Land Use Change and Trends
The political ecology playbook for ecosystem restoration: Principles for effective, equitable, and transformative landscapesBackgroundGlobally, land degradation and forest loss continue despite an increasing number of projects working towards ecological restoration. The authors of this paper argue that one of the reasons that restoration projects have been unable to achieve their goals and ensure ecological resilience is that they ignore the underlying issues of political inequity and injustice that drive ecological degradation. Open access copy available |
Potential for low-cost carbon removal through tropical reforestationbackgroundThe UNFCCC COP21 (UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties) created the Paris Agreement in 2015, which pledges to “limit global warming to well below 2, preferably 1.5 °C.” For this to happen, we must both reduce how much carbon dioxide (CO2) that is released and find ways to capture CO2 that is already in the atmosphere. This study explores two ways this might happen using Nature-based Solutions: tree planting in the form of reforestation and afforestation, and the prevention of deforestation. Open access copy available |
Anything but a story foretold: multiple politics of resistance to the agrarian extractivist project in GuatemalaBackgroundOpen access copy available |
Conservation, green/blue grabbing, and accumulation by dispossession in TanzaniaBackgroundA number of scholars point out that current processes surrounding the control of land and other resources lead to the loss of land for some alongside the accumulation of wealth by others. According to them, recent forms of neoliberal conservation enable capital accumulation by powerful groups through shifts in ownership and access over common land away from communities. The authors of this paper sought to compare wildlife and coastal conservation projects in Tanzania to understand the similarities and differences in the types of dispossessions and accumulation that occur in these two types of ecosystems through conservation programs. Available with subscription or purchase |
Oil palm expansion without enclosure: smallholders and environmental narrativesBackgroundOil palm expansion has been shown to cause deforestation and reduce land and resource availability for communities located near plantations. It has also been shown to have mixed impacts on local livelihoods. Some studies point to socially different impacts, with small and marginal farmers less likely to benefit from oil palm expansion while others find significant increases in incomes. This paper seeks to understand the factors that make smallholder farmers participate in oil palm expansion, and outline the varied narratives that are used by the proponents of oil palm expansion. Available with subscription or purchase |
Inverting the moral economy: the case of land acquisitions for forest plantations in TanzaniaBackgroundAvailable with subscription or purchase |
Jatropha plantations for biodiesel in Tamil Nadu, India: Viability, livelihood trade-offs, and latent conflictBackgroundAvailable with subscription or purchase |
Resistance, acquiescence or incorporation? An introduction to land grabbing and political reactions ‘from below'BackgroundWhile several research studies have examined the processes surrounding rural land transformation(s), and, in particular, the accumulation of public land by private entities, there are few studies that examine the responses of locally impacted people to these processes. This paper introduces a set of articles which discuss the varied reactions that local people have to the acquisition of public land and the ways in which they are formed and expressed. Open access copy available |
Carbon colonialism and the new land grab: Plantation forestry in Uganda and its livelihood impactBackgroundThere has been a global increase in private sector investments towards activities plantations for clean fuel or climate change mitigation that are justified on the basis of their environmentally beneficial outcomes. This paper examines the discourses and mechanisms that enable the greater privatization of land and other resources using green development as a justification. Available with subscription or purchase |
Forest plantations and climate change discourses: New powers of ‘green’ grabbing in CambodiaBackgroundForestry-based emissions reduction programs are increasingly being presented as a solution to climate change. Technical experts argue that keeping existing forests standing and creating new forests can help remove carbon emissions. However, several researchers point to a gap between the stated objectives of these programs and their biophysical and unintended socioeconomic outcomes. For example, some negative socioeconomic outcomes may include the displacement of local communities or the loss of customary common land. This paper studies the socioeconomic impacts of Cambodia’s first large scale reforestation project for climate change mitigation. Available with subscription or purchase |
