Category
Environmental models
Capabilities
The FABLE Calculator is an open-source, demand-driven accounting tool in Excel that enables rapid and trasnparent simulation of pathways towards sustainable land use and food systems. It focuses on agriculture as the main driver of land-use change and includes 76 raw and processed agricultural products from the crop and livestock sectors. User-defined scenario assumptions are generated to explore the impact of different policies and drivers on the level of agricultural activity, land-use change, food consumption, trade (imports and exports), greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, water use, and biodiversity conservation in five-year timesteps from 2000 to 2050.
Lifecycle
The FABLE consortium and FABLE calculator were launched in 2018 and frequent updates to the calculator are provided by the FABLE secretariat. In addition, country teams can develop new modules, which are tested and circulated to the consortium as updates. The FABLE consortium meets regularly to agree future workplans.
Uniqueness
The FABLE model and approach is able to test a wide range of policy options and outcomes of interest to UK policy stakeholders, whilst considering the UK in a global context. This is important as policies are being designed not only to achieve sustainable land-use and food systems within the UK, but to ensure that the UK does not export its environmental footprint to other countries. Furthermore, the FABLE approach is built on extensive stakeholder engagement that takes place via a scenario marathon ('scenathon'): an iterative series of stakeholder consultations that progressively develop a set of pathways for testing with the FABLE Calculator.
Partners
FABLE-UK: UKCEH; University of Oxford. FABLE-Global consortium: Secretariat provided by UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and IIASA, with many other country partners (see https://www.foodandlandusecoalition.org/fable/)
Access
The generic FABLE calculator is open access: available to download and use at no cost via the weblink.
Funding sources
Development and use of the FABLE Calculator is funded by: UKRI-NERC National Capability (UK-SCAPE programme); MAVA Foundation; EPSRC Data Science of the Natural Environment Project.
Users
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The FABLE Calculator is used by researchers and national policy planners.
Last updated
11 November 2022 16:27
