New Terra Nullius Narratives and the Gentrification of Africa's "Empty Lands"

Geisler, Charles

doi:10.5195/jwsr.2012.484

Cited by 48 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Not only do national political economies matter but the actors embedded within those contexts significantly influence the shape of transnational governance mechanisms. As Geisler [33] points out, on the African continent African governments and elites subordinate African needs to offshore interests. For example, in Mozambique the production of biofuels has resulted in poorer groups losing access to the land on which they depend, with major negative effects not only on local food security but also on the economic, social and cultural dimensions of land use, in part because of the late implementation of planning and monitoring tools to ensure social sustainability [34].…”

Section: Importance Of Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Sustainability of Cellulosic Energy Cropping Systems

Flora

Curtiss

2014

Cellulosic Energy Cropping Systems

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Social sustainability is the capacity to create personal, social, political and economic environments that facilitate healthy human existence as part of the entire global ecosystem [1]. As cropping systems are changed to produce cellulosic energy crops, there will often be accompanying changes in land use, personal, group and community opportunities. Moving crops or cropland from food to fuel use means creation of new value chains that have implications not only for the individuals involved but also on the interactions among individuals within the surrounding communities. These changes will likely have differential impacts on human communities depending upon their magnitude and implementation strategy. Interactions among individuals, which are crucial for mutual support, will ultimately determine social sustainability and acceptance of these new systems. Incorporating cellulosic energy crops into traditional cropping systems faces many physical, economic, and environmental challenges, as outlined in other chapters. But perhaps an even more important challenge that is often overlooked is how these new systems are organized and operated. Paying attention to these social implications is crucial for increasing the sustainability of healthy social structures in ways that will encourage humans to embrace and act on the goal of having a sustainable, well-functioning planet.Social sustainability operates on many levels -the individual, the family, the community, ethnic and racial groups, politics, the economy, and local, national and international Cellulosic Energy Cropping Systems, First Edition. Edited by Douglas L. Karlen.

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Section: Importance Of Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Sustainability of Cellulosic Energy Cropping Systems

Flora

Curtiss

2014

Cellulosic Energy Cropping Systems

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“…Labelling land and labour as underdeveloped, uncivilised, un(der)cultivated, underpopulated and unowned is common practice: for five centuries securitising moves (invoking security needs to justify intervention have legitimised enclosure. Even Gulf States now refer to Africa's 'underpopulation' as an imperative for their investment (Geisler 2012).…”

Section: Strands In the Geopolitics Debate: A Grab Bag Of Theoriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Claiming (back) the land: the geopolitics of Egyptian and South African land and water grabs

Warner

Sebastian²,

Empinotti

2013

Ambient. soc.

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Snapped up for, in places, as little as fifty cents per hectare, African land is not necessarily brought into immediate food, forestry and mining production, and when it is, staples and biofuels dominate rather than export crops. Speculative hoarding, with a view to bringing the land into production when grain and other staples commodities markets are at their most profitable or selling the cheaply acquired land off again at enormous profit at a propitious future moment. The present contribution will see land grab, along with the virtual energy and virtual water that come with the land, as a phase in an ongoing geopolitical game for influence. Moreover, the present article considers the circumstances and options of two regionally hegemonic powers, Egypt and South Africa, claiming land and virtual water - or claiming it back.

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“…Profit is, of course, most often identified in the literature as the primary driver of large-scale land deals, and is particularly evident in the financialisation of agricultural land, resources, and products (Daniel and Mittal 2010;Fairbairn 2014). The perception of "idle" land available for intensive production, relatively low costs of land in host countries and supportive local and national governments eager to receive foreign investment all purportedly drive land and agriculture investments (Campanale 2013;Daniel 2012;Geisler 2012). Spikes in food prices have also prompted farmland investments.…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%

“…In just one year, from 2008 to 2009, conservative estimates suggest that the amount of land changing hands increased 15-fold over the annual average for the preceding 40 years (Arezki, Deininger, and Selod 2011;Deininger et al 2011). Indeed, among the most lucrative asset classes sought by investors today is so-called idle land (Geisler 2012), or what the World Bank calls "suitable land available" in countries characterised by a "high yield gap" (Deininger et al 2011, xviii, 28).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

A view from the top: examining elites in large-scale land deals

Keene

Walsh-Dilley

Wolford

et al. 2015

Canadian Journal of Development Studies / Revue canadienne d'ét

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A rise in large-scale land acquisitions has been documented in the popular media and scholarly literature, but with little attention to elite actors and their motivations. In this introduction to the special issue, we expand upon commonly held understandings of the drivers of global land acquisitions to explore the complex, dynamic and sometimes contradictory motivations of elites directly and indirectly involved in land deals. Focusing on the relationships between state actors, private investors, transnational corporations and scientific experts, we outline some principal ways in which elites with diverse interests shape land negotiations. We then introduce the articles in this issue and their contributions to the literature on land deals. RÉSUMÉ La croissance des acquisitions foncières de grande échelle a fait l'objet de nombreux articles tant dans les journaux que dans les publications universitaires. Cependant, les élites qui y jouent un rôle et leurs motifs ont très peu retenu l'attention. Dans cette introduction au numéro spécial, nous élargissons les interprétations usuelles des dynamiques de l'acquisition de terres à l'échelle mondiale en explorant les motifs complexes, dynamiques et souvent contradictoires des élites directement et indirectement impliquées dans les transactions foncières. En mettant l'accent sur les relations entre les acteurs étatiques, les investisseurs privés, les sociétés multinationales et les scientifiques, nous présentons certaines des principales avenues qu'empruntent les élites, qui ont des intérêts variés, pour orienter les négociations. Puis, nous présentons la contribution que les articles de ce numéro font à l'avancement des connaissances sur les transactions foncières.

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New Terra Nullius Narratives and the Gentrification of Africa's "Empty Lands"

Abstract: Extraterritorial ownership and control of sub-Saharan

Cited by 48 publications

References 41 publications

Social Sustainability of Cellulosic Energy Cropping Systems

Social Sustainability of Cellulosic Energy Cropping Systems

Claiming (back) the land: the geopolitics of Egyptian and South African land and water grabs

A view from the top: examining elites in large-scale land deals

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