New IIED Publication on Legal Empowerment and Accountability in Africa's Land Rush

The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) has released a new publication entitled "Accountability in Africa's Land Rush: What role for legal empowerment". According to IIED website, "In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in acquiring farmland for agricultural investments in lower-income countries. Whilst such investments can create jobs, improve access to markets and support infrastructure, many large land deals have been associated with negative impacts for local populations, including the dispossession of land and other resources and increased conflict over economic benefits. There is growing evidence on the scale, geography and impacts of large deals. But less is known about how the legal frameworks regulating this land rush shape opportunities and constraints in formal pathways to accountability; and how people who feel wronged by land deals are responding to seek justice, and to what ends. 

This report assesses the state of evidence on pathways to accountability in the global land rush, with a focus on Africa. It also identifies areas for a new research agenda that places accountability at its centre." The publication is available in English here.

Conservation and Land Grabbing

Salamander in the
reptile house at London Zoo
(Courtesy of Harry Jonas)

Harry Jonas (Natural Justice) attended a workshop in London (26-27 March) entitled: “Conservation and Land Grabbing: Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution?” The meeting was hosted by IIED, the International Land Coalition, Maliasili Initiatives and the Zoological Society of London and was held at the London Zoo. Harry Jonas presented on the ICCA Legal Review and the Living Convention on Biocultural Diversity. Other presenters included: Lorenzo Cotula (IIED), Fiona Flintan (ILC), Guy Counga (CISDL), and Dorothy Nyingi (National Museums of Kenya). The workshop concluded with a number of tentative conclusions and ways forwards. Harry thanks the organizers for the opportunity to present and looks forward to contributing to the Poverty and Conservation Learning Group.

RRI Reports on Secure Land Tenure

The Rights and Resources Initiative has released two ground-breaking reports highlighting the importance of secure land tenure in broader national and international law and policy and for investors. 

“Landowners or Laborers: What choice will developing countries make?” considers the implications of policies, especially in Africa, that seek rapid development by ceding control of land and resources to external actors. It contrasts these policies with the successes of China and Brazil, which have achieved advances through establishing local property rights rather than undercutting them. It further summarises the state of resources and rights globally, and identifies the key choices and challenges faced by developing countries in 2012. The report can be downloaded here. 

“The Financial Risks of Insecure Land Tenure: An Investment View” considers the assumption that cheap land can be acquired to derive high profits easily. The report challenges this view, arguing that exploiting land with disputed tenure rights leads to significant risks. The paper can be downloaded here.

Introducing the Land Matrix Project

The International Land Coalition, together with several international research institutes and development partners, has launched a ground-breaking new database to track global land deals. The database, entitled the Land Matrix Project, tracks deals made since 2003 in ‘developing’ nations transferring rights to use, control or own land for agricultural production, timber extraction, carbon trading, mineral extraction, conservation, and tourism. 

According to the press release, the Land Matrix Project “encourages citizens, researchers, governments and companies to provide data and improve the quality of and access to data regarding global land deals. The database allows users to access summaries, or conduct in-depth exploration of individual land deals, and it includes a visualization tool. The current version of the visualization tool is in a beta form, and feedback is encouraged. It presents visuals on the dynamics of transnational land deals, allows users to visualize relationships between investors and countries, and provides detail on deals across sectors.” 

Read more about the Land Matrix Project here. Access the Project’s beta website here.

Major Conference on Land Grabbing

Via www.cornell-landproject.org/

As international investors continue to buy large swathes of land in 'developing' nations, the Cornell University Department of Sociology and the Land Deal Politics Initiative hosted "Global Land Grabbing II: An International Conference on Large-Scale Land Deals" from 17-19 October, 2012. The conference built on the Global Land Grabbing conference held at the University of Sussex in 2011 and included papers and presentations on land grabbing from across the 'developing world.'

One paper considered land tenure security amongst the Boni community of Lamu County, Kenya, a community participating the Lamu biocultural community protocol process that Natural Justice is supporting. The paper was presented by Abdirizak Arale Nunow and is entitled "The Displacement and Dispossession of the Aweer (Boni) Community: The Kenya Government dilemma on the new Port of Lamu." The paper is based on "on-going research that is aimed at establishing and documenting the extent of displacement of Lamu communities, particularly the minority Boni, by the development of the new Port of Lamu with a view to recommending policy measures that may contribute towards the amelioration of the problem."

Download the paper on the displacement of the Boni here. Find all of the papers from the Global Land Grabbing conference here. Learn more about the conference here.