Research & reports

Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, HM Treasury, Department for Business and Trade · GOV.UK · United Kingdom

On 23 December 2025 the UK government announced it would raise the 100% Agricultural and Business Property Reliefs threshold from £1m to £2.5m, effective 6 April 2026. Married couples or civil partners will be able to pass on assets worth up to £5m tax free, and up to £5.65m when combined with existing nil-rate bands. The government projects that the number of estates claiming agricultural property relief affected by the 2026-27 reforms will roughly halve, from 375 to 185.

USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) · USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service · United States

USDA NASS's 2025 survey found the average value of U.S. cropland was $5,830 per acre, up 4.7% from 2024 and up 96% since 2011. Pastureland averaged $1,920 per acre, up $90 from 2024 and 79% since 2011. Overall farm real estate value averaged $4,350 per acre, up $180 from 2024. The average cropland cash rent was $161 per acre nationally (up $1), with irrigated cropland at $244 and non-irrigated at $147; pastureland rent was unchanged at $15.50 per acre.

国土交通省 · 国土交通省 · Japan

This MLIT page hosts MLIT's annual survey of city-planning designation status as of 31 March 2024, conducted with the cooperation of prefectural urban planning divisions. It provides open-data links to 14 categories of results — urbanization-area and district designations, urban redevelopment projects, location optimization plan status, and more. The page itself contains no aggregate figures; the numbers reside in the linked data files.

国土交通省 · 国土交通省 · Japan

This press release, published by Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism on March 18, 2025, reports the results of the 2025 official land price survey covering 26,000 points nationwide. The national average for all uses, residential land, and commercial land rose for the fourth consecutive year, with the rate of increase widening. Among the three major metropolitan areas, Tokyo and Osaka saw continued acceleration while Nagoya's increase slightly narrowed; regional areas rose for a fourth straight year, though the rate slightly narrowed in the four major regional cities (Sapporo, Sendai, Hiroshima, Fukuoka).

石井健太朗 · 大和不動産鑑定株式会社（DREA REPORT） · Japan

Published in April 2025 by Kentaro Ishii of Daiwa Real Estate Appraisal Co.'s Research & Marketing Department, this report analyzes Japan's 2025 official land price survey (as of January 1, 2025), based on MLIT data. It shows the national all-use average rose for a fourth consecutive year with an accelerating rate (+2.1% in 2025), driven by steady housing demand and strong retail/hotel demand in commercial areas. The residential land price increase was highest in Furano, Hokkaido, and the commercial increase was highest in Chitose, Hokkaido (site of semiconductor plant investment); among prefectural capitals, Naha posted the largest residential gain (+5.9%) and Saga the largest commercial gain (+9.0%).

Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) · Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) · United Kingdom

According to MHCLG's statistical release (published 9 October 2025), the extent of land designated as Green Belt in England as at 31 March 2025 was estimated at 1,633,220 hectares, around 12.5% of England's land area. This represents a decrease of 660 hectares (0.04%) from 31 March 2024, driven mainly by local authority boundary policy changes (650 hectares across six authorities) and digital boundary updates (10 hectares). By region, London has the highest proportion of its area designated Green Belt, at 22.1%.

Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) · Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) · United Kingdom

A technical note describing how the UK's MHCLG compiles official statistics on green belt land in England, collecting area figures as of 31 March each year from local authorities via the Annual Green Belt (AGB) return. The 2024-25 response rate was 99% across 177 local authorities, and prior-year area figures are subject to scheduled revisions.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) · Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) · Global

According to FAO, disasters have recently affected 4.03 billion people, up 124% compared to the previous two decades, with direct economic losses reaching nearly USD 3 trillion, an increase of 182% since 1980–1999. Climate-related disasters accounted for 91% of direct economic losses globally and affected 3.6 billion people. Between 2008 and 2018, agriculture absorbed 26% of the overall impact of medium- to large-scale disasters in least developed and low- and middle-income countries. Some 2.5 billion people worldwide depend on agriculture for their livelihoods; FAO promotes disaster risk reduction through coherent implementation of the Sendai Framework, the Paris Agreement, and the SDGs.

European Environment Agency (EEA) · European Environment Agency (EEA) · Europe

According to this EEA indicator, water scarcity affected 28% of EU territory during at least one season in 2023. Although water abstraction fell 14% across the EU between 2000 and 2023, the area affected by water scarcity has not shrunk overall. Southern Europe experiences water scarcity year-round, with about 30% of the population in areas of permanent water stress and up to 70% in areas of seasonal summer stress; Cyprus and Malta are the most severely affected (seasonal WEI+ above 40%), with Greece, Romania, Portugal, Italy and Spain also notably affected in spring and summer.

· Wikipedia (español) · Spain

According to Spanish Wikipedia, the exact founding date of the Water Tribunal is unknown, though the most widely held theory dates it to around 960 CE, during the reign of a Caliph. It is made up of eight síndicos, one representing each irrigation community, one of whom generally serves a two-year term as president. It meets every Thursday at noon (except from Christmas to 6 January and on public holidays) at the 'Door of the Apostles' of Valencia Cathedral, with administrative meetings afterward at the Casa Vestuario on Plaza de la Virgen. It was inscribed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage on 30 September 2009.

· Viquipèdia (català) · Spain

According to Catalan Wikipedia, the irrigated farmland (horta) of Valencia took shape in the Middle Ages under Islamic rule through the construction of séquies (irrigation channels) and assuts (weirs). The main séquies of the Túria river have been governed since Islamic times by the Tribunal de les Aigües, inscribed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage in 2009. Eight séquies in the Vega de València draw water from the Túria and have historically supported orange, vegetable and rice cultivation, but many now run beneath houses and streets, with rice farming described as being in crisis as farmland is converted to housing.

Consell de la Generalitat Valenciana · Diari Oficial de la Generalitat Valenciana (DOGV) / BOE · Spain

A decree-law issued by the Consell (Valencian regional government) on 4 February 2025, published 5 February 2025, amending the 2018 Huerta law and its implementing plan (Decreto 219/2018) to simplify administrative procedures for reconstruction following the 29 October 2024 DANA flooding. It abolishes the Huerta Council and chapters on agrarian development planning and farm inventories, and relaxes urban-planning parameters for agricultural buildings.

European Environment Agency · European Environment Agency (EEA) · Europe

This EEA indicator page defines water scarcity as river sub-basins where the water exploitation index plus (WEI+) exceeds 20% for at least a quarter of the year, tracking conditions across the EU27 from 2000 to 2023. The data combines EEA water quality monitoring, Eurostat abstraction and population statistics, and JRC river flow and climate data.

European Environment Agency · European Environment Agency (EEA) · Europe

According to this EEA indicator, 2020-2023 EU water abstraction breaks down into power cooling (33%), agriculture/irrigation (31%), public water supply (21%), and manufacturing (14%), with total EU27 freshwater abstraction falling 14% from 224 billion m3 in the 2000s to 192.6 billion m3 in 2020-2023. However, groundwater abstraction by the agricultural sector rose 52%, from 11 to 16.5 billion m3.

European Environment Agency · European Environment Agency (EEA) · Europe

This EEA briefing from the 2025 Europe's environment report states that water stress affects roughly 30% of Europe's land area and 34% of its population every year, and that EU water abstraction fell 19% between 2000 and 2022. It also reports that flooding caused average annual economic losses of EUR 6.5 billion between 1980 and 2023, and 5,582 direct deaths between 1980 and 2022.

Eurostat · Eurostat · Europe

Published around World Water Day, this Eurostat article reports the EU's overall water exploitation index plus (WEI+) reached 5.8% in 2022, the highest since data collection began and up 0.9 percentage points from 2000. Cyprus stood at an unsustainable 71.0% and Malta at 34.1%, with values above 20% generally considered a sign of water scarcity and above 40% severe water scarcity.

東京都環境局 · 東京都環境局 · Japan

Tokyo's Green Plan System, based on the Tokyo Ordinance on Protection and Recovery of Natural Environment, requires development and building projects on sites of 1,000 sqm or more (250 sqm or more for national/local government sites) to meet a minimum greening standard. It cites heat island mitigation, air purification, and rainwater infiltration as goals, and publishes wall-greening guidelines and rooftop greening performance data.

東京都 · 東京都例規集 · Japan

Article 14 of the Tokyo ordinance requires developers building or renovating on sites of 1,000 sqm or more (250 sqm or more for national/local government sites) to submit a greening plan covering both ground-level and building-top (e.g. rooftop) greening to the governor before starting work, to report completion of the greening afterward, and to properly maintain the resulting green space. Enacted December 22, 2000, with the most recent amendment taking effect June 1, 2025.

国土交通省 · 国土交通省 · Japan

According to this December 12, 2025 announcement by Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, approximately 14.5 hectares of green roofs (equivalent to about two National Stadiums) and 4.6 hectares of green walls were newly installed nationwide in FY2024. Cumulative installations from FY2000 through FY2024 (25 years) reached about 633 hectares of green roofs and 131 hectares of green walls.

農林水産省 · 農林水産省 · Japan

According to MAFF's community garden survey results as of the end of March 2025, Japan has 4,273 community gardens with 188,713 plots covering 1,284 hectares nationwide. By operator type, local governments run 1,977, agricultural cooperatives 414, farmers 1,433, and companies/NPOs 449.

東京都環境局 · 東京都環境局 · Japan

This Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Environment page describes the Green Space Plan Notification System, which requires developers building or expanding structures on sites of 1,000 m2 or more (250 m2 or more for national/local government sites) to file a green space plan and meet a minimum greening standard, under the ordinance on nature protection and restoration in Tokyo. The system aims to restore lost green space and mitigate the urban heat island effect, requiring prior consultation and post-completion reporting.

東京都環境局 · 東京都環境局 · Japan

This Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Environment page compiles and publishes rooftop, wall, and balcony greening results based on green space plan filings from FY2000 through FY2024. The page text itself does not state cumulative totals; detailed figures are provided separately in downloadable Excel and PDF result tables.

豊島区 · 豊島区 · Japan

The rooftop garden "Toshima Forest" on the 10th floor of Toshima Ward Office recreates the ward's former Musashino plateau, valley, and cliff-line terrain and vegetation, with tanks and biotopes for observing creatures of the Arakawa river system. The Board of Education runs environmental education programs for children linked to the garden, such as returning medaka fish to their habitat.

Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, Singapore · Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, Singapore · Singapore

On 26 September 2025, Minister Grace Fu replied to a parliamentary question on progress toward the "30 by 30" goal, stating that less than 10% of Singapore's food consumption is currently produced domestically. She called the goal "aspirational," set before COVID-19 under more favourable conditions, while noting locally produced hen eggs exceed 30% and beansprouts exceed 50% of local consumption, and that the alternative protein industry faces high energy costs and insufficient consumer acceptance.

内閣（法令） · e-Gov法令検索 · Japan

Article 85 of the Building Standards Act Enforcement Order requires live loads on each part of a building to be calculated according to actual conditions in principle, but allows using tabulated values multiplied by floor area for listed room types. Rooftop plazas and balconies follow the same category-(1) values as residential rooms (1,800 N/sqm for floor structural calculation, 1,300 N/sqm for girders/columns/foundations, 600 N/sqm for seismic force), but for buildings used as schools or department stores, the higher category-(4) values apply (2,900/2,400/1,300 N/sqm).