Alarming reports from the Rights and Resources Initiative show that an escalation in land acquisition and deforestation is underway. The cause underpinning this land grab is increasing demand for crop land upon which to grow food and biofuel. The consequence of this deforestation will be an acceleration of the destruction of nature and humanity’s home.
RRI, supported by UK’s Department of International Development (DfID) and its equivalents in Sweden and Switzerland, reports that only half of the extra land needed by 2030 at current consumption patterns is available without eating into tropical forested areas and combined with poor progress in reforming land ownership and governance in developing countries underpins accelerating deforestation. As they note “It will mean more deforestation, more conflict, more carbon emissions, more climate change and less prosperity for everyone.”
Optimists will say that bioengineering and genetic engineering will enhance crop yields. The reality is that this is unlikely because significant advances have already been made over the past 50 years and natural limits are being reached. In fact, a more sanguine scenario awaits as soils have been depleted by industrial over-cultivation and weeds and pests have mutated to become more resistant to chemicals. This is compounded by the risks of terminal mutation introduced by GMOs.
See BBC report here and RRI report Seeing People Through the Trees: Scaling Up Efforts to Advance Rights and Address Poverty, Conflict and Climate Change here.
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