The Wilson Center’s Africa Program and Asia Program present:

So-Called Land Grabs in the Global South: Reality and

Repercussions?Wednesday, November

28, 20122:00 – 4:00pm6th Floor Flom

Auditorium

The Challenges of Large-Scale Land Acquisitions

Karol BoudreauxUSAID Africa Land Tenure Specialist

Recent Headlines• “CAMBODIA: Rural poor lose out in land deals”• “Multinationals grab African land” • “FOOD: Land-grabbing linked with hunger”• “Report: 'Unbridled' Rush for Land Grabs

Leaving a Billion Hungry”• “Biofuels, food speculation pushing further

land grabs”• “The great green land grab: "Land grabbing" is

rarely out of the headlines”

Sources of concern• Rising demand/competing uses

– Biofuel– Agriculture – Timber/forestry – Extractives– Conservation– Urban expansion

• Weak consultative process/poor engagement• Weak land governance systems/rent seeking

Where is land being purchased?

Weak land governance is at the heart of large-scale land acquisitions

• Legal pluralism contributes to ambiguous rights

• Limited capacity/limited resources• Overwhelmed customary systems• Vested interests/corruption• Compounded problems for women

Women are triply vulnerable

Some of the gender impacts• Loss of land and

resource rights• Lost livelihoods• Costs to gather

wood/water• Displacements from

social networks• Increased

vulnerabilitySource: jonhaylett.co.uk

Recent responses

VGGTG8’s New Alliance Farmland PrinciplesISO 26000RAI

Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure (VGGTs) • Soft Int’l Law

• Participatory process• Recognize/Respect• Safeguard• Facilitate• Access to

Justice/Services• Prevent

Dispute/Conflict

VGGTs are a response to:• Rising food prices, food insecurity • Large-scale acquisitions• Harms to communities• Increasing recognition of need to address

customary/informal tenure concerns• Desire for more integrated/participatory

approach• Need to protect & empower all users

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Encouraging Government Actions• VGGTs provide guidance to states to:

– Improve service provision– Increase access to justice– Reduce corruption– Improve transparency & accountability– Recognize customary & informal rights, rights of IPs– Eliminate discrimination– Promote responsible investment– Address expropriation, redistribution, consolidation– Address valuation, taxation

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Implementing the VGGTs• Adopted May 2012• G8/New Alliance commitments, including

funding/implementation commitments• Efforts to implement will be

bilateral/multilateral• New facility at FAO• What will it look like on the ground?

– For communities – For private sector– For governments

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How can the private sector help?• Recognize & respect

legitimate rights• Advocate for joint

rights/women’s rights

• Increased focus on collaborative contracting

• Partnering with producer groups – men & women

• What’s exciting?– B-20 Task Force

Recommendations– Farmland Principles– ISO Standards– Impact Investing– New Alliance

What else is needed? • Technology • Expanded legal education• Expanded access to justice• Resources to implement commitments• Continued CSO/NGO support• Spotlight on this issue

What is USAID doing?• Assisting efforts to secure land & resource

rights in worldwide programming– Legal/policy reform– Building host capacity, public awareness– Engaging with customary authorities– Supporting NGOs/CSOs

• Supporting New Alliance efforts• Supporting implementation of VGGT

Secure land and property rights:stronger communities, more productive

economies

Source: Gregory Myers, USAID

THANK YOU

For more information please visit:www.usaidlandtenure.net

The Wilson Center’s Africa Program and Asia Program present:

So-Called Land Grabs in the Global South: Reality and

Repercussions?Wednesday, November

28, 20122:00 – 4:00pm6th Floor Flom

Auditorium