Includes presentation of the conference; land grabbing: what is it? – old phenomenon, new appearance, scale and speed, the ‘everyone wins’ myth; testimonies and analyses by peasants and family farmers from different continents- Africa, Latin America, Asia, Europe; conclusion – global land grabbing: some critical reflections by Jun Borras.
Discusses highlights from a recent academic article exploring whether 3,000 bilateral and regional investment treaties protect ‘land grab’ deals and how these impact the land rights of rural people. Argues that, if not properly thought through, international treaties to protect foreign investment could compound shortcomings of local and national governance, undermining the rights of people impacted by the investments.
Contains ‘land grabbing’ starts at home; the commodity slide; the land footprint of international economic treaties. Argues that systemic action is needed to strengthen local land rights and voices in land governance.
The spread and deepening of economic globalisation has highlighted the ever closer connections between the international legal arrangements for the governance of the global economy on the one hand, and claims to land and natural resources on the other. In a globalised world, land governance is shaped by international as well as national regulation. As pressures on valuable lands intensify and land relations become more trans-national, increasing recourse to international investment treaties is redesigning spaces for land claims at local and national levels.
Includes incidences of land grabbing in the region, land grabbing from the supply and demand sides, community resistance to land grabbing, what should be done on land grabbing, way forward.
Examines the role of development finance institutions in land grabbing – the World Bank group, the African Development Bank group, IFAD, European development finance institutions, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Looks at international efforts to react to calls to stop land grabbing, makes recommendations.
A community land titling initiative designed to protect community lands from land grabbing. Supported communities in Liberia, Mozambique and Uganda to follow their countries’ community land registration laws. Sought to understand what type and level of support was most effective. Concludes that community land documentation may be a more efficient method of land protection that individual and family titling, and should be prioritized in the short term.
Examines the driving factors behind land grabbing in Africa.
Includes cultural contextualization on the use of land in Madagascar; legal framework: what rights’ protection for Malagasy peasants in the framework of land grabbing and the growing commercial pressure on land?; land, one resource, many drivers – energy, mining, forestry, pharmaceutical industry, tourism. Brings out the voices and testimonies of those directly involved including local communities who are victims of these land grabs in 5 regions – Ihorombe, Sofia, Alaotra Mangoro, Analanjirofo and Itasy and on the island of Nosy Be in the Diana region.
Seeks to guide investigative bodies, judges, and prosecutors engaged with the factual and legal dimensions of land grabbing, as well as advocates, political institutions and companies working to curb this phenomenon. By prosecuting even a few of the most serious instances of the crimes arising from land acquisitions, the ICC can send a strong message to corporations and governments, deterring future violation and beginning to bring justice to victims of illegitimate land seizures.
Describes a long-standing grazing dispute in northern Namibia that provides critical lessons on the challenges that people living in communal areas face to secure their land rights. Several large livestock owners illegally enclosed community rangelands to secure grazing for their own commercial cattle herds. The communities used legislation to defend their land rights: they mobilised relevant government and traditional authorities to intervene, resulting in a court order for the removal of most of the illegal cattle owners.
Investigates the processes and impact of commercialisation of land in Malawi – specifically the acquisition of huge tracts of communal lands by foreign companies and local elites for sugarcane production in Nkhotakota and Chikwawa districts. The main finding was that ‘land grabbing’ for large-scale commercial agriculture in these two districts negatively affected the livelihoods of the poor communal farmers. The costs to the affected communities outweighed the benefits