An assessment of the impact of land acquisitions for biofuels on local livelihoods' in Zambia.

Biofuels are considered a mitigation tool, as an energy alternative to the global conventional oil reliance. Moreover, biofuels are seen as aiding rural development priorities for developing countries by increasing agricultural investment through foreign direct investment. Driven by international blending mandates, large agricultural investments for biofuels have been made in sub-Saharan Africa. This study examined the biofuels industry in Zambia using the Sustainable Livelihoods theoretical framework in order to investigate economic, social and environmental indicators of resilience and vulnerability for local people in the face of such agri-investments. A desktop study, case studies and interviews were used to assess the impacts. The study found that a lack of strong policy governance and appropriate support for the industry in Zambia is a challenge facing the development of a successful biofuels sector. For rural communities who are dependent on land held under community tenure, the conversion of communal land to commercial agro-fuel crops through land transfers to investors has led to loss of access to land necessary for subsistence and increased competition over natural resources. Biofuel investments based on employing local people through outgrower schemes have had no real economic benefits. When land was directly transferred, it decreased the land available to landholders and had implications for food security, livelihood diversification and welfare. In negotiations over land between investors and local elites, local landholders were excluded from voicing their needs, and impacts related to benefit sharing, conflict and gender disparity were felt. Land demarcation led to loss of access to marginal lands, important for the cultivation of crops by women, and forests - crucial for supplementing livelihoods with forest products such as ifishimu.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Year dc:date.issued

2014

Author dc:creator

• Petrik, Dania

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Madhlopa, Amos

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9142

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/9142