"Land purchases by private companies accelerate tropical deforestation, data shows"

The buying up of tropical forest by private companies and foreign governments enhances deforestation in the majority of cases, new data confirms. Palm oil, wood fibre and tree plantations were the commodities most consistently linked with increased tropical deforestation over the past two decades, according to the study. The assessment, published in Nature Geosciences, explores the consequences of more than 80,000 land deals made from 2000 to 2018 across 15 countries in South America, sub-Saharan Africa and south-east Asia.

Its findings suggest that land acquisitions may lead to “steep trade-offs” between development and preserving forests for “the communities and ecosystems that depend on them”, the study’s lead author tells Carbon Brief...The new study examines how large-scale land acquisitions by private companies have affected tropical deforestation in the past two decades. “Large-scale” acquisitions are those that cover at least 200 hectares of land, according to the study authors. Deals can either be permanent or for a fixed period of time....The research also suggests that certain activities, including palm oil, wood fibre and tree production, were consistently associated with deforestation over the past two decades...

Overall, the findings suggest that the purchasing of tropical forests by private companies may come with “steep trade-offs”, says Davis: “While encouraging foreign investment may offer an option for increasing rural development in some countries, policymakers should be careful that such investments do not lead to steep tradeoffs for their country, including for forests and the communities and ecosystems that depend on them.”