Bioenergy and land tenure

Oct 2008

Biomass has been used for energy since the early days of humanity. Today, 52% of the population of the developing world, including 575 million people in sub-Saharan Africa, rely on traditional biomass, particularly fuelwood and charcoal, for their household energy (IEA, 2006). But recent years have witnessed a massive and growing expansion of a particular form of biomass-based energy: liquid biofuels. Although bioethanol and biodiesel still account for a very small share of global energy consumption in Western countries – the equivalent of 1% of total consumption of fuel for road transport – that share is growing fast (IEA, 2006). In addition, the wider implications of biofuels constituting even a small share of global energy consumption - for instance, in terms of land use - may be very significant.
As the industry grows, so does the debate over the merits and demerits of biofuels. Contentious issues include the ability of biofuels to mitigate climate change effectively, the role of biofuels in recent food price hikes, and the threat of biofuel production to natural ecosystems. A number of major reviews in recent years (e.g. Kojima and Johnson, 2005; Worldwatch Institute, 2006; UN-Energy, 2007) have provided detailed and balanced analyses of the likely impacts of biofuels on local and global economies, society and environment. Food security is highlighted as a major concern.
Food security has multiple dimensions – availability, access, stability and utilisation – and a key determinant of all of these is how access to land is distributed and controlled within society (FAO, 2007). Land means much more than provision of food, however. Land also has major historical, political, cultural and spiritual significance. But the more detailed reviews have so far tended to discuss land only briefly, and largely in terms of food security.
This study aims to open up discussion of the way in which biofuels are likely to impact on access to land. Many observers and activists have raised concerns that the spread of biofuels may result in loss of land access for poorer rural people in localities that produce biofuel crops. However, since liquid biofuels are a relatively new phenomenon in most countries (with exceptions such as Brazil and Zimbabwe), there is as yet little empirical evidence. This study aims to pave the way for future empirical research on how the biofuels boom affects land access, by raising key issues, presenting a basic conceptual framework and presenting a suite of (primarily anecdotal rather than empirical) evidence from around the world.
The recent nature of the biofuels debate, coupled with the scarcity of empirical research on the linkages between the spread of biofuels and land access, raise challenges for a desk-based study on this issue. Owing to these circumstances, we relied on internet-based grey literature, on newspaper articles and on personal communications (telephone calls and face-to-face conversations) to a greater extent than in many research efforts. As a result, the findings of this study can only be considered as preliminary. The aim here is not to provide definitive answers, but to pave the way for future empirical research, through developing a conceptual framework for such research and through taking stock of data available in the literature. Preliminary experience however does provide some pointers for policy and practice by governments and the private sector, which are outlined in the concluding chapter.
The impacts of the spread of biofuels on land access for poorer groups are likely to be similar to those generated by the spread of other cash crops in the past. Indeed, some biofuels feedstocks, such as palm oil and soy beans, are already major cash crops for fodder, food and cosmetics. The key difference with the current biofuels boom is that biofuels lie at the interface between the agriculture and energy sectors. Therefore, not only are biofuel crops likely to be much more highly regulated than other agricultural commodities, government consumption targets are creating an artificial demand that is unprecedented among cash crops, and which is likely to persist beyond the usual length of a “commodity boom” cycle. Nonetheless, commonalities enable us to learn from recent and historical experiences with rapid expansion of commodity crops.
As part of its paving the way to more research and debate on these issues, the study aims to promote greater exchange between biofuels and land tenure specialists. In order to do this, it seeks to be accessible for both sets of readers: those working on biofuels who have no specific background in land access issues, and those working on land access who have no specific expertise on biofuels. As a result, some of the conceptual and introductory parts may appear elementary to the relevant specialist. The report is organised as follows. The first chapter provides a short overview of trends in – and drivers of – biofuels production. Chapter 2 maps out the anticipated links between the spread of biofuel crops and land access. Chapter 3 discusses available evidence concerning these links, while the final Chapter 4 draws some conclusions and suggests ways forward.

By: L. Cotula, N. Dyer and S. Vermeulen (IIED)

 
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