Virtual Briefing: Opportunities for private sector engagement on land

The Global Donor Platform for Rural Development secretariat will host a virtual briefing with Duncan Pruett, Land Policy Advisor at Oxfam Novib, and Chris Jochnick, Director of Private Sector, Oxfam America on 06 May, starting 15:00 CEST.

Topic
Owing to the interest expressed by a number of individual members of the Global Donor Group, in improving the performance of the private sector when it comes to land, Oxfam would like to share its experiences and insights in this area. While Oxfam’s international policy and advocacy work specifically in relation to land has covered a number of issues since it started in mid 2010, it has achieved some important public commitments on the part of the private sector in 2012 and 2013, including the extensive “zero-tolerance for land grabs” commitment by the Coca-Cola Company in late 2013.
Some commitments made by companies exceed those currently in the CFS RAI draft, and those agreed in the CFS’s Voluntary Guidelines on Land. Oxfam believes its experiences and achievements provide important insights into how change can be achieved within the private sector, and the role that critical policy advocacy can play in this. Going forward, there is a need for these achievements to be consolidated, and potential for some of these approaches to be extended wider, to other sectors, and into the realm of public ;policy at country level.
The session would cover:

• Achievements of Oxfam’s policy/advocacy work with the private sector with regard to land
• Reflections on outcomes: how these achievements contribute to internationally agreed objectives, and benefit communities and companies
• Reflections on challenges we face going forward, and areas for follow up in promoting accountability internationally on land.