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The global
biofuels boom risks harming poor people in poor countries
by forcing them off land they depend on, says a report
published today, June 2, by the International Institute
for Environment and Development (IIED) and the United
Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.
But the
report adds that biofuels are not all bad, and shows that
their production can also allow poor groups to increase
their access to land and improve their livelihoods if the
right policies are in place.
The report
comes as world leaders meeting in Rome this week hear
calls for new guidelines on biofuels, which some have
blamed for diverting resources from food production. It
points out that all biofuels are not equal and recommends
policies that would increase the social benefits biofuels
production can bring to the rural poor in developing
countries.
“Despite
the highly polarized debate, biofuels are not all good or
bad,” says lead author Lorenzo Cotula of IIED. “Biofuels
can either help or harm the world’s poor depending on the
choice of crop and cropping system, the business model,
and the local context and policies.”
Biofuel
production is set to expand in the coming years despite
growing concerns about the role of biofuels in mitigating
climate change, promoting deforestation and taking land
formerly used to produce food.
The report
shows that large-scale biofuel production is affecting
poor people’s access to land in Africa (e.g. Mozambique,
Tanzania), Asia and the Pacific (India, Indonesia, Papua
New Guinea) and Latin America (e.g. Colombia).
Elsewhere,
however, small-scale farmers have been able to increase
their access to land to seize opportunities that the
biofuels boom brings.
“Biofuels
can benefit poor producers but only if they have secure
land rights,” says Cotula. “In many places the rush to
produce biofuels takes place where local land rights are
insecure, which results in poorer people losing out. What
are often lacking are both adequate land laws and the
local people’s capacity to claim and secure their rights.”
The report
shows that large- and small-scale biofuels producers can
co-exist, if governments and the private sector have the
right policies and practices.
The
findings have direct implications not only for national-
and local-tenure systems in producer countries, but also
for international processes, such as a post-Kyoto regime,
to address climate change, for certification schemes and
for policies in importing countries. (IEED) | 
