Harnessing Planetary Boundaries in Rice Farming
Shabbir Gheewala
King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand
Winning article: Absolute environmental sustainability assessment of rice in Pakistan using a planetary boundary-based approach (Sustainable Production and Consumption, 2023)
“This innovative approach integrates Earth's carrying capacity into the assessment of agricultural practices, ensuring that food production remains within ecologically safe operating spaces.”
The food and agriculture sector is a major driver of environmental degradation, pushing us beyond critical planetary boundaries – including climate change, pollutant emissions, and the overuse of natural resources. Rice is a staple food for half of the world’s population and, therefore, vital to global food security. Rice farming in Asia alone accounts for 90% of global production, with Pakistan as the 4th largest exporter of rice in the world. As the global population grows, so too does the demand for vital food sources, and the stability of Earth’s ecosystems is threatened by the intensification of agricultural practices. This urgency motivated our research to align food production systems with the planet's finite resources and ecological thresholds.
We aimed to quantify the limits of sustainable production for farming practice, using a planetary boundary-based Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology with rice production in Pakistan as a case study. This innovative approach integrates Earth's carrying capacity into the assessment of agricultural practices, ensuring that food production remains within ecologically safe operating spaces. By quantifying the sustainable limits of rice production, we set out to suggest actionable insights for policymakers, farmers, and stakeholders to balance food security with ecological sustainability. Fundamentally, this work is driven by the broader goal of fostering sustainable food systems that can support growing populations without compromising the health of the planet, contributing to the global effort of achieving sustainable development for future generations.
Figure 1: A contribution analysis for rice production. Source: Mahmood, A., et al., (2023) 'Absolute environmental sustainability assessment of rice in Pakistan using a planetary boundary-based approach', Sustainable Production and Consumption, vol. 39, pp. 123–133
The majority of rice farming impacts are contributed by the cultivation process (Fig. 1), i.e., nearly 50% of GHG impacts, 25% of freshwater eutrophication, and 60% of marine eutrophication. Furthermore, the irrigation process alone contributes 40% of GHG impacts, 50% of freshwater eutrophication, and 20% of marine eutrophication impacts to the production of rice. Through the adoption of the novel planetary boundary-based LCA methodology, key leverage points were identified. These potential solutions include minimizing pollutant emissions through efficient agrochemical management, greenhouse gas emissions reduction and water use optimization via non-fossil irrigation, and an alternative wetting and drying approach, to align rice production within Earth's carrying capacity. By integrating these insights into agricultural policies and practices, stakeholders can make informed decisions that balance food security with environmental sustainability. Furthermore, the methodology emphasizes regionalized assessments to account for local ecological conditions and production practices, ensuring that solutions are context-specific and scalable.
Current trends in this field of research echo our call for a more tailored approach to sustainable agricultural practice. These trends are driven by the need to translate global ecological thresholds into actionable strategies for specific sectors, such as agriculture, while accounting for local environmental and socio-economic conditions. Additionally, there is a rising emphasis on multi-disciplinary approaches that combine environmental sciences, socio-economic analyses, and policy to address the complex trade-offs for ecological sustainability. There is an essential balance to be found - in Pakistan, the agricultural sector employs 38.5% of the labor force and contributes 19.2% to the GDP of the country. A transdisciplinary approach can be leveraged to promote planetary boundaries science by developing scalable frameworks, such as doughnut economics, that enable stakeholders to assess and manage long-term sustainability. For example, integrating planetary boundaries into social foundations allows for the identification of critical leverage points — such as reducing resource use, lowering ecological impacts, and maintaining social equity — where interventions can have the greatest impact. Furthermore, regionalized assessments ensure that solutions are tailored to local contexts, making them more practical and effective.
The planetary boundary-based LCA methodology can also be scaled up through collaboration with industry, policymakers, and civil society. For industry, the framework can be integrated into sustainability reporting and decision-making processes. Companies can use it to assess the environmental impacts of their production systems, identify hotspots (e.g., water overuse, high emissions), and adopt targeted interventions to align with planetary boundaries. Tools and guidelines derived from this methodology can be embedded into existing sustainability certifications and standards, making it easier for businesses to adopt. For policymakers, the methodology provides a science-based foundation for designing regulations and incentives that promote sustainable agricultural practices. For example, governments can use it to set region-specific targets for water use, emissions reduction, and biodiversity conservation, ensuring that food production respects ecological limits. Policies such as subsidization of sustainable farming practices or penalties for exceeding planetary boundaries can be informed by this framework. Civil society can leverage the methodology to advocate for sustainable production systems and hold industries and governments accountable. Educational campaigns and tools can be developed to raise awareness among farmers, consumers, and stakeholders about the importance of operating within planetary boundaries. To scale up immediately, pilot projects can be launched in key regions, such as rice-producing countries, to demonstrate the methodology's effectiveness, and partnerships with international organizations, such as the FAO or UNEP, can further facilitate global adoption, ensuring that the solution contributes to sustainable development goals while safeguarding Earth's ecosystems.
Planetary boundaries define the safe operating space for humanity by quantifying Earth's ecological limits, such as climate change, freshwater use, and biodiversity loss. However, translating these global thresholds into actionable strategies for specific sectors, like agriculture, remains a critical challenge. Our research bridges this gap that quantifying the sustainable production limits of staple foods, such as rice, within the context of these boundaries. Ultimately, the employed approach serves as a tool to guide the transition toward sustainable food systems, supporting global efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) while safeguarding Earth's ecosystems for future generations.
Figure 2: Co-authors on Thailand’s winning research paper from left to right: Awais Mahmood, Shabbir H. Gheewala, and Hafiz Usman Ghani.