Marginal Lands in SE Asia: Merits of Margins

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Marginal Lands in SE Asia Merits of Margins?

• Denyse Snelder and Gerard Persoon
• CoCooN Matchmaking Workshop
• 29-30 September 2009, Hanoi, Vietnam

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Terms Definitions of Marginal Lands

• Terms
• different terms for marginal lands idle,
  resource poor, low potential, fragile,
  vulnerable, abandoned, inaccessible, degraded or
  waste land.
• Terms used interchangeably and without clear
  definition
• land of poor quality with regard to agricultural
  use, and unsuitable for housing and other uses
  (OECD 1997)

Marginal lands in North East Luzon, Philipppines
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Fragile land
Source Wiegmann et al 2008
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Geographic Distribution and Areal Extension

• Different definitions ? different estimates for
  total area of marginal
• 1. Estimates often based on abandoned crop land
  scientific basis for land use policies ?
• Total marginal (abandoned) land gt 500 million
  ha (Asia 100 Mha, Latin America 100 Mha,
  Africa 300 Mha Houghton et al )
• 2. CGIAR (1997) estimates based on its current
  use in agriculture (excl. land of low/zero use
  forest/wood land, arid land)
• Total marginal agricultural land 1.8 billion ha
  (world)-gt
• Sub-Saharan Africa (545 million ha)
• Asia (550 million ha), and
• Central and South America (400 million ha)

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Difficulties of Definition FormulationRelated
to the dynamics over time and the many qualifiers
used to classify land as marginal

• Land may be marginal for crops but well suited
  to grazing
• But may be changed by investment
• Relative to roads, harbours and cities and thus
  may be changed
• Related to land use history, population density,
  but changed in future
• Depends on political priorities, new perspectives
• New technologies give new potentials

• land use
• biophysical characteristics
• access / location
• size of land holding
• institutional and policy aspects
• technology development

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Peat Forests for Carbon Sequestration?
OR through new technologies
of land reclamation
Highly Productive Oil Palm TO Estates?
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Other examples

• Imperata grassland
• Lands with Inaccessible mineral deposits
• Mangrove forests
• Isolated, inaccessible areas
• Lands with acid soils, weed-infested areas

• Watershed protection /biofuel production
• New exploitation technologies
• Coastal zone protection (e.g., lessen Tsunami
  effects!)
• Get new functions related to security, population
  policies directed at national integration
• Resistant crop varieties (e.g., GMOs)

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Global Distribution of Lands with Marginal Soils
Source FAO terrastat data base (www.fao.org, FAO
2000)
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From Marginal Land to Marginal People Regional
distribution of people living on marginal /
fragile land in 2000
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Redefining Marginal Lands Conflicts in the
Margins?

• Conflicts with locals
• Land that might appear marginal to one person may
  be a vital resource to another!
• Land grabbing for large-scale plantations-gt
  communities may loose land
• Grasslands often communal land, grazing areas,
  medicine, roofing materials
• Marginal lands often farmed by women for family
  food (FAO 2008)
• Undermining of customary institutions
• Conflicts with nature conservation
• Protected areas on geologically rich
  undergrounds mining allowed
• Rapid extension of biofuel production areas

Marginal areas, Pena Blanca (Cagayan, N Luzon)
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From Conflicts to Cooperation how?

• Determine best style of conflict management
• Confrontation
• Negotiation
• Mitigation and compensation
• Co-management
• Inclusion of third parties (e.g., CDM, environm.
  services)
• Deal with complexities of rights and
  responsibilities
• Principles of justice local communities vs.
  state
• Past vs. future

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Source FAO/CGIAR 1997
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Source FAO terrastat data base (www.fao.org, FAO
2000)
Note 22 of the 36 countries with over 40 soils
without major constraints lie in Europe
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Rural population and rural poor on different land
types (in million)
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Geographic Distribution and Areal Extension

• Different definitions ? different estimates for
  total area of marginal
• 1. Estimates often based on abandoned crop land
  scientific basis for biofuel policies ?
• Total marginal (abandoned) land gt 500 million
  ha (Asia 100 Mha, Latin America 100 Mha,
  Africa 300 Mha Houghton et al )
• 2. CGIAR (1997) estimates based on its current
  use in agriculture (excl. land of low/zero use
  forest/wood land, arid land)
• Total marginal agricultural land 1.8 billion ha
  (world)-gt
• Sub-Saharan Africa (545 million ha)
• Asia (550 million ha), and
• Central and South America (400 million ha)

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• On a regional scale, erosion hazard and
  shallowness are extensive in all seven regions.
  In addition, the dominant regional constraints
  are as follows
• Sub-Saharan Africa Aluminium toxicity, low cation
  exchange capacity
• North Africa and Near East Salinity and sodicity
• Asia and the Pacific Aluminium toxicity,
  hydromorphy, salinity and sodicity
• North Asia, east of Urals Hydromorphy, salinity
  and sodicity
• South and Central America Aluminium toxicity,
  high phosphorus fixation,hydromorphy
• North America Hydromorphy, aluminium toxicity
• Europe Hydromorphy

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From Marginal Land to Marginal People Regional
distribution of people living on marginal /
fragile land in 2000
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From Marginal Land to Marginal People

• Land that might appear marginal to one person may
  be a vital resource to another!
• idle, marginal lands grasslands?
• Grasslands often communal land, grazing areas,
  medicine, roofing materials, biodiversity
• Land grabbing for large-scale plantations-gt
  communities may loose land
• Marginal lands often farmed by women for family
  food (FAO 2008)
• Undermining of customary institutions
• Contracts with investors, labour conditions