Land policies are of fundamental importance to sustainable growth, good governance, and the well-being of, and the economic opportunities open to, both rural and urban dwellers - particularly the poor. To this end, research on land policy, and analysis of interventions related to the subject, have long been of interest to the Bank's Research Department, and other academic, and civil society institutions.

TAKEN FROM WEBSITE INTRODUCTION: This study by GTZ on behalf of BMZ about FDI in land highlights dramatic increase in land concessions, based on data collected in two provinces for an inventory, which GTZ conducted as no official data on land concessions is available. The Lao PDR is a small land-locked country in South-East Asia with a total area of 236,800 m2 with over 80% mountainous surface. It is estimated that all together concessoins for 2-3 million hectar land were granted, representing 13% of Lao PDR's total land area.

This BMZ comissioned report by GTZ highlights the dramatic increase of land concessions and rising inequality in land distribution in Cambodia. Parts of the study refer to an earlier report by Uch Sophas “Foreign Direct Investment in Land for Biomass Production in Cambodia”. The South-East Asian country Cambodia has an area of 181,035 km2. The Government of Cambodia is adapting its activities to attract FDI, which has lead to a steady increase especially since 2007.

Estados, transnacionales, inversionistas locales, capitales mixtos, cada vez es mayor el número de actores interesados en comprar tierras. La carrera por la adquisición de este recurso tiene para cada uno de ellos un doble atractivo, por un lado acumular un bien escaso y por otro comenzar a capitalizar el crecimiento económico e institucional de los países. Como la cantidad de tierra de un país es limitada, por cada uno de ellos que adquiere este recurso hay otro que la pierde.

Wars and their aftermaths frequently transform land use and ownership, reshaping 'post-conflict' landscapes through new boundaries, population movements, land reforms and conditions of access. Within a global context of controversial land concessions and farmland acquisitions, we bring to light the continued salience of historical memories of war in the ways land conflicts are being negotiated in Laos.

La Coalición Internacional para el Acceso a la Tierra (ILC) estima necesario un sistema de monitoreo eficaz y justo sobre la conversión y fragmentación de los ecosistemas de pastizales, para un mejor conocimiento de las tendencias y de sus implicaciones – así como para mejorar la toma de decisiones informadas y participativas sobre el uso de la tierra y la inversión en los pastizales, y sus ventajas y desventajas.

This article reviews recent research on contemporary transformations of global land governance. It shows how changes in global governance have facilitated and responded to radical revalorizations of land, together driving the intensified competition and struggles over land observed in many other contributions to this special issue. The rules in place to govern land use are shifting from ‘territorial’ toward ‘flow-centered’ arrangements, the latter referring to governance that targets particular flows of resources or goods, such as certification of agricultural or wood products.

Durante 2012, se hizo más evidente que nunca que los países en vías de desarrollo afrontarían una de las decisiones más críticas que se les ha presentado. ¿Tomarían el camino hacia un desarrollo fundamentado en la inclusión, el respeto de los derechos de sus ciudadanos y el estado de derecho? ¿O buscarían un atajo para alcanzar el desarrollo, que conllevara la entrega de las tierras comunitarias y los recursos naturales a inversionistas internacionales y élites nacionales?

La felicidad en cientos de rostros campesinos el pasado 19 de octubre, podía ser comparada con la sensación que da la bendición de una cosecha abundante, ya que la lucha de más de dos años y medio, obtenía su primer fruto: ¡tierras para las primeras 140 familias desalojadas en el Valle del Polochic, en marzo de 2011!

ABSTRACTED FROM THE OBJECTIVES SECTION: These Voluntary Guidelines seek to improve governance of tenure of land*, fisheries and forests. They seek to do so for the benefit of all, with an emphasis on vulnerable and marginalized people, with the goals of food security and progressive realization of the right to adequate food, poverty eradication, sustainable livelihoods, social stability, housing security, rural development, environmental protection and sustainable social and economic development.

Foreign investment in agriculture and extractive industries is increasing pressures on land and natural resources. This handbook is about how to use law to make foreign investment work for sustainable development. It aims to provide a rigorous yet accessible analysis of the law regulating foreign investment in low and middle-income countries – what this law is, how it works, and how to use it most effectively.