EU's biofuels target driving land grabs in Africa, says group
The EuropeanUnion’s renewable fuels target is driving land grabs in Africa that
threaten the environment and local communities, claims a new report
from Friends of the Earth (FOE).
target=”_blank”>Africa: up for grabs - The scale and impact of
land grabbing for agrofuels [PDF] reviews a series of land
deals signed across more than a dozen countries in recent years. It
finds that private European companies are active participants in
the deals, which sometimes are made without environmental impact
assessments or consent from local communities.
“Growing European and international demand for agrofuels as a
transport fuel is creating market demand for agrofuels,” the report
states. “While African politicians may promise that agrofuels will
bring locally sourced energy supplies to their countries, the
reality is that most of the foreign companies are developing
agrofuels to sell on the international market. The EU’s mandatory
target for increasing agrofuels is a clear driver to the land
grabbing in Africa.”
The report warns that the land deals could increase food prices and
exacerbate food scarcity in countries already suffering from food
insecurity.
“The competition for land and the competition for staple food
crops such as cassava and sweet sorghum for agrofuels is likely to
push up food and land prices,” says the report.
“This competition for agricultural land raises fundamental
questions about food sovereignty and government priorities. Should
a country that is dependent on food aid (such as Kenya or Ethiopia)
be selling fertile land to developers to grow fuel?”
In light of these concerns, FOE urges the E.U. to dump its biofuels
target, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by mandating
that 20 percent of liquid transport fuels come from “renewable”
sources by 2020.
The environmental group calls on African governments to
“immediately suspend further land acquisitions and investments in
agrofuels” and implement safeguards -including mandated
environmental impact assessments and legally-binding and
enforceable obligations on investors - to protect communities from
exploitation.
The report
target=”_blank”>Africa: up for grabs - The scale and impact of
land grabbing for agrofuels is available for
download.
Source: news.mongabay.com
