‘Sustainable Future Will Depend on Land.’ Group Studies 50 Years of Agriculture, Changes in Land Use

By Ambria Burton

The Georgia Conservancy environmental organization highlighted the trends and changes to Georgia's agriculture and land at the first meeting of the Senate Study Committee on Preservation of Georgia's Farmlands on Tuesday, July 30, 2024.

As Georgia's population grows and land continues to develop, Georgia Conversancy focuses on whether Georgia can continue on its current trajectory in sustainability when considering land loss and the future of agriculture.

It asks, "How do we sustainably shape our state's future growth?" and "Are we asking too much of our land?"

In partnership with Georgia Tech's Center for Spatial Planning Analytics and Visualization, Georgia Conservancy looked at the past 50 years, from 1974 to 2021, of satellite imagery of Georgia's land.

"We arrived at a decision to look at the past to see what some of the past growth and change trends have been so that maybe that could inform us as the things to do, not to do, or do differently going forward," Georgia Conservancy President Katherine Moore said at the meeting.

In the Georgia Now and Forever initiative, Georgia Tech used satellite imagery to examine changes at the acre level, where they occurred, and what type of change they were.

Over time, the state grew economically and in population, leading to more land use.

"We have to ask ourselves how are we going to continue to grow, accommodate all of those folks and their needs, and keep this quality of life that we love in our state," Moore said.

"Our sustainable — the ability to carry on over time — economic, and environmental future here in Georgia will depend on the integrity of our land," she said.