Large-Scale Land Acquisitions in Global Agricultural Supply Chains: Assessing the Challenges for Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence Laws

The study highlights the specific human rights and deforestation risks related to large-scale land acquisitions (LSLA) in three major global agricultural supply chains – palm oil, rubber, and sugarcane. Our data show that in all three supply chains, LSLAs in low- and middle-income countries play a key role in global production. While deforestation risks from LSLAs are limited in the sugarcane sector, there is a high risk of deforestation in the palm oil sector, particularly in Indonesia, where LSLAs have often taken place in previously abundant tropical forests. Human rights violations associated with LSLAs range from lack of consent from local communities to the displacement of communities, while the associated labour-intensive production models often lead to labour rights abuses. Emerging human rights and environmental due diligence (HREDD) laws could hold companies accountable for adverse impacts that are related to the practice of LSLAs. This paper highlights three major challenges to that: First, the lack of traceability in the reviewed supply chains poses a significant challenge, with variations between sectors in terms of already established traceability mechanisms and the complexity of the supply chains. In terms of traceability, rubber supply chains are especially problematic due to high levels of fragmentation. Second, the emerging importance of Asian countries as major import markets provides producers the option to incorporate inconspicuous LSLAs into supply chains serving Western markets, while high-risk LSLAs could potentially serve South–South trade or domestic markets. Third, in markets regulated by HREDD, LSLAs and their affiliated production systems might have a comparative advantage over smallholder farmers. The study underlines in particular the need for specific and effective due diligence laws that addresses human rights risks of LSLAs that are driven by weak land governance systems in producer countries.