Competition for water induced by transnational land acquisitions for agriculture
Date
2022-01-26
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Nature Communications
Abstract
The ongoing agrarian transition from smallholder farming to large-scale commercial agriculture promoted by transnational large-scale land acquisitions (LSLAs) often aims to increase crop yields through the expansion of irrigation. LSLAs are playing an increasingly prominent role in this transition. Yet it remains unknown whether foreign LSLAs by agribusinesses target areas based on specific hydrological conditions and whether these investments compete with the water needs of existing local users. Here we combine process-based crop and hydrological modelling, agricultural statistics, and georeferenced information on individual transnational LSLAs to evaluate emergence of water scarcity associated with LSLAs. While conditions of blue water scarcity already existed prior to land acquisitions, these deals substantially exacerbate blue water scarcity through both the adoption of water-intensive crops and the expansion of irrigated cultivation. These effects lead to new rival water uses in 105 of the 160 studied LSLAs (67% of the acquired land). Combined with our findings that investors target land with preferential access to surface and groundwater resources to support irrigation, this suggests that LSLAs often appropriate water resources to the detriment of local users.
Description
This article was originally published in Nature Communications. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-28077-2. © The Author(s) 2022
Keywords
environmental impact, hydrology, clean water and sanitation
Citation
Chiarelli, D.D., D’Odorico, P., Müller, M.F. et al. Competition for water induced by transnational land acquisitions for agriculture. Nat Commun 13, 505 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-28077-2