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But we should bear in mind that these figures show only part of the global trend. The Land Matrix does not inventory all land deals worldwide. We do not have a comprehensive record of deals covering less than 200 hectares, or of domestic investments. Meanwhile, countries like Indonesia and Brazil have big agribusiness sectors that drive deforestation and monoculture cropping domestically. And all the many smaller deals add up to large areas too. Besides, we don’t record a deal unless we have at least an investor’s name and some information about the size and approximate location of the land.
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“Our consumption patterns promote monoculture cropping”
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Speaking of biodiversity and carbon emissions: the international community is preparing once again to negotiate ways of halting the loss of species and curbing the climate crisis. But don’t the goals of the environmental conventions ring hollow as long as we don’t end the system of huge monocultures that large-scale land deals rely on?
Our report calls, among other things, for a halt to land deals causing further destruction of the last natural forests. However, the production system is one thing; the extent is another. Our consumption patterns promote monoculture cropping. Soy, for example, is used primarily for meat production. If we don’t reduce our meat consumption, there will be no slowing the expansion of soy crops. Another example is palm oil. Half of what is exported to the EU goes into biofuels – so that we can drive around in cars. That’s where we urgently need a rethink. And the examples also show that the biodiversity and climate conventions must be considered in conjunction with land issues.
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“More than 85 per cent of land deals concern areas of high biodiversity”
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The report also addresses an issue that is being considered for the first time in the context of land deals: The risk of further pandemics. Is that not overly alarmist?
Our analyses have shown that over 85 per cent of land deals concern areas of medium and high biodiversity, especially tropical forests. One third of these areas are near or even within protected areas. The connection between changes in land use and the risk of new diseases has long been pointed out. Human penetration into increasingly remote areas increases the likelihood of people coming into contact with pathogens.
Remote areas and tropical forests have long been inhabited by humans.
As long as these are isolated populations, disease outbreaks usually remain local. Looking at individual land deals, the risk may not seem very great. But taken together, land deals have indeed become a risk factor for pandemics. Moreover, studies have shown that certain hosts of zoonotic pathogens, such as rodents, passerine birds, or bats, are more common in monocultures than in semi-natural areas. This, along with the trade, consumption, and farming of certain wild animals, increases the risk of zoonotic diseases. If we consider the immense cost of the Covid-19 pandemic, investing in a policy that better protects the world’s forests would be money well spent. But to date such systemic risks have been given far too little attention when it comes to acquisitions of land in the Global South.
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