area as a proportion of total land area.

Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

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Source: virginiamercury.com

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