Tropentag, September 10 - 12, 2025, Bonn "Reconciling land system changes with planetary health"

Historical land use change and statecraft in South America: Shaping agroecological transitions

¹Leibniz Centre for Agric. Landscape Res. (ZALF), Germany
²WWF · Mediterranean Marine Initiative, Italy
³Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Thaer-Inst. of Agricultural and Horticultural Sci., Germany

Abstract

Grasslands and savannahs, though vital to global ecology and food production, often remain overlooked compared to other ecosystems. These biomes cover approximately 40% of the planet’s land surface and constitute more than 70% of agricultural and livestock areas, making them especially vulnerable to accelerated land conversion and degradation. Argentina, Colombia, and Paraguay serve as case studies for understanding governance models influencing sustainability transitions due to their shared socio-cultural, economic, and environmental characteristics. This study explores how national governance structures shape the transformation of food systems and whether they enable or hinder adoption of agroecological practices. By analysing these cases, we reveal how historical legacies continue to structure current land-use patterns and condition agroecological transitions. We employ historical institutional analysis and the concept of Statecraft as an analytical lens to examine governance evolution. We investigate how state institutions have either constrained or supported radical changes at the local level through formal policies and political strategies. Special attention is paid to how land reforms have arrived in historical waves that mirror geopolitical, economic, and ideological shifts. We highlight the dynamic interplay between national governance structures and community-based decision-making processes. Our findings underscore the importance of addressing institutional legacies, governance frameworks, and historical land-use trajectories that influence and often constrain sustainable transitions. In these countries, land reforms and agricultural policies — whether through redistributive efforts, frontier expansion, or state-led colonisation — have historically intensified pressure on savannahs and grasslands, favouring extractive and unsustainable models. While public policy can serve as a powerful tool to reinforce, scale up, and facilitate adoption of both traditional and innovative agroecological practices, these efforts must contend with paradigms prioritising short-term productivity over long-term ecological resilience. Argentina’s agroindustrial expansion occurred without significant land reform, Paraguay pursued uneven redistribution, and Colombia's land use was shaped by colonisation and armed conflict; yet across all three countries, agricultural frontiers advanced at the expense of native grasslands and savannahs. Recognising these historical dynamics is crucial for designing governance frameworks supporting transformative, sustainable changes in grassland and savannah landscapes.

Keywords: Governance models, historical institutional analysis, public policies, South America

Contact Address: Carla Baldivieso, Leibniz Centre for Agric. Landscape Res. (ZALF), Müncheberg, Germany, e-mail: Carla-Rene.BaldiviesoSorucozalf.de