The last two years have seen a huge amount of academic, policy-making and media interest in the increasingly contentious issue of land grabbing – the large-scale acquisition of land in the global South. It is a phenomenon against which locals seem defenceless, and one about which multilateral organizations, such as the World Bank, as well as civil-society organizations and action NGOs have become increasingly vocal.
This in-depth and empirically diverse volume – taking in case studies from across Africa, Asia and Latin America – takes a step back from the hype to explore a number of key questions: Does the ‘global land grab’ actually exist? If so, what is new about it? And what, beyond the immediately visible dynamics and practices, are the real problems?
Annelies Zoomers, chair of LANDac and Mayke Kaag, partner in the LANDac consortium have edited this comprehensive volume which builds on a range of LANDac research and related research projects. Including contributions from current and completed LANDac PhDs Lucia Goldfarb, Femke van Noorloos, George Schoneveld and Maru Shete who draw from their research in Argentina, Costa Rica and Ethiopia.
More information can be accessed via Zed Books.
Reviews
‘When the dust settles, and the sensationalists and opportunists have moved on, we will still have to grasp the nature, the dimensions and the consequences of ‘land grabbing’. This collection provides a serious analytical contribution to our understanding of a phenomenon, which might seem to peak at the present, but which is deeply rooted in the past and will need steadfast scholarly and political attention in the future.’ – Professor Christian Lund, University of Copenhagen
‘This is an excellent, original collection, on the global land grabbing phenomenon. It covers Africa, Latin America and Asia and a number of interesting themes including urban land grabbing in Kenya, GM soy cultivation in Argentina, residential tourism in Costa Rica, water grabbing in Peru and Ecuador, new land conversions in Vietnam, and the Gulf States’ investments in Indonesia and the Philippines.’ – Robin Palmer, Global Land Rights Policy Specialist, Mokoro
‘The increase of international trade and investment over the past three decades was justified by the hope it would help to achieve efficiency gains, maximizing the comparative advantage of each region. But it also results in sharpening the competition for the land and water on which agricultural production relies. As the competition has become global, it also has grown deeply unequal, pitting poor communities of the global South against deep-pocketed investors and wealthy consumers. This collection of essays provides a uniquely well informed and comprehensive analysis of ‘land grabbing’, describing developments across three continents and illustrating the variety of forms it has taken: it shall be of interest to anyone interested in the future of globalization and its impacts on the poor who rely on access to land for their livelihood.’ – Professor Olivier De Schutter, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food
‘The Global Land Grab represents an important break from the earlier wave of land grabs studies in at least three interlinked ways: it looks beyond the ‘here and now land deals’ by historicizing analysis to facilitate better understanding of longer term implications of the phenomenon; it contains grounded local-national studies; and it offers a comparative perspective across regions of the world. Academic researchers, activists, and development-policy practitioners who are interested in understanding global land grabbing, its origins, meanings and implications should read this book.’ – Dr. Saturnino M. Borras Jr., International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), The Hague
Table of Contents
Introduction: the global land grab hype – and why it is important to move beyond – Mayke Kaag and Annelies Zoomers
Africa
1. Modernizing the periphery: citizenship and Ethiopia’s new agricultural investment policies – George Schoneveld and Maru Shete
2. Large-scale land acquisitions in Tanzania: a critical analysis of practices and dynamics – Jumanne Abdallah, Linda Engström, Kjell Havnevik and Lennart Salomonsson
3. Kenya and the ‘global land grab: a view from below – Jacqueline M. Klopp and Odenda Lumumba
Latin America
4. The rapid expansion of genetically modified soy production into the Chaco region of Argentina – Lucia Goldfarb and Annelies Zoomers
5. Transnational land investment in Costa Rica: tracing residential tourism and its implications for development – Femke van Noorloos
6. Water grabbing in the Andean region: illustrative cases from Peru and Ecuador – Rutgerd Boelens, Antonio Gaybor and Jan Hendriks
Asia
7. Land governance and oil palm development: examples from Riau Province, Indonesia – Ari Susanti and Suseno Budidarsono
8. Vietnam in the debate on land grabbing: conversion of agricultural land for urban expansion and hydropower development – Pham Huu Ty, Nguyen Quang Phuc and Guus van Westen
9. ‘Land grabbing’ in Cambodia: land rights in a post-conflict setting – Michelle McLinden Nuijen, Men Prachvuthy and Guus van Westen
10. Beyond the Gulf State investment hype: the case of Indonesia and the Philippines – Gerben Nooteboom and Laurens Bakker
11. Tracing the dragon’s footsteps: a deconstruction of the discourse on China’s foreign land investments – Peter Ho and Irna Hofman
12. Conclusion: beyond the global land grab hype – ways forward in research and action – Annelies Zoomers and Mayke Kaag
About the Authors:
Mayke Kaag is a social anthropologist and a senior researcher at the African Studies Centre in Leiden, the Netherlands. Her research focuses mainly on African transnational relations, including land issues, engagements with the diaspora, and transnational Islamic NGOs, on which topics she has published widely. Within the African Studies Centre she is the convenor of a collaborative research group on Africa in the World: Rethinking Africa’s Global Connections.
Annelies Zoomers is professor of international development studies (IDS) at Utrecht University and chair of LANDac. After finishing her PhD in 1988, she worked for the Netherlands Economic Institute (Rotterdam) and the Royal Tropical Institute (Amsterdam) on long- and short-term consulting assignments for various organizations (e.g. the World Bank, IFAD, ILO, EU, DGIS) in various countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Between 1995 and 2007 she was associate professor at the Centre for Latin American Research and Documentation (Amsterdam) and was professor of international migration at the Radboud University (Nijmegen) between 2005 and 2009. She has published extensively on sustainable livelihoods; land policies and the impact of privatization; tourism; and international migration.
Last Updated: 28th June 2019 by admin
Vacancy Announcement : Internship Justitia et PAX Nederland – landrechten
Justitia et Pax Nederland is looking for an intern ‘Economic and social rights’ from 1 May – 1 September for 4 days per week. Activities include supporting the programme officer economic and social rights, and in particular the programme on land rights; conducting research into land rights and land conflicts in Africa and Asia; supporting the writing and development of project proposals for fund raising for projects in these countries. Please find the full text vacancy (in Dutch) at the Justitia et Pax Nederland website.
Last Updated: 28th June 2019 by admin
Invitation to submit cases: Sustainable land and water programme
Sustainable Land and Water Programme – Sustainable Trade Initiative
Launch
The Sustainable Land and Water Program was launched on Friday 28 February 2014 in The Hague. The event consisted of an expert and engagement meeting in the morning and a public launch in the afternoon. The expert meeting convened a wide range of experts in the fields of water management, agriculture, supply chains and many more. Speakers from both the public and private sector presented their vision on the program approach and invited participants to share their knowledge, experience and ideas for the future development of the initiative.
Rob Swartbol, Director General International Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, marked the official public launch of the SLWP. Mr. Swartbol stressed the need of an integrated landscape approach for the sustainable supply of natural resources. He expressed his confidence that the Sustainable Land and Water Program will boost the up-scaling and expansion of the landscape approach worldwide.
The Program
Supplying food, feed, fuel & fibre to 9 billion people in 2050, without depleting the earth’s
natural resources is a critical challenge for the coming years. Increasingly, farmers, extracting industries, tourists’ facilities and expanding populations have competing claims on scarce land
and water resources. Many areas in the world are progressively threatened by issues such as water shortages, soil depletion, climate change, poverty and food insecurity. These issues are often interrelated.
In many threatened areas the public and private organizations – be it NGO’s, governments, farmers or companies – do not share information nor work effectively together to manage the natural resources under stress.
The Sustainable Land and Water Program (SLWP) aims to bring together the interests, knowledge and power of public and private stakeholders in selected “resource vulnerable” regions. It will develop a business case to jointly work, and invest in sustainable land and water management. In order to safeguard threatened long term supply of natural resources for current and future users. We believe that adding business drivers to sustainable land and water management, creates a compelling case for effective public private cooperation to mitigate risks of depletion and poverty.
Fast Track Landscapes
Organizing public-private partnerships, calls for knowledge of supply chains and involvementof local stakeholders is needed, in particular the ability to help parties with seemingly conflicting interests to work together. IDH will makes use of the knowledge and experience of Dutch companies and organizations in the fields of land and water.
The Sustainable Land and Water Program will start projects in two regions where IDH is already active in its sector programs and a start has already been made in cooperating with companies, governments and other parties. This way, they can build upon existing initiatives. Thus, the program can quickly gain experience with this new integrated approach and apply lessons learned in other regions.
Instructions and Template for Long Listing Landscape Projects
The Sustainable Land and Water Program (SLWP) now invites interested organisations to submit landscape project case descriptions that are relevant within the scope of the SLWP. The initial long list of potential cases will be the basis for selecting the next projects that will be integrated in the Program. The projects need to be implemented at a landscape scale and must be concisely described according to the criteria listed.
For more information and the criteria for submitting landscape project case descriptions, please visit the website of IDH – Sustainable Trade Initiative.
Last Updated: 28th June 2019 by admin
Vacancy: Assistant professor in international development studies with expertise in urban and land governance
The Department of Human Geography and Planning (SGPL) at Utrecht University seeks to appoint an Assistant Professor in International Development Studies (IDS) with extensive field experience (in Africa, Asia and/or Latin America) and with expertise in the field of urban and land governance, focusing on rural/urban dynamics, responsible business and/or sustainable livelihoods. This position will augment and complement with departmental strengths in sustainable cities and regions.
Central to the UU-IDS research and teaching programme is the understanding of processes of societal and environmental change, particularly in Asia, Latin America and Africa, and assessing the consequences of translocal relations for inclusive and sustainable development.
UU-IDS is looking for a colleague (0,6 fte teaching and 0,4 fte research) who can initiate, both independently as well as in collaboration with IDS colleagues, new research related to the above mentioned fields and which complements the programmes of existing IDS staff. Besides research activities, the successful candidate will be teaching in the IDS-related B.A and MSc programmes, and playing an active role in student and PhD supervision. Furthermore, he/she will actively pursue funding for research, and contribute to its societal impact.
Requirements
The IDS group seeks a highly motivated candidate who holds a PhD in International Development Studies or a relevant related discipline (preferably Human Geography, Development Economics or Anthropology) . If you …
you are encouraged to apply! Please find more information and details about the application process on the Academictransfer website: Vacancy Assistant Professor in International Development Studies (1.0 fte).
Last Updated: 26th July 2019 by admin
New LANDac Publication: The Global Land Grab – Beyond the hype
The last two years have seen a huge amount of academic, policy-making and media interest in the increasingly contentious issue of land grabbing – the large-scale acquisition of land in the global South. It is a phenomenon against which locals seem defenceless, and one about which multilateral organizations, such as the World Bank, as well as civil-society organizations and action NGOs have become increasingly vocal.
This in-depth and empirically diverse volume – taking in case studies from across Africa, Asia and Latin America – takes a step back from the hype to explore a number of key questions: Does the ‘global land grab’ actually exist? If so, what is new about it? And what, beyond the immediately visible dynamics and practices, are the real problems?
Annelies Zoomers, chair of LANDac and Mayke Kaag, partner in the LANDac consortium have edited this comprehensive volume which builds on a range of LANDac research and related research projects. Including contributions from current and completed LANDac PhDs Lucia Goldfarb, Femke van Noorloos, George Schoneveld and Maru Shete who draw from their research in Argentina, Costa Rica and Ethiopia.
More information can be accessed via Zed Books.
Reviews
‘When the dust settles, and the sensationalists and opportunists have moved on, we will still have to grasp the nature, the dimensions and the consequences of ‘land grabbing’. This collection provides a serious analytical contribution to our understanding of a phenomenon, which might seem to peak at the present, but which is deeply rooted in the past and will need steadfast scholarly and political attention in the future.’ – Professor Christian Lund, University of Copenhagen
‘This is an excellent, original collection, on the global land grabbing phenomenon. It covers Africa, Latin America and Asia and a number of interesting themes including urban land grabbing in Kenya, GM soy cultivation in Argentina, residential tourism in Costa Rica, water grabbing in Peru and Ecuador, new land conversions in Vietnam, and the Gulf States’ investments in Indonesia and the Philippines.’ – Robin Palmer, Global Land Rights Policy Specialist, Mokoro
‘The increase of international trade and investment over the past three decades was justified by the hope it would help to achieve efficiency gains, maximizing the comparative advantage of each region. But it also results in sharpening the competition for the land and water on which agricultural production relies. As the competition has become global, it also has grown deeply unequal, pitting poor communities of the global South against deep-pocketed investors and wealthy consumers. This collection of essays provides a uniquely well informed and comprehensive analysis of ‘land grabbing’, describing developments across three continents and illustrating the variety of forms it has taken: it shall be of interest to anyone interested in the future of globalization and its impacts on the poor who rely on access to land for their livelihood.’ – Professor Olivier De Schutter, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food
‘The Global Land Grab represents an important break from the earlier wave of land grabs studies in at least three interlinked ways: it looks beyond the ‘here and now land deals’ by historicizing analysis to facilitate better understanding of longer term implications of the phenomenon; it contains grounded local-national studies; and it offers a comparative perspective across regions of the world. Academic researchers, activists, and development-policy practitioners who are interested in understanding global land grabbing, its origins, meanings and implications should read this book.’ – Dr. Saturnino M. Borras Jr., International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), The Hague
Table of Contents
Introduction: the global land grab hype – and why it is important to move beyond – Mayke Kaag and Annelies Zoomers
Africa
1. Modernizing the periphery: citizenship and Ethiopia’s new agricultural investment policies – George Schoneveld and Maru Shete
2. Large-scale land acquisitions in Tanzania: a critical analysis of practices and dynamics – Jumanne Abdallah, Linda Engström, Kjell Havnevik and Lennart Salomonsson
3. Kenya and the ‘global land grab: a view from below – Jacqueline M. Klopp and Odenda Lumumba
Latin America
4. The rapid expansion of genetically modified soy production into the Chaco region of Argentina – Lucia Goldfarb and Annelies Zoomers
5. Transnational land investment in Costa Rica: tracing residential tourism and its implications for development – Femke van Noorloos
6. Water grabbing in the Andean region: illustrative cases from Peru and Ecuador – Rutgerd Boelens, Antonio Gaybor and Jan Hendriks
Asia
7. Land governance and oil palm development: examples from Riau Province, Indonesia – Ari Susanti and Suseno Budidarsono
8. Vietnam in the debate on land grabbing: conversion of agricultural land for urban expansion and hydropower development – Pham Huu Ty, Nguyen Quang Phuc and Guus van Westen
9. ‘Land grabbing’ in Cambodia: land rights in a post-conflict setting – Michelle McLinden Nuijen, Men Prachvuthy and Guus van Westen
10. Beyond the Gulf State investment hype: the case of Indonesia and the Philippines – Gerben Nooteboom and Laurens Bakker
11. Tracing the dragon’s footsteps: a deconstruction of the discourse on China’s foreign land investments – Peter Ho and Irna Hofman
12. Conclusion: beyond the global land grab hype – ways forward in research and action – Annelies Zoomers and Mayke Kaag
About the Authors:
Mayke Kaag is a social anthropologist and a senior researcher at the African Studies Centre in Leiden, the Netherlands. Her research focuses mainly on African transnational relations, including land issues, engagements with the diaspora, and transnational Islamic NGOs, on which topics she has published widely. Within the African Studies Centre she is the convenor of a collaborative research group on Africa in the World: Rethinking Africa’s Global Connections.
Annelies Zoomers is professor of international development studies (IDS) at Utrecht University and chair of LANDac. After finishing her PhD in 1988, she worked for the Netherlands Economic Institute (Rotterdam) and the Royal Tropical Institute (Amsterdam) on long- and short-term consulting assignments for various organizations (e.g. the World Bank, IFAD, ILO, EU, DGIS) in various countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Between 1995 and 2007 she was associate professor at the Centre for Latin American Research and Documentation (Amsterdam) and was professor of international migration at the Radboud University (Nijmegen) between 2005 and 2009. She has published extensively on sustainable livelihoods; land policies and the impact of privatization; tourism; and international migration.
Last Updated: 26th July 2019 by admin
LANDac becomes partner of the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN)
Following attendance as an observer of the Partner Meeting of the Global Land Tool Network in The Hague, The Netherlands in November 2013, LANDac joined the GLTN Network on 26 February 2014.
The Global Land Tool Network (GLTN) is an alliance of global regional and national partners contributing to poverty alleviation through land reform, improved land management and security of tenure particularly through the development and dissemination of pro-poor and gender-sensitive land tools.
GLTN has developed a global partnership on land issues pulling together global partners, as well as many individual members. These partners include international networks of civil society, International Finance Institutions, international research and training institutions, donors and professional bodies. It continues to take a more holistic approach to land issues by improving global coordination on land, through the establishment of a continuum of land rights, rather than just focus on individual land titling, through improving and developing pro-poor land management, as well as land tenure tools, by unblocking existing initiatives; assisting in strengthening existing land networks, assisting in the development of gendered land tools which are affordable and useful to the grassroots and improving the general dissemination of knowledge about how to implement security of tenure.
The network’s objectives include the following:
Through its network and current activities, LANDac will contribute to the dissemination of GLTN values and outputs and participate in GLTN partner events.
Last Updated: 28th June 2019 by admin
New online course on natural resources and sustainable development
A new course (in French) about natural resources and sustainable development is now available through the edX website: ‘Ressources naturelles et developpement durable’. The 7-week course (4-6 hours per week) looks at the links between natural resource use (land, water, minerals, forests etc) and sustainable development. Both opportunities and challenges at local and global level of natural resources are dealt with. By analyzing the socio-economic and environmental consequences of the rush for these resources will help understand links between the agrarian crisis, food crisis and environmental crisis. For more information, please refer to the website: edX.
Last Updated: 26th July 2019 by admin
Land grabbing and human rights: Debate 1 February, Amsterdam
On 1 February 2014, Human Rights Watch, Oxfam Novib and ASN Bank organize a debate at De Balie in Amsterdam about land grabbing and human rights as part of the Human Rights Weekend.
The rise of land grabbing has led to increased human rights violations and destroyed livelihoods. Across Africa, Latin America and Asia, hundreds of cases have emerged detailing how investors have unfairly acquired land in the name of economic development.
But in the last 2 years, after a lot of public debate and campaigning, a range of policy commitments have been made by companies and governments to help stamp out this damaging practice. The big question is whether all these policy commitments are on target to achieve real change on the ground. This debate will bring together perspectives from activists, government and the private sector to look at what land grabbing is, and how good intentions can turn into positive action.
This debate will bring together perspectives from Iain Levine (Deputy Executive Director of Human Rights Watch), Farah Karimi (Director of Oxfam Novib), Frits van der Wal (Senior policy advisor food security and focal point land governance at the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and Jan Burger (Coca-Cola) to look at what land grabbing is, and how good intentions can turn into positive action. Moderator Hansje van der Zwaan-Plagman (Senior advisor sustainability