Land: a coveted, limited resource to be protected

Limiting land use is one of the major challenges that cities face nowadays. How can this be achieved while, at the same time, providing citizens with the land they need? 

A 2-day workshop brought together experts and representatives from local authorities in France and Germany to discuss sustainable land management. 

Limiting land use – Two different approaches

How to limit the artificial development of land? The event highlighted the differences in approach between France and Germany. In France, the Zero Net Artificialisation (ZAN) law, part of the Climate and Resilience Act, sets national and local targets for drastically reducing the amount of artificial land use by 2050. This centralised approach imposes strict regulatory obligations on local authorities.

In Germany, on the other hand, there is no equivalent national legislation. It is mainly local and regional initiatives that are tackling the issue, often through partnerships between municipalities, NGOs and private players. 

While these approaches are less uniform, they do encourage solutions that are tailored to the specific needs of each region. 

Land acquisition – A priority for the ecological transition

The second day focused on land acquisition. At the heart of the discussions were the recommendations by the Forum for the Franco-German Future, published in their report Putting land control tools at the service of the ecological transition (in French). 

Local authorities discussed ways to overcome the financial and legal obstacles associated with land access. The topics explored included: 

• The creation of funds dedicated to land acquisition. 
• Building local capacity to identify and mobilise strategic land.
• Using tools such as the right of pre-emption or land cooperatives. 

Such initiatives are a great opportunity to strengthen exchanges and initiate cooperation between countries committed to achieving climate neutrality.

Read this article to learn more about land use in the EU!

The workshop was organised on 20 and 21 November 2024 in Lille by the TANDEM project and the Franco-German Forum for the Future. Since 2014, Tandem has supported the formation of Franco-German partnerships for climate protection. Presentations from the workshop can be found under ‘Resources’. (In French and in German).