Implications of Land-Grabbing on the Ecological Balance of Brazil

Luca Coscieme, Valentina Niccolucci, Biagio F. Giannetti, Federico M. Pulselli, Nadia Marchettini and Paul C. Sutton
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Luca Coscieme: Department of Zoology, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College, D02 PN40 Dublin 2, Ireland
Valentina Niccolucci: Ecodynamics Group, Department of Physical Sciences, Earth and Environment, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy
Biagio F. Giannetti: Post-Graduation Program in Production Engineering, Paulista University, São Paulo 04026-002, Brazil
Federico M. Pulselli: Ecodynamics Group, Department of Physical Sciences, Earth and Environment, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy
Nadia Marchettini: Ecodynamics Group, Department of Physical Sciences, Earth and Environment, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy
Paul C. Sutton: Department of Geography and the Environment, University of Denver, Denver, CO 80210, USA

Resources, 2018, vol. 7, issue 3, 1-10

Abstract: In the global free-market, natural resource scarcity and opportunities for preserving the local environment are fostering international purchasing of large extensions of land, mainly for agricultural use. These land transactions often involve land cover change (i.e., through deforestation) or a shift from extensive or traditional to intensive agricultural practices. In Brazil, the land appropriation by foreign investors (i.e., the so-called “land-grabbing”) is affecting natural capital availability for local communities to a different extent in the very different territorial entities. At the same time, Brazilian investors are purchasing land in other countries. Ecological footprint accounting is one appropriate lens that can be employed to visualize the aggregated effect of natural capital appropriation and use. The aim of this paper is to provide a first estimate on the effect of land-grabbing on the ecological balance of Brazil through calculating the biocapacity embodied in purchased lands in the different states of Brazil. The results show that Brazil is losing between 9 to 9.3 million global hectares (on a gross basis, or a net total of 7.7 to 8.6 million of global hectares) of its biocapacity due to land-grabbing, when considering respectively a “cropland to cropland” (i.e., no land-cover change) and a “total deforestation” scenario. This represents a minimum estimate, highlighting the need for further land-grabbing data collection at the subnational scale. This analysis can be replicated for other countries of the world, adjusting their ecological balance by considering the biocapacity embodied in international transactions of land.

Keywords: land-grabbing; Brazil; biocapacity; ecological footprint; decoupling; natural capital; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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