Increasing demand for water, energy and food related to population growth and urbanization, as well as changing lifestyles and diets, has spurred a new global rush for agricultural land and water resources. This phenomenon has been referred to as land grabbing and mainly rests on three inter-related causes: the food crisis and the need to secure reliable supply of cheap food for water and land scarce countries (such as the Gulf States) by outsourcing food production; the need to diversify energy sources and to boost biofuel production; the financial crisis which has exacerbated speculation on food and land as a result of huge amounts of capital seeking for more secure and profitable investments than traditional markets.
Although the acquisition of farming land per se is not a new phenomenon, the character, scale, pace, orientation, and key drivers of the current wave is a distinct unprecedented phenomenon, which seems to be closely tied to major shifts in power and production characterizing the new global political economy. Europe, and Italy in particular, plays a major role as an investor in foreign land, which has been raising major concerns about the claimed sustainability of EU energy and food policies and targets.
These topics will be addressed by “Water, Energy and Food Security and the Challenge of Large-Scale Land Acquisitions” , the seminar series organized by the University IUAV of Venice and the Venice International University, from October 2014 to January 2015, aiming at discussing the issues and challenges related to this rush for land by hosting international scholars and experts. These themes are also relevant for Expò 2015  that will be held in Milan in 2015.
Waiting for the aforementioned events, Climate Science and Policy explored the main drivers and implications of land transactions around the world with Marta Antonelli, Research Fellow at IUAV University.
The full interview by Laura Caciagli is available on Climate Science and Policy, the CMCC web magazine. Go to the full article