webmaster
© Copyright DEHAI-Eritrea OnLine, 1993-2010
All rights reserved
From: Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de
Date: Wed Sep 08 2010 - 23:05:40 EDT
See the Report: Africa Up For Grabs click here
Land grabs, biofuel demand raise global food-security risk
Global Research, September 8, 2010 Deutsche Welle A new report says
Europe's growing demand for biofuels increases the risk of conflict
over land and impairs food security. The authors even warn of a
potential global crisis.
The report, compiled by international environmental pressure group
Friends of the Earth (FoE), says that the amount of land being taken
in Africa to feed Europe's increasing demand for biofuels is
"underestimated and out of control." An area of arable land the size
of Denmark around five million hectares has been acquired by
foreign companies to produce biofuels, mainly for the European
market, the report says.
The FoE warns that even more land will be required for biofuels if
the European Union is to reach its target of 10 percent of transport
fuels from renewable sources by 2020.
Africans have protested unfair land deals
"Our research shows that Europe's demand for biofuels is a major
driver of land grabbing in Africa," Adrian Bebb, food and agriculture
campaigner for FoE Europe, told Deutsche Welle. "Local communities
are facing increasing hunger and food insecurity just so Europe can
fuel its cars."
The pressure on local communities, regional and national governments
in the 11 African nations investigated in the report's research could
lead to internal conflicts and potentially spread across borders as
arable land, forests and natural vegetation are cleared for biofuel
production.
Internal African unrest building over land rights
According to a controversial leaked World Bank report on land grabs
which it has so far refused to release publicly local communities
are being bypassed in consultations between land-acquiring companies
and African governments, a situation which has already led to
conflicts over land rights. The report, cited by FoE, claims that
there have been protests in Tanzania, Madagascar and Ghana following
land grabs by foreign companies.
Food shortages could lead to rioting, experts fear
"The expansion of biofuels on our continent is transforming forests
and natural vegetation into fuel crops, taking away food-growing
farmland from communities, and creating conflicts with local people
over land ownership," said Mariann Bassey, food and agriculture
coordinator for Environmental Rights Action/FoE Nigeria.
"The aim of the investments taking place at the moment is to satisfy
the food or agrofuel needs of foreign governments; some Gulf States,
Asian countries and also EU-countries, and in the case of private
companies, the hope for lucrative gains by speculating with land or
trading agricultural goods," Alexa Emundts from MISEREOR, a German
development organization affiliated with the International
Cooperation for Development and Solidarity Alliance, told Deutsche
Welle.
"Most of the investments are done by a broad range of private
companies, but there are also joint ventures with governments or
purely government-lead investments from a number of Gulf States,
China, India and others."
The large scale investments in African land carry "a high risk for
the local population's food security," Edmundts added...
...Food shortages and conflicts a possible consequence
With increasing demand for biofuel production reducing areas of
arable land around the world, experts fear that the ultimate impact
on food security will be global rather than local. Food shortages
bring their own threat of instability and unrest. Resources and
commodities used in food production will become increasingly sought
after, and regions providing these will become more important and
protected.
"When the food prices spiked in 2008-2009, we saw serious riots and
the governments of Haiti and Madagascar fell," said FoE's Adrian
Bebb. "Over the coming years we will see an increase in competition
for land and natural resources, especially to meet the demand for
biofuels ... Biofuels also need a lot of water and this could be a
sticking point between nations."...
----[This List to be used for Eritrea Related News Only]----