Water grabbing - panel discussion at ZEF

"Grabbing water? Large-scale investments in agriculture and perspectives for regulation"

Large-scale investments in agriculture have provoked heated debates in the past years - but effects on water resources are often neglected in this context. This Water Lecture sought to answer the question if such investments provoke "water grabbing" and discussed perspectives for regulation and sustainable agriculture.

Discussants:

Franziska Hollmann, Director Agribusiness, DEG (Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft)

Michael Brüntrup, Agricultural Economist, German Development Institute

Waltina Scheumann, Department Environmental Policy and Management of Natural Resources, German Development Institute

Facilitator: Wolfram Laube, Senior Researcher at the Center for Development Research (ZEF)

The Water Lecture started with a presentation of the study "Large-scale land acquisitions and water rights" by Waltina Scheumann.

Franziska Hollmann and Michael Brüntrup then discussed opportunities and challenges for the regulation of international investments in agriculture.

About the Water Lecture

The Water Lecture series is a joint series organized by the Center for Development Research (ZEF), the Hydrological Research Group at the Geography Department (University of Bonn), the Global Water System Project (GWSP), the UN-Water Decade Programme on Capacity Development (UNW-DPC) and the United Nations University (UNU) in Bonn.