Accumulation by development: The key role of poverty reduction narratives for resource capture in rural Cambodia

Indigenous shifting agriculture has been criticized for its negative effects on forest carbon stocks and mitigation policies have consequently fostered different forest management approaches. This has caused land disputes with indigenous populations in countries of the South, who have lost access to livelihood resources, finding themselves forced to c

Does the Social Metabolism Drive Environmental Conflicts?

Increases in social metabolism drive environmental conflicts. This proposition, frequently found in the literature on ecological distribution conflicts, has stimulated much research at the interface of ecological economics and political ecology. However, under which conditions is this proposition valid and useful? This chapter briefly reviews the theoretical foundations underlying this proposition and discusses further socio-metabolic properties that may shape the dynamics of environmental conflicts. Furthermore, the chapter relates the socio-metabolic perspective to other 'grand explanations' of environmental conflicts, particularly, to the expansion of capitalism under a neo-Marxist perspective. The chapter argues that a socio-metabolic perspective has much to offer to understand some of the structural drivers of environmental conflicts. A socio-metabolic perspective links local environmental conflicts to the resource use profiles of economies as well as to global production and consumption systems, no matter whether these are capitalist societies, resource-intensive planning economies, autocratic monarchies, or illicit resource extractions occurring in the shadow economy. The chapter closes by recalling the need to integrate biophysical and social dynamics in a balanced manner for the nuanced study of environmental conflicts

New challenges in rural development : a multi-scale inquiry into emerging issues, posed by the global land rush /

En los últimos años están surgiendo nuevos retos asociados al desarrollo rural, catalizados por una fiebre mundial por la adquisición de tierras a gran escala. Este fenómeno, conocido como 'acaparamiento de tierras', está generando controversia en cuanto a si el interés creciente en estas adquisiciones podría beneficiar a las comunidades rurales empobrecidas del campesinado mundial, o al contrario, incidirá en su marginalización. Esta tesis doctoral presenta una recopilación de cuatro artículos que abordan aspectos relevantes para entender mejor los debates, impulsores de cambio, características e impactos de la creciente demanda de tierras y sus implicaciones para el desarrollo rural. Entender los controvertidos debates asociados a los potenciales riesgos y oportunidades del acaparamiento de tierras para las comunidades rurales empobrecidas, nos plantea la siguiente pregunta: ¿qué tipo de pobreza queremos reducir? Como problema que se manifiesta a múltiples escalas y dimensiones, la pobreza es un fenómeno complejo. Será importante tenerlo en cuenta, pues, en estos debates, ya que la adquisición de tierras a gran escala puede aliviar una determinada dimensión de la pobreza, a la vez que estar amenazando otras. Así, el primer artículo aborda los retos epistemológicos y teóricos que surgen al conceptualizar multidimensionalmente la pobreza. En el segundo artículo se investigan los impulsores de cambio del acaparamiento de tierras a nivel global, para poder entender mejor sus implicaciones para el desarrollo rural global y las trayectorias futuras que de él pueden derivarse. Desde una perspectiva biofísica, el artículo argumenta que el acaparamiento de tierras apunta a ser un fenómeno persistente y no efímero: la competición y la lucha por el acceso a la tierra son susceptibles de incrementar en el futuro, provocando nuevos retos para el desarrollo rural a nivel global. El tercer artículo ilustra, para el caso de Camboya, cómo pueden revelarse en la práctica el acaparamiento de tierras y distintas visiones conflictivas sobre el desarrollo rural y la reducción de la pobreza. Basándose en una investigación empírica a nivel nacional, se abordan las características, limitaciones e impactos de las adquisiciones de tierra a gran escala y se ilustra el conflicto fundamental entre los intereses gubernamentales y las realidades locales del desarrollo rural camboyano. Finalmente, el último artículo discute la capacidad del pequeño campesinado para gestionar el decreciente acceso a la tierra a nivel local; una cuestión que seguramente requerirá más atención en el futuro, con la evolución del acaparamiento de tierras. Se presentan así algunas conclusiones sobre el cambio rural global y la emergencia de nuevas ruralidades, caracterizadas por nuevas instituciones y actividades económicas. En resumen, esta tesis combina investigación teórica y empírica con el fin de discutir bajo diversas perspectivas los nuevos retos emergentes del desarrollo rural. Para ello, se destacan las complejas cuestiones, asociadas a la existencia de múltiples escalas y dimensiones de los sistemas rurales, a las que se enfrentan los esfuerzos en torno al desarrollo rural. Asimismo, se presentan también algunas lecciones y conclusiones sobre los debates, impulsores de cambio, impactos y consecuencias futuras del acaparamiento de tierras sobre el desarrollo rural.Within the recent years, new challenges in rural development have appeared, triggered by the emergence of a global rush for land resources. This phenomenon, well-known under the term 'land grabbing', has produced controversial debates surrounding the question whether rising global interest in farmland and related large-scale land deals may benefit poor rural communities across countries of the global South, or whether it may drive the marginalization of the global peasantry. This doctoral dissertation presents a compilation of four research articles that address important issues, relevant to better understand debates, drivers, characteristics and impacts regarding the global land rush and its implications for rural development. In order to understand the controversial debates on potential risks and opportunities of the land rush to poor rural communities, it becomes necessary to deal with the question: what kind of poverty is aimed to be reduced? Poverty is a complex phenomenon, appearing across multiple dimensions and scales. This matters to the debates, as large-scale land deals may help to alleviate poverty in one dimension, while jeopardizing at the same time other poverty dimensions. The first article thus addresses on an epistemological and theoretical level challenges for development efforts that result from a multidimensional conceptualization of poverty. The second article investigates underlying driving forces of the land rush on a global level, in order to better understand future trajectories and implications for global rural development. Taking a biophysical perspective, the article argues that the land rush is likely not an ephemeral phenomenon, but rather might be persistent. Increasing competition and struggles over access to land might increase in the future, thus provoking new challenges for rural development on a global level. The third article illustrates for the case of Cambodia, how both the land rush and conflicting visions of rural development and poverty reduction may unfold in practice. Based on an empirical investigation at the national level, characteristics, constraints and impacts of large-scale land deals are addressed and a fundamental conflict between governmental interests and local realities of rural development is illustrated. Finally, the last article discusses how small-farmers at the village and household level may be able to deal with declining access to land. This is an issue which likely will require more attention in the future, when the land rush further unfolds. Conclusions on global rural change and the emergence of new ruralities, characterized by new economic activities and institutions, are presented. In summary, this dissertation combines general theoretical and empirical case study research in Cambodia, in order to discuss from a variety of different perspectives emerging challenges in rural development. While the dissertation points out the complex issues that rural development studies and efforts may face due to the existence of multiple scales and dimensions of rural systems, also some simple lessons and clear conclusions are presented regarding debates, drivers, impacts and future consequences of the global land rush on rural development

