Land grabbing is the acquisition of farm land from companies and governments on a transnational scale, with a particular interest in the global South. Countries which are wealthy but are food/fuel insecure have been searching for routes to address their insecurities. The scramble for land in Africa is becoming a noted commodity.
Saudi Arabia has a particular interest in land grabbing due to poor water resources for agricultural purposes within their own country. This creates the the possibility of food and water insecurities on a continues basis. Saudi Arabia has acquired millions of hectares of land overseas to produce food in countries such as Ethiopia and the Philippines.
Although it may seem, the value is within the land itself, it is actually for the water resource. Countries, such as India, are following suit after years of unsustainable irrigation systems which have depleted aquifers within a sub-continent!
The reality is that a third of Africa is already a water-scare environment and climate change is likely to induce further water shortages, This reduces access to water for already a water deprived society. Land deals in Africa are generally large scale, industrial agricultural operations that consume copious amounts of water that may not necessary been in supply.
Water deprived countries generally share water resources with other countries, such as the River Nile. Further upstream, countries have a greater ability to govern the resource (dams), whereas, down stream the resource often becomes polluted and dwindling in supply. An example is the River Jordan which has a dry mouth into the Dead Sea due to over abstraction. The Dead Sea is receding in size and causing fresh water aquifers to deplete along with it.
Will turmoil already set in the Middle East and North Africa worsen within the next decade due to water shortages.......hmmm........I wonder.....however...I don't want to jinx it.
Saudi Arabia has a particular interest in land grabbing due to poor water resources for agricultural purposes within their own country. This creates the the possibility of food and water insecurities on a continues basis. Saudi Arabia has acquired millions of hectares of land overseas to produce food in countries such as Ethiopia and the Philippines. Although it may seem, the value is within the land itself, it is actually for the water resource. Countries, such as India, are following suit after years of unsustainable irrigation systems which have depleted aquifers within a sub-continent!
The reality is that a third of Africa is already a water-scare environment and climate change is likely to induce further water shortages, This reduces access to water for already a water deprived society. Land deals in Africa are generally large scale, industrial agricultural operations that consume copious amounts of water that may not necessary been in supply.
The question I bid to ask from this.....is......is this the beginning of the water wars? It is predicted that by 2030 half of the human population will be water scare. UN studies project that 30 nations will be water scarce in 2025, up from 20 in 1990. Eighteen of them are in the Middle East and North Africa, including Egypt, Israel, Somalia, Libya and Yemen. Once a country does not have enough of its own resource it seeks elsewhere for the supply. Acquisition of transnational water supply may still be civil ..... however.......how long will this continue for?
Water deprived countries generally share water resources with other countries, such as the River Nile. Further upstream, countries have a greater ability to govern the resource (dams), whereas, down stream the resource often becomes polluted and dwindling in supply. An example is the River Jordan which has a dry mouth into the Dead Sea due to over abstraction. The Dead Sea is receding in size and causing fresh water aquifers to deplete along with it.
Will turmoil already set in the Middle East and North Africa worsen within the next decade due to water shortages.......hmmm........I wonder.....however...I don't want to jinx it.
