LAND GOVERNANCE AND (IM)MOBILITY: Exploring the nexus between land acquisition, displacement and migration

 28^th and 29^th June 2018

Muntgebouw, Utrecht, the Netherlands

Key notes including:

Prof. dr. Tania Li, St. George Campus; Canada Research Chair in the Political-Economy and Culture of Asia; Centre for Southeast Asian Studies;

Prof. dr. Bernhard Truffer, Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development; Utrecht University;

Prof. ir. Klaas van Egmond, Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development; Utrecht University;

Ms. Sheela Patel, Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centres (SPARC), India; Slum Dwellers International (SDI);

Mr. Michael Uwemedimo, Collaborative Media Advocacy Platform (CMAP), Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

LANDac’s Annual International Conference 2018 will look at land investments through the lens of mobility. What are the implications of land based investments on the movements of people? And how have displacement and population movements contributed to new and contesting land claims?

The 2018 conference takes this land-mobilities nexus as a starting point, focusing on the extent to which land acquisitions trigger the inflow or outflow of particular groups of people – and also yield other mobilities (capital, goods, ideas etc.) and land claims. Providing people with secure and equal access to land is fundamental in giving people the ‘right to remain’, but land acquisitions simultaneously contribute to evictions and displacements, and the resettlement of groups. Up to now, the discussion has focused on respecting land rights, informing the local inhabitants in advance, and, in the case of forced displacement, offering fair compensation.

Given the variety of mobilities, what are good ways forward in land governance?  To what extent can land governance contribute to inclusive development – preventing eviction and displacement, while supporting vulnerable groups to settle in safe places and build secure and sustainable livelihoods? How can property regimes (and ideas of fixing people to the land) move along with these changes and be made more suitable? How do economic transformations – value chain integration, market liberalization or reregulation – affect the ability of rural people to make a living on their lands? What do we know about the stability of ´foreign´ investor communities – and what are the implications of their land investments for the mobility and immobility of local communities? And what is the role of migrants who themselves invest in land – and who are sometimes powerful actors in land-related negotiations that might disadvantage others? At the heart of the conference debates will be the Sustainable Development Goals – what is the role of land governance in the context of the ambition to “leave no one behind”?

We now invite you to submit your abstract proposal for one of the panels listed below. For an overview of all panels, check here.

• Digital Data Technologies and Land Administration
• SDG Data Monitoring Initiatives
• Infrastructure and Involuntary Resettlement
• Conflict-Induced Displacement
• Extractivism, Conservation and Displacement
• Land Reforms and Fragility
• The Role of FPIC and Early Consultation
• The Role of Local Governments
• Inclusive Business and Food Security
• Land and Sustainable Palm Oil
• Land-Based Financing and Sustainable Cities
• Delta Cities and Food Security
• Climate Change and Land Subsidence
• Land and Natural Hazards
• Environmental Migration
• Migration and Youth
• Scaling Up Women’s Land Rights
• Land Governance in the Global North
• Peri-Urban Land Governance
• Multi-stakeholder Dialogues: CITYforum, LANDdialogue, Learning Platforms
• Other topics

Besides these thematic panels, we organize country sessions on the following regions: Mozambique, Ethiopia, Sudan, India, Indonesia and Brazil.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

We now call for the submission of abstract proposals.

For information on submitting an abstract proposal, check here.

For abstract proposals, use the following Abstract template. Abstracts should include:

• Title of paper
• Name, affiliation and contact details of presenter
• Panel to participate in
• Abstract of maximum 300 words

Abstract proposals should be received before 8 April 2018 and must be submitted, in English, via email to: landac2018@gmail.com.

LANDac also welcomes other innovative and original ideas; if you have other suggestions for materials to present or exhibit at the conference – such as short films, interactive websites, photos, posters – please contact the organisers at the above email address.

An impartial selection committee will review submissions. Successful applicants will be notified in the course of April 2018.

Please note that registration for the conference is open. Registration costs are €150. (€75 for BSc and MSc students upon proof of a valid student ID). We regret that LANDac is unable to cover participant expenses. You can submit your registration through the following registration link:

The conference will be followed by the Annual LANDac and Utrecht University Summer School Land Governance for Development which will take place in Utrecht from July 2-13, 2018. For more information, and to register, please visit the Utrecht Summer School website.

Organising committee: Annelies Zoomers (LANDac and Utrecht University), Guus van Westen (LANDac and Utrecht University), Griet Steel (LANDac and Utrecht University), Gemma van der Haar (Wageningen University), Christine Richter (ITC – University of Twente) and Barbara Codispoti (Oxfam Novib).