The Land Use Trade-offs model has groundbreaking capabilities to consider the potential impact of land use practices across Australia, as well as potential changes in domestic and overseas demand for agricultural products.

The Land Use Futures program is developing advice and analysis on what it will take to achieve a sustainable food and land use system for Australia. The program is a partnership between Climateworks, Deakin University, and is using the Land Use Trade-offs, or LUTO, model as a foundation for research and analysis.

The Land Use Trade-offs model (LUTO) is a tool that can make detailed projections representing how Australia’s landscape could change in the future, depending on specific economic, social and environmental goals, conditions and policy settings. This type of modelling can help decision-makers understand complexity, not by attempting to predict what will happen in the future, but rather by showing the potential costs, benefits and interactions of different actions. The land use sector is already experiencing increasing pressures, including the impacts of a changing climate. Therefore, understanding the complex interactions of land use choices can help inform decisions that will support a more sustainable land use future for Australia.

Read a short explanation of how the LUTO model works and how it is being used for the Land Use Futures program here: