Fuelling Exclusion? The Biofuels Boom and Poor People's Access to Land

Abstract

"This study aims to open up discussion of the way in which biofuels are likely to impact on access to land. Many observers and activists have raised concerns that the spread of biofuels may result in loss of land access for poorer rural people in localities that produce biofuel crops. However, since liquid biofuels are a relatively new phenomenon in most countries (with exceptions such as Brazil and Zimbabwe), there is as yet little empirical evidence. This study aims to pave the way for future empirical research on how the biofuels boom affects land access, by raising key issues, presenting a basic conceptual framework and presenting a suite of (primarily anecdotal) evidence from around the world."