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Backroom Bullying: The Role of the United States Government in the Herakles Farms’ Land Grab in Cameroon
Backroom Bullying: The Role of the United States Government in the Herakles Farms’ Land Grab in Cameroon, shows how bullying by US government officials may have played a critical role in the granting of nearly 20,000 ha by the Cameroonian government to the US-based firm Herakles Farms in 2013, instead of the cancellation of clearly flawed project.
Armed conflict and mining induced land-use transition in northern Nimba County, Liberia
This study determined pre-conflict, conflict and post-conflict land use change and analysed the impact of armed conflict on the intensity of land use change in northern Nimba County. Landsat images of 1986, 1990, 2002 and 2016 were classif
Taking On the Logging Pirates: Land Defenders in Papua New Guinea Speak Out!
A landmark report from the Oakland Institute, Taking On the Logging Pirates: Land Defenders in Papua New Guinea Speak Out! elevates the voices of communities across the country who are opposing the theft of their land, made possible by the corrupt practices of local officials and foreign companies.
Engineering Ethnic Conflict: The Toll of Ethiopia's Plantation Development on Suri People
Recently dubbed “Africa’s Lion” (in allusion to the discourse around “Asian Tigers”), Ethiopia is celebrated for its steady economic growth, including a growing number of millionaires compared to other African nations. However, as documented in previous research by the Oakland Institute, the Ethiopian government’s “development strategy,” is founded on its policy of leasing millions of hectares (ha) of land to foreign investors.
Land of the Unexpected: Natural Resource Conflict and Peace Building in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (PNG) has long been a site of analysis for exploring the links between natural resources and conflict, having been cited as an example in prominent studies of the “natural resource curse” and used as a source of learning in international debates on corporate social responsibility (CSR). Over the past decade, this scholarship has expanded to encompass conflict analysis and peace building.
The Implementation of the Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Land Law: a case study in Sagaing Region
This Case Study looks at the implementation of the Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Lands Management Law (VFV Law) in seven villages in Sagaing Region, to assess the practices on the ground and how the law impacts the land tenure security of smallholder farmers.
Driving Dispossession: The Global Push to “Unlock the Economic Potential of Land”
Driving Dispossession: The Global Push to “Unlock the Economic Potential of Land,” sounds the alarm on the unprecedented wave of privatization of natural resources that is underway around the world. Through six case studies — Ukraine, Zambia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, and Brazil — the report details the myriad ways by which governments — willingly or under the pressure of financial institutions and Western donor agencies — are putting more land into so-called “productive use” in the name of development.
Looking for oil, gas and mineral development in Ethiopia: Prospects and risks for the political settlement
The narrative of Ethiopia’s remarkable economic growth path under a developmental state model is that of a strong ruling coalition united behind the vision of the late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
The potential of distributed ledger technologies in the fight against corruption.
Over the past two decades, academics and development practitioners have written extensively about the harmful impact of corruption on economic development and social outcomes. From an economic perspective, corruption diverts resources away from their most productive uses, acting as a regressive tax that supports the lifestyles of the elite at everyone else’s expense. Corruption undermines the legitimacy of political systems by providing the elite with alternative ways of holding on to power, rather than through genuine democratic means.
Conflict, collusion and corruption in small-scale gold mining: Chinese miners and the state in Ghana
As gold prices soared from 2008 onwards, tens of thousands of foreign miners, especially from China, entered the small-scale mining sector in Ghana, despite it being ‘reserved for Ghanaian citizens’ by law. A free-for-all ensued in which Ghanaian and Chinese miners engaged in both contestation and collaboration over access to gold, a situation described as ‘out of control’ and a ‘culture of impunity’. Where was the state? This paper addresses the question of how and why pervasive and illicit foreign involvement occurred without earlier state intervention.