Biofuels and the Hazards of Land Grabbing: Tenure (In)security and Indigenous Farmers’ Investment Decisions in Ghana

Aha, Bismark; Ayitey, Jonathan Zinzi

doi:10.15396/afres2016_114

Cited by 8 publications

(14 citation statements)

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“…For example, community-focused actions might include clarifying customary de facto rights through participatory mapping and other means of demarcation, formalizing rights through registration and titling, or strengthening community capacity to enforce those rights. Such actions have been undertaken to support IP' sovereignty 2 and strengthen their capacity to govern 36,37 , which has worked to counter the threat of land grabs associated with commodity-driven development, ranging from biofuel production 38 to livestock rearing, mining, and large-scale agro-business 39 . In particular, participatory mapping tools 40 and counter-mapping approaches 41 are gaining momentum in efforts to strengthen IP' authority and deter corporate land grabbing, for example in regions like Sub-Saharan Africa 42 and Central Kalimantan, Indonesia 43 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indigenous Lands at Risk: Identifying Global Challenges and Opportunities in the Face of Industrial Development

Kennedy¹,

Fariss²,

Oakleaf³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Indigenous Peoples’ (IP) stewardship has helped conserve biodiversity and maintain healthy ecosystems worldwide. Among many challenges to this role are mounting pressures from industrial development. By assessing the current ecological condition of Indigenous lands with their potential for future industrial development, we show that the ecological integrity of 22% (8.6 million km2) of Indigenous lands is highly threatened across five continents and 37 countries. We further find that the risk to Indigenous lands is greatest across West and Central Africa because of their high ecological threat and greater obstacles for Indigenous Peoples to realize self-determined and culturally-responsive development outcomes. Using a novel national-level framework that examines the security of IP’ rights and authority over their lands, their capacity to engage in decision-making, and support for facilitating sustainable development, we highlight potential challenges and opportunities for strategic investments and interventions to help IP safeguard their futures and rights, as well as the ecological integrity of their lands.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indigenous Lands at Risk: Identifying Global Challenges and Opportunities in the Face of Industrial Development

Kennedy¹,

Fariss²,

Oakleaf³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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“…Fourth, the production of biofuels is linked to the food crisis, as land destined for growing crops is converted into producing biofuels (Aha & Ayitey, 2017) and the energy crisis due to the inescapable demand for clean energy alternatives (Renzaho et al, 2017). The convergence of these crises in 2007-2008 not only sparked concerns for national food and energy security in various countries, including the Gulf States, but it motivated many SSA countries to secure FDI in agriculture, as they view LASLA as a critical pathway to development (Karlsson, 2014).…”

Section: The Consequences Of Lasla On Sustainability and Development ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Why is sub‐Saharan Africa an attractive destination to foreign land grabbers? Evidence from country characteristics

Nkansah-Dwamena

Yoon

2022

African Development Review

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Investments in large-scale land acquisition by foreigners, also referred to as land grabbing, are crucial to sub-Saharan Africa's development. Land acquisition investments have attracted considerable attention in global development circles due to their potential positive (e.g., technology transfer, employment creation, infrastructure improvement, and global market integration) and negative (e.g., environmental degradation, food insecurity, displacement, and loss of livelihoods) impacts. The factors making land investments attractive to foreign investors are unclear. This paper examines country characteristics associated with land acquisitions in 20 sub-Saharan African countries to provoke evidence-based discussion. The paper estimates regression models of land acquisitions using country-level data from 2010 to 2019 on demographic and economic conditions, natural resources, business practices and governance. The results reveal that the availability of land and water, corruption, days required to start a business, government effectiveness, cost of business startup and political stability are critical determinants of land acquisition investments in sub-Saharan Africa. The paper recommends that African governments should: (1) strengthen regulatory frameworks on foreign direct investment in land; (2) scrutinize investors' business models, technical experience and knowledge of local culture; (3) undertake rigorous environmental and social impact assessments (ESIA) to weigh the long-term costbenefits of LASLA projects; and (4) conduct transparent contract negotiations, taking political and economic power imbalances between parties into consideration.

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“…Similarly, recent research on land grabs for jatropha for biofuels in Ghana demonstrated that farmers disinvested in agriculture when they witnessed and felt threatened by land grabs in surrounding areas, even if their land was not directly involved. 22 With lack of interest and investment in farming their land, food insecurity in the region increased (Aha and Ayitey 2017).…”

Section: Scaling Up and Sustainabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Sequestration (BECCS): The Distracting Injustice of an Infeasible and Unlikely Technofix

Smolker

2019

Development

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In their constant attempt to avoid responsibility, polluters promote technological innovation as the 'true' solution to global warming. This article, through the case of BECCS, illustrates all that is faulty with such reasoning, and how indulging such diversion from addressing the environmental crisis with science-backed solutions violates human rights and the SDGs, and evidently, deepens the crisis and postpones the responsibility of making inconvenient changes to future generations.

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Biofuels and the Hazards of Land Grabbing: Tenure (In)security and Indigenous Farmers’ Investment Decisions in Ghana

Cited by 8 publications

References 0 publications

Indigenous Lands at Risk: Identifying Global Challenges and Opportunities in the Face of Industrial Development

Indigenous Lands at Risk: Identifying Global Challenges and Opportunities in the Face of Industrial Development

Why is sub‐Saharan Africa an attractive destination to foreign land grabbers? Evidence from country characteristics

Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Sequestration (BECCS): The Distracting Injustice of an Infeasible and Unlikely Technofix

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