Presentation short abstract

This study shows how the EUDR reshapes large-scale land acquisitions in South America by promoting the conversion of land deforested before 2020 into commodity crops such as soybean, while causing indirect deforestation by displacing livestock into forested areas.

Presentation long abstract

Deforestation has been the focus of increasing attention due to its contribution to climate change, biodiversity loss, displacement of Indigenous communities, and harm to local livelihoods. In South America, agricultural expansion, particularly for livestock and commodity crops such as soybean, has been the main driver of deforestation in recent decades. The European Union has recently introduced regulatory instruments to reduce deforestation in commodity supply chains. These guidelines are set out in Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 of the European Parliament and of the Council, known as the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). The EUDR prohibits the import of agricultural products linked to land deforested after 2020. This study analyzes how this regulation reconfigures investing decisions regarding large-scale land acquisitions (LSLAs) and may result in greening deforestation and even new cases of land grabbing and green grabbing. We base our analysis on case studies selected from the Land Matrix database (www.landmatrix.org). We identified LSLAs deforested before 2020 for livestock that have been converted to commercial agriculture by firms directly or indirectly linked to exports to the EU. These investments displace livestock into land recently deforested or even covered with forests, generating indirect deforestation. At the same time, some investors are redirecting their production towards markets with less stringent environmental requirements in order to avoid European restrictions. This article provides evidence that global policies designed to curb deforestation may unintentionally contribute to local or regional processes that end up greening deforestation.