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Accounting for "land-grabbing" from a biocapacity viewpoint
Luca Coscieme1, Federico M Pulselli2, Valentina Niccolucci2
1School of Natural Sciences, Department of Zoology, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland.
The Science of the Total Environment
|September 19, 2015
Summary
High-income countries with ecological deficits worsen their environmental impact through land grabbing, transferring biocapacity from low-income nations. This global economic dynamic hinders sustainable development and equitable resource distribution.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Ecological Economics
- Sustainability Studies
Background:
- Ecological Footprint and biocapacity assessments classify nations as creditors or debtors.
- National-scale, annual assessments reveal ecological asset appropriation versus natural endowments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the relationship between GDP per capita and Ecological Footprint balance.
- To investigate the role of high-GDP countries in global biocapacity transfers and land grabbing.
- To estimate the scale of biocapacity transfer and its implications for global sustainability.
Main Methods:
- Comparative analysis of Ecological Footprint and biocapacity data.
- Statistical correlation between GDP per capita and footprint balance.
- Estimation of biocapacity transfer in land-grabbing scenarios.
Main Results:
- GDP per capita above a threshold correlates with worsening footprint balance in ecological debtors.
- This correlation is absent in ecological creditor nations.
- High-GDP countries drive biocapacity transfer via land grabbing, primarily from low-GDP nations.
Conclusions:
- Global economic power concentration and market dynamics facilitate inequitable biocapacity transfer.
- Land grabbing transfers ecological assets from low to high GDP countries, irrespective of need.
- Understanding biocapacity transfer is crucial for global sustainability and land use policy.
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