Exploring the potential of the telecoupling framework for understanding land change

Abstract

The concept of telecoupling has recently been proposed in Land System Science as an analytical framework to address the increasing importance of distal connections and flows in driving current land use change. In this IRI THESys Discussion Paper the emergence and development of the telecoupling concept is traced. Particular attention is given the two telecoupling frameworks currently proposed in the literature. The paper then illustrates the applicability of these two frameworks using the case of rubber expansion in the Uplands of Northern Laos as an example. There, local land use change is increasingly influenced by a complexity of globalised drivers that transcends multiple spatial and temporal scales. Based on the case, the potentials, as well as the caveats of the frameworks are discussed. Regarding the latter, focus is on issues of simplicity and holism, temporal and spatial scales and the establishment of system boundaries. The paper concludes by discussing the potential for addressing these challenges by looking beyond Land System Science.