Ecological distribution conflicts as forces for sustainability

Can ecological distribution conflicts turn into forces for sustainability? This overview paper addresses in a systematic conceptual manner the question of why, through whom, how, and when conflicts over the use of the environment may take an active role in shaping transitions toward sustainability. It presents a conceptual framework that schematically maps out the linkages between (a) patterns of (unsustainable) social metabolism, (b) the emergence of ecological distribution conflicts, (c) the rise of environmental justice movements, and (d) their potential contributions for sustainability transitions. The ways how these four processes can influence each other are multi-faceted and often not a foretold story. Yet, ecological distribution conflicts can have an important role for sustainability, because they relentlessly bring to light conflicting values over the environment as well as unsustainable resource uses affecting people and the planet. Environmental justice movements, born out of such conflicts, become key actors in politicizing such unsustainable resource uses, but moreover, they take sometimes also radical actions to stop them. By drawing on creative forms of mobilizations and diverse repertoires of action to effectively reduce unsustainabilities, they can turn from ‘victims’ of environmental injustices into ‘warriors’ for sustainability. But when will improvements in sustainability be lasting? By looking at the overall dynamics between the four processes, we aim to foster a more systematic understanding of the dynamics and roles of ecological distribution conflicts within sustainability processes

A socio-metabolic perspective on environmental justice and degrowth movements

Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu MdM-2015-0552Degrowth and environmental justice movements share overarching aims of sustainability and justice and pursue them through radical social change and resistances. Both movements are diverse and comprised of groups that originate and operate in different contexts. The ever-growing metabolism of the world economy presents an obstacle to both movements' aims, while a socio-metabolic perspective unveils very different characteristics and contexts of the specific struggles. The strategies of many environmental justice movements located at the frontiers of resource extraction are employed to resist coerced socio-ecological transition towards industrialization and to protect more customary ways of life. Movements for the degrowth of industrial metabolism tend to push for socio-ecological transformation, pursuing new ways of life and reimagined social relations in alternative societies. The overarching aims and obstacles of these movements may be shared, but their struggles, strategies and required actions are not the same. Alliances should seek advantages from this plurality of perspectives and positions within their struggles, while acknowledging potential tensions arising from these different contexts

Accumulation by development: The key role of poverty reduction narratives for resource capture in rural Cambodia

Indigenous shifting agriculture has been criticized for its negative effects on forest carbon stocks and mitigation policies have consequently fostered different forest management approaches. This has caused land disputes with indigenous populations in countries of the South, who have lost access to livelihood resources, finding themselves forced to change their traditional ways of life. This paper argues that such mitigation policies may not only fuel conflict, but further can be ineffective regarding their mitigation potential, because they build upon reductionist carbon assessments. A socio-ecological long-term and landscape perspective is needed that considers not only climate footprints of altered land use systems, but also of changing livelihood systems, which so far have not been studied at all. From that perspective, commonly employed plot-based assessments of terrestrial carbon stocks are unable to track the spatial and temporal dynamics of greenhouse gas flows of the wider socio-ecological systems of which they form part of. Significant spillover and feedback loops can however be expected across land use systems, livelihood systems and socio-economic sectors: permanent, area-efficient agriculture - able to spare out land for forest regrowth - is achieved by subsidizing land with carbon-intensive fertilizers, transport and machinery. Former carbon-neutral incomes may be increasingly substituted by fossil-carbon dependent incomes, due to people’s engagement in the new industries or dependency on carbon offset payments generated by polluting industries. While according to socio-ecological transition studies, these newly created climate footprints are expected to increase in the long-term, carbon sequestration through recovering forests is decreasing and limited over time, potentially rendering such mitigation policies ineffective over the long term. The paper offers conceptual considerations to address and overcome reductionist carbon accounts, in order to prevent conflict arising from inadequate and contentious mitigation policies

Linkages of dietary patterns, international trade and land use : the case of olive oil in the European Union

Within only two decades olive oil developed from a niche product which could hardly be found in food stores outside the producing regions towards an integrated component in the diets of industrial countries. This paper discusses the impacts of the promotion of the "healthy Mediterranean diet" on land use and agro-ecosystems in the producing countries. It examines the dynamics of olive oil production, trade and consumption in the EU15 in the period 1972 to 2003 and the links between dietary patterns, trade and land use. It analyses the underlying socio-economic driving forces behind the increasing spatial disconnect between production and consumption of olive oil in the EU15 and in particular in Spain, the world largest producer during the last three decades. In the observed period olive oil consumption increased 16 fold in the non-producing EU15 countries. In the geographically limited producing regions like Spain, the 5 fold increase in export production was associated with the rapid industrialization of olive production, the conversion of vast Mediterranean landscapes to olive monocultures and a range of environmental pressures. High amounts of subsidies of the European Common Agricultural Policy and feedback loops within production and consumption systems were driving the transformation of the olive oil system. Our analysis indicates the process of change was not immediately driven by increases in demand for olive oil in non-producing countries, but rather by the institutional setting of the European Union and by concerted political interventions

Self-sufficiency or surplus : Conflicting local and national rural development goals in Cambodia

Cambodia is currently experiencing profound processes of rural change, driven by an emerging trend of large-scale land deals. This article discusses potential future pathways by analyzing two contrasting visions and realities of land use: the aim of the governmental elites to foster surplus-producing rural areas for overall economic growth, employment creation and ultimately poverty reduction, and the attempts of smallholders to maintain and create livelihoods based on largely self-sufficient rural systems. Based on the MuSIASEM approach, the rural economy of Cambodia and different rural system types are analyzed by looking at their metabolic pattern in terms of land use, human activity, and produced and consumed flows. The analysis shows that the pathways of self-sufficiency and surplus production are largely not compatible in the long term. Cambodia's rural labor force is expected to increase enormously over the next decades, while available land for the smallholder sector has become scarce due to the granting of Economic Land Concessions (ELC). Consequently, acceleration in rural-urban migration may be expected, accompanied by a transition from self-employed smallholders to employment-dependent laborers. If the ELC system achieves to turn the reserved land into viable agribusinesses, it might enable added value creation; however, it does not bring substantial amounts of employment opportunities to rural areas. On the contrary, ELC have high opportunity costs in terms of rural livelihoods based on smallholder land uses and thus drive the marginalization of Cambodian smallholders

Existeix un moviment global de justícia ambiental?

Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu MdM-2015-0552Conceptes com racisme ambiental, epidemiologia popular, ecologisme dels pobres i indígenes, biopirateria o sobirania alimentària, entre molts altres, serveixen per descriure i participar en els conflictes ecològic-distributius. Són conflictes relacionats amb l'extracció i el transport de recursos i la disposició dels residus que es donen a tot el món, tal com mostren l'Atles de Justícia Ambiental i altres inventaris, els quals també presenten exemples de paralització de projectes i desenvolupament d'altres alternatives.Conceptos como racismo ambiental, epidemiología popular, ecologismo de los pobres e indígenas, biopiratería o soberanía alimentaria, entre muchos otros, sirven para describir y participar en los conflictos ecológico-distributivos. Son conflictos relacionados con la extracción y el transporte de recursos y la disposición de los residuos que se dan en todo el mundo, tal como muestran el Atlas de Justicia Ambiental y otros inventarios, los cuales también presentan ejemplos de paralización de proyectos y desarrollo de otras alternativas.Concepts such as environmental racism, popular epidemiology, environmentalism of the poor and the indigenous, biopiracy or food sovereignty, and many others, serve to describe and participate in ecological distribution conflicts. They are conflicts related to the extraction and transport of resources and disposal of waste occurring worldwide, as shown in the Atlas of Environmental Justice and other inventories, which also present examples of stopping projects and developing alternatives