The reliance of countries on ecosystem services acquired through large-scale land acquisition

Large-Scale Land Acquisitions (LSLAs) phenomenon recorded a spike after the 2007-2008 global financial crisis due to increased agricultural prices. LSLAs have previously been studied through the ecosystem services viewpoint, mapping the transfer of biocapacity economic value (BEV) across countries, especially from the Global South to Global North. In this paper, the international LSLA deals involving agricultural cropland included in Land Matrix database are considered with the involved monetary flow linking countries acquiring BEV to countries ceding it. This paper aims to investigate the BEV acquired by countries via LSLAs to reveal its relevance in satisfying the needs of such nations through comparison with the same countries’ domestic BEV. The same analysis is performed in terms of land area to investigate possible correlations among BEV and land area. The 2008 global financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic are captured by focusing on the years from 2000 to 2021. The results show that at the global level the BEV transferred via LSLAs covers a marginal relevance (below 0.2% of the domestic cropland BEV of the countries acquiring it), at the national level it can assume a major significance (up to 8620%). Historic trends reveal that such transfer is becoming more relevant for countries acquiring land via LSLAs. The large variety shown stimulates the discussion over the drivers that underpin the phenomenon and its trend over time, linking them with economic, demographic, geophysical and climatological factors. This work calls for policies to curb the reliance on BEV acquired via LSLA by seeking possible compromise across foreign and domestic environmental and socioeconomic aspects while ensuring to safeguard ecosystems and combat inequalities.