Constructing Sustainable Biofuels: Governance of the Emerging Biofuel Economy

Bailis, Robert; Baka, Jennifer

doi:10.1080/00045608.2011.568867

Cited by 94 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…More recently, a burgeoning literature examining the social implications of biofuels production has emerged. This literature has focused on the emergence of global bioenergy networks and flows (Mol 2007), community and environmental impacts of bioenergy production in industrialized contexts (Gillon 2010;Selfa 2010;Bain and Selfa 2013), ownership structure of energy facilities (Bailey et al 2011;Bain 2011), large-scale ''land grabs'' and ''green grabs'' related to expansion of biofuels crops, especially 'flex' crops like palm oil and sugarcane that are both food and fuels crops in the Global South (Borras et al 2011(Borras et al , 2010Borras and Franco 2012;Selfa et al 2014), governance of bioenergy commodity chains (Bailis and Baka 2011;Elgert 2012;German et al 2011;Levidow 2013;Ponte 2014;Silva-Castenada 2012), and most recently, the livelihood and equity implications of changing land uses to biofuels crop production, including issues of food security, access to land, and income (Hunsberger et al 2013;Hodbod and Tomei 2013;German et al 2011).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interrogating Social Sustainability in the Biofuels Sector in Latin America: Tensions Between Global Standards and Local Experiences in Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia

Selfa

Bain

Moreno

et al. 2015

Environmental Management

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Across the Americas, biofuels production systems are diverse due to geographic conditions, historical patterns of land tenure, different land use patterns, government policy frameworks, and relations between the national state and civil society, all of which shape the role that biofuels play in individual nations. Although many national governments throughout the Americas continue to incentivize growth of the biofuels industry, one key challenge for biofuels sustainability has been concern about its social impacts. In this article, we discuss some of the key social issues and tensions related to the recent expansion of biofuels production in Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil. We argue that a process of "simplification" of ecological and cultural diversity has aided the expansion of the biofuels frontier in these countries, but is also undermining their viability. We consider the ability of governments and non-state actors in multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSI) to address social and environmental concerns that affect rural livelihoods as a result of biofuels expansion. We analyze the tensions between global sustainability standards, national level policies for biofuels development, and local level impacts and visions of sustainability. We find that both government and MSI efforts to address sustainability concerns have limited impact, and recommend greater incorporation of local needs and expertise to improve governance.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interrogating Social Sustainability in the Biofuels Sector in Latin America: Tensions Between Global Standards and Local Experiences in Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia

Selfa

Bain

Moreno

et al. 2015

Environmental Management

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“…In this context, biofuels connect to very deep challenges of democratic arrangements and the accountability of novel rule-setting bodies [28]. Thus from a variety of angles, biofuels appear connected to a wide array of problems and they can be approached from any one of these positions.…”

Section: #8 Symptoms Of Other Problemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biofuels: from a win–win solution to a wicked problem?

Fast

McCormick

2012

Biofuels

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“…In agriculture, concentration in global commodity chains has facilitated industry-led efforts to introduce new forms of governance, such as production and sustainability standards [43,44]. Other examples come from NGO and multi-stakeholder certification schemes for organic, fair, local, slow, etc.…”

Section: From Territory To Flowmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global land governance: from territory to flow?

Sikor

Auld

Bebbington

et al. 2013

Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability

134

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This article reviews recent research on contemporary transformations of global land governance. It shows how changes in global governance have facilitated and responded to radical revalorizations of land, together driving the intensified competition and struggles over land observed in many other contributions to this special issue. The rules in place to govern land use are shifting from "territorial" towards "flow-centered" arrangements, the latter referring to governance that targets particular flows of resources or goods, such as certification of agricultural or wood products. The intensifying competition over land coupled with shifts towards flow-centered governance has generated land uses involving new forms of social exclusion, inequity and ecological simplification.

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Constructing Sustainable Biofuels: Governance of the Emerging Biofuel Economy

Cited by 94 publications

References 31 publications

Interrogating Social Sustainability in the Biofuels Sector in Latin America: Tensions Between Global Standards and Local Experiences in Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia

Interrogating Social Sustainability in the Biofuels Sector in Latin America: Tensions Between Global Standards and Local Experiences in Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia

Biofuels: from a win–win solution to a wicked problem?

Global land governance: from territory to flow?

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