Land acquistion, investment and tenure
Central to peaceful development
Despite being central to peaceful development, economic growth and sustainable resource use, land issues have often been ignored.
Land tenure -- The subject is closely linked to poverty reduction and food security, economic development, local government and legal issues. Climate change and expanding biofuel production is likely to lead to greater competition for access to land - posing a tremendous threat to the livelihoods of millions of farmers, pastoralists, fishers and forest dwellers with no formal land tenure rights.
Land acquisition -- Due to its possible impact on local livelihoods and long-term development, the phenomenon of large-scale land acquisition has attracted considerable attention. Opinions are sharply divided from seeing it as an opportunity to overcome long years of underinvestment in agriculture which allowed countries to gain access to technology and employment and create the preconditions for sustained and broad-based development to the risks resulting from neglect of local rights, conflict, and environmental damage.
Formulating new principles
Many initiatives of officials, policymakers, think tanks, NGOs, the private sector have recently been focussing on definition of principles, guidelines and rules for governments and investors. As an input into this debate, the World Bank and partners formulated a set of principles for responsible agro investment (RAI) that respects rights, livelihoods, and resources (FAO and others 2010). Some saw these principles as narrowly promoting investor interest and argued for a broad consultation.
Rising interest in farmland
To advance the debate on how to implement the principles in practice and assess compliance, empirical evidence has been collated and processed in the World Bank study ‘Rising Global Interest in Farmland – Can it yield sustainable and equitable benefits?’
The study outlines options for different actors to minimize risks. It capitalizes on opportunities to better contribute to poverty reduction and economic growth, especially in rural areas, which the long-term increase in value that drives land acquisition processes may affect.
The plan to form a land governance initiative is seen as a possibility to increase disclosure and access to information by all parties. Further debate on how to shape such an initiative is hoped to result from an e-discussion with major stakeholder groups hosted by the Platform and IISD staged on this website soon.
http://fian.org/resources/documents/others/report-on-land-grabbing
(Mis)Investment in Agriculture: oaklandinstitute.org/pdfs/misinvestment_web.pdf
The great land grab: oaklandinstitute.org/pdfs/LandGrab_final_web.pdf
Land grab?: wilsoncenter.org/topics/pubs/ASIA_090629_Land%20Grab_rpt.pdf
„Land Grabbing“ by Foreign Investors: ifpri.org/sites/default/files/publications/bp013all.pdf
BMZ discourse 015: Development policy stance on land grabbing - the purchase and leasing of large areas of land in developing countries, BMZ 2009
EU Land Policy Guidelines - land policy design and land policy reform processes in developing countries, November 2004
GTZ - Foreign Direct Investment in Land in developing Countries, Dec 2009
CTA - Brussels Briefing number 9, February 2009
IIED, IFAD, FAO: “Land Grab or development opportunity?”, May 2009
AU AfDB ECA Land Policy Initiative
International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) - land issue related publications
Gender and Land Rights Database (FAO)
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Sirte Declaration on Land Issues and Challenges in Africa
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Bioenergy and land tenure, Land Tenure Working Paper, no.1
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Climate change and land tenure, Land Tenure Working Paper no.2
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Climate change, biofuels and land - fact sheet with focus on sound land tenure policies and planning, addressing expanding biofuel production and competition for access to land
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Fuelling exclusion? Biofuel boom and poor peoples' access to land
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Access to land and the food crisis
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Land and vulnerable people in a world of change
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Improving access to land and tenure security
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Secure Land Rights for All
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Putting a pro-poor land agenda into practice in Africa
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Land - better access and secure rights for poor people
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Better land access for the rural poor
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Land access in the 21st century, Livelihood Support Programme Working Paper 24 - Access to Natural Resources Sub-Programme - Issues, trends, linkages and policy options
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Agrarian reform in the context of food sovereignty, the right to food and cultural diversity: land, territory and dignity
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Land rights for African development - from knowledge to action
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Land and water rights in the Sahel, Livelihood Support Working Paper 25
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EC communication on land policy guidelines to the Council and the European Parliament to support land policy design and reform processes in developing countries
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Annex to EC communication on land policy guidelines
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Conclusion of EC communication on land policy guidelines
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Land tenure systems and their impacts on food security and sustainable development in Africa
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Gender and access to land, Land Tenure Studies no.4
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