Recent energy policies enacted by the EU and USA are stimulating biofuel production as a form of climate change mitigation. These policies have increased the demand for crop land and made the control of land resources more profitable. In response over the past decade, many governments and corporations have begun pursuing control over large tracts of cultivable land both domestically and abroad, particularly in developing countries. In many instances, land rights and environmental regulations are not respected, which can lead to major impacts on human and natural systems. However, in many respects, these social and environmental impacts are still not well understood given the lack of transparency in many land deals. To gain a better understanding, here we study large-scale land acquisitions, their impacts on water resources and their contribution to deforestation and argue that these effects are ultimately the consequence of climate change mitigation policies. We devote particular attention to the “land rush” in Southeast Asia for palm oil cultivation and its associated environmental effects. Our detailed analysis of large-scale acquisitions and land use changes in targeted countries of this region has determined extensive deforestation and peatlands conversion. With high biodiversity and a large carbon storage capacity, peatlands have the potential to become important greenhouse gas emitters if drained and converted to cultivable land. Finally in addition to deforestation and peatland conversion, our study analyzed the grey water component of oil palm cultivation and found that fertilizer use on oil palm plantations is a substantial contributor to degraded water quality in the region. Overall, our results show that biofuels production is a potential driver of the global “land rush”, that deforestation and peatlands conversion could be unforeseen consequences of climate change mitigation policies and that these land use changes can influence both the quality and quantity of water resources.
Le politiche energetiche per il contenimento degli effetti dei cambiamenti climatici, promosse da UE e USA, stanno incentivando la produzione di biocarburanti. In risposta nell’ultima decade Stati e multinazionali hanno iniziato a cercare grandi estensioni di terre da coltivare sia internamente al paese che all’estero. Spesso le acquisizioni di aree coltivabili riguardano i paesi in via di sviluppo e, qualora non siano rispettati i diritti di proprietà ed ambientali, possono produrre effetti sulla società, sulle risorse idriche e sugli ecosistemi. Le acquisizioni su grande scala di terreno, di risorse idriche associate e la deforestazione vengono investigate come conseguenza delle politiche volte alla mitigazione degli effetti del CC. Particolare attenzione è rivolta alla “corsa alla terra” per la coltivazione della palma da olio e agli effetti indotti sull’ambiente. L’analisi di dettaglio condotta sulle acquisizioni di terreno di grande scala e sui cambiamenti d’uso del suolo in tali paesi ha mostrato il SudEst Asiatico quale regione ove le piantagioni di palma da olio hanno determinato un intenso fenomeno di deforestazione e di conversione di torbiere. Quest ultime sono state studiate rispetto allo stoccaggio vs emissione di carbonio, le quali, oltre ad avere un'elevata biodiversità, sono dei notevoli stoccatori di carbonio, ma divengono grandi emettitori qualora siano drenate e convertite in terra coltivabile. Sono stati inoltre analizzati gli impatti della coltivazione delle torbiere e delle aree deforestate a palma da olio sulla risorsa idrica necessaria alla loro coltivazione, ponendo particolare attenzione sulla componente di acqua grigia la cui rilevanza è dovuta all’elevata quantità di fertilizzanti impiegati nella coltivazione della coltura in aree soggette al cambiamento d’uso del suolo. I risultati mostrano la produzione di biocarburanti in risposta a tali politiche essere un driver della “corsa alla terra”. Risulta inoltre che deforestazione e conversione di torbiere possono essere considerati effetti secondari indotti da tali politiche e che il cambiamento d’uso del suolo può influenzare le risorse idriche sia per la quantità che la qualità.
Indirect effects of climate change : land grabbing, biofuels and deforestation
CASIRATI, STEFANO
2013/2014
Abstract
Recent energy policies enacted by the EU and USA are stimulating biofuel production as a form of climate change mitigation. These policies have increased the demand for crop land and made the control of land resources more profitable. In response over the past decade, many governments and corporations have begun pursuing control over large tracts of cultivable land both domestically and abroad, particularly in developing countries. In many instances, land rights and environmental regulations are not respected, which can lead to major impacts on human and natural systems. However, in many respects, these social and environmental impacts are still not well understood given the lack of transparency in many land deals. To gain a better understanding, here we study large-scale land acquisitions, their impacts on water resources and their contribution to deforestation and argue that these effects are ultimately the consequence of climate change mitigation policies. We devote particular attention to the “land rush” in Southeast Asia for palm oil cultivation and its associated environmental effects. Our detailed analysis of large-scale acquisitions and land use changes in targeted countries of this region has determined extensive deforestation and peatlands conversion. With high biodiversity and a large carbon storage capacity, peatlands have the potential to become important greenhouse gas emitters if drained and converted to cultivable land. Finally in addition to deforestation and peatland conversion, our study analyzed the grey water component of oil palm cultivation and found that fertilizer use on oil palm plantations is a substantial contributor to degraded water quality in the region. Overall, our results show that biofuels production is a potential driver of the global “land rush”, that deforestation and peatlands conversion could be unforeseen consequences of climate change mitigation policies and that these land use changes can influence both the quality and quantity of water resources.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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2014_10_ Casirati.pdf
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/96505