Global land and water grabbing

Global land and water grabbing Maria Cristina Rullia,1 , Antonio Savioria , and Paolo D’Odoricob a Department of Hydraulics, Roadways, Environmental and Surveying Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan I-20133, Italy; and b Department of Environmental... More

Global land and water grabbing Maria Cristina Rullia,1 , Antonio Savioria , and Paolo D’Odoricob a Department of Hydraulics, Roadways, Environmental and Surveying Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan I-20133, Italy; and b Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904 Edited by B. L. Turner, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, and approved November 27, 2012 (received for review July 30, 2012) Societal pressure on the global land and freshwater resources is increasing as a result of the rising food demand by the growing human population, dietary changes, and the enhancement of biofuel production induced by the rising oil prices and recent changes in United States and European Union bioethanol policies. Many countries and corporations have started to acquire relatively inexpensive and productive agricultural land located in foreign countries, as evidenced by the dramatic increase in the number of transnational land deals between 2005 and 200 Less