Skip to main content

LUP Student Papers

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Miljöeffekter av jordbruksinvesteringar i Etiopien

Dahlqvist, Lovisa LU (2013) In Examensarbete INES NGEK01 20131
Dept of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science
Abstract
Demand for agricultural land has increased dramatically in recent years. The drivers behind this increase are the world’s growing population, the decrease in productivity in former fertile agricultural land, the increased demand for bioenergy production and the rising food prices. These factors have led to an increasing amount of companies and nations that have made investments in agricultural land outside their own country’s boarders. At the same time nations in need for development have made plans to attract those investments. Many of those countries are located in Africa and the continent is also the destination to a majority of the agricultural investments.
This study is geographically limited to the African country Ethiopia.... (More)
Demand for agricultural land has increased dramatically in recent years. The drivers behind this increase are the world’s growing population, the decrease in productivity in former fertile agricultural land, the increased demand for bioenergy production and the rising food prices. These factors have led to an increasing amount of companies and nations that have made investments in agricultural land outside their own country’s boarders. At the same time nations in need for development have made plans to attract those investments. Many of those countries are located in Africa and the continent is also the destination to a majority of the agricultural investments.
This study is geographically limited to the African country Ethiopia. Ethiopia is in big need for development and the government sees investments in agriculture as a way to
Accomplish this. Ethiopia’s land rights allow the government to locate land to investors,
Irrespective the current use. But the government’s strategy has not entirely led to positive outcomes. Both social and environmental negative effects have been observed as the result of investor’s activities. This study concentrates on the environmental effects that have been related to investors’ activities.
By studying the published literature it can be concluded that activities connected to
agriculture investments have led to environmental effects in Ethiopia. The activities found are expansion of agricultural land and conversion from small--‐scale to commercial agriculture. These activities have resulted in the environmental effects
deforestation and decreased natural vegetation, decreased habitat for the wild life, increase in usage of irrigation and an increased use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
Two consequences, which the majority of these effects can lead to, are loss of biodiversity and amplified soil erosion. The consequences can become both hard and
expensive to fix in the future and affect people in the local population.
To reduce those environmental effects and its consequences in the future the country needs to make interventions. Environmental assessment analyses before the approval of the investment have to become a routine as well as a harder control while the project is active. This together with clearer contracts and harder sanctions if the investor does not follow those contracts will be necessary. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Sammanfattning
Efterfrågan på jordbruksmark har under senare år ökat dramatiskt. De huvudsakliga bakomliggande drivkrafterna till denna är jordens växande befolkning, produktivitetsminskning av tidigare fertil jordbruksmark, ökad efterfrågan på biobränsleproduktion samt de stigande matpriserna. Dessa faktorer har resulterat i att ett stort antal nationer och företag investerar i jordbruksmark utanför nationens egna gränser. Samtidigt utvecklar länder som är i behov av investeringar planer för att attrahera dessa. Många av dessa länder ligger i Afrika och det är likaså här som en koncentration av jordbruksinvesteringar har kunnat påvisas.
Denna studie är geografiskt avgränsad till det afrikanska landet Etiopien. Landet är i stort behov... (More)
Sammanfattning
Efterfrågan på jordbruksmark har under senare år ökat dramatiskt. De huvudsakliga bakomliggande drivkrafterna till denna är jordens växande befolkning, produktivitetsminskning av tidigare fertil jordbruksmark, ökad efterfrågan på biobränsleproduktion samt de stigande matpriserna. Dessa faktorer har resulterat i att ett stort antal nationer och företag investerar i jordbruksmark utanför nationens egna gränser. Samtidigt utvecklar länder som är i behov av investeringar planer för att attrahera dessa. Många av dessa länder ligger i Afrika och det är likaså här som en koncentration av jordbruksinvesteringar har kunnat påvisas.
Denna studie är geografiskt avgränsad till det afrikanska landet Etiopien. Landet är i stort behov av utveckling och ser dessa jordbruksinvesteringar som en chans att uppnå denna. Staten står som ägare på all jordbruksmark och är därmed de som ansvarar för jordbruksinvesteringar i landet. Dock har statens strategi inte enbart bidragit till positiva utkomster. Negativa sociala och miljömässiga effekter har båda påvisats vara ett resultat av investeringar inom jordbrukssektorn i landet. Denna studie koncentreras till de miljöeffekter vilka kan kopplas till jordbruksinvesterares aktiviteter.
Aktiviteterna expandering av jordbruksmark och konvertering från småskaligt till kommersiellt jordbruk är de av litteraturen påvisade aktiviteterna som resulterat i miljöeffekter i Etiopien. Miljöeffekterna är vidare avskogning och minskade naturlig vegetation, minskade habitat för djurlivet, ökad användning av konstbevattning samt ökad tillämpning av kemiska gödnings- och bekämpningsmedel. De konsekvenser som kan bli resultatet av majoriteten av dessa miljöeffekter är minskad biologisk mångfald samt försvårad jorderosion. Konsekvenserna kan i framtiden bli svåra och kostsamma att åtgärda samtidigt som det kan komma att påverka ett stort antal ur lokalbefolkningen i landet.
För att miljöeffekterna och dess konsekvenser ska minska i framtiden måste åtgärder vidtas. Miljökonsekvensanalyser måste bli rutin innan investeringen går igenom, men likaså måste hårdare kontroll införas under pågående aktivitet. Detta tillsammans med klarare avtal och hårdare påföljder om dessa inte följs av investeraren kommer vara nödvändigt. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Dahlqvist, Lovisa LU
supervisor
organization
course
NGEK01 20131
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
physical geography, environmental effects, land grab, Africa, Ethiopia, agricultural investment, naturgeografi, miljöeffekter, Etiopien, jordbruksinvestering, markrofferi, Afrika
publication/series
Examensarbete INES
report number
273
language
Swedish
id
3864095
date added to LUP
2013-06-24 12:21:47
date last changed
2013-06-24 12:21:47
@misc{3864095,
  abstract     = {{Demand for agricultural land has increased dramatically in recent years. The drivers behind this increase are the world’s growing population, the decrease in productivity in former fertile agricultural land, the increased demand for bioenergy production and the rising food prices. These factors have led to an increasing amount of companies and nations that have made investments in agricultural land outside their own country’s boarders. At the same time nations in need for development have made plans to attract those investments. Many of those countries are located in Africa and the continent is also the destination to a majority of the agricultural investments.
 This study is geographically limited to the African country Ethiopia. Ethiopia is in big need for development and the government sees investments in agriculture as a way to
Accomplish this. Ethiopia’s land rights allow the government to locate land to investors,
Irrespective the current use. But the government’s strategy has not entirely led to positive outcomes. Both social and environmental negative effects have been observed as the result of investor’s activities. This study concentrates on the environmental effects that have been related to investors’ activities.
 By studying the published literature it can be concluded that activities connected to
agriculture investments have led to environmental effects in Ethiopia. The activities found are expansion of agricultural land and conversion from small--‐scale to commercial agriculture. These activities have resulted in the environmental effects
deforestation and decreased natural vegetation, decreased habitat for the wild life, increase in usage of irrigation and an increased use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
Two consequences, which the majority of these effects can lead to, are loss of biodiversity and amplified soil erosion. The consequences can become both hard and
expensive to fix in the future and affect people in the local population. 
 To reduce those environmental effects and its consequences in the future the country needs to make interventions. Environmental assessment analyses before the approval of the investment have to become a routine as well as a harder control while the project is active. This together with clearer contracts and harder sanctions if the investor does not follow those contracts will be necessary.}},
  author       = {{Dahlqvist, Lovisa}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  series       = {{Examensarbete INES}},
  title        = {{Miljöeffekter av jordbruksinvesteringar i Etiopien}},
  year         = {{2013}},
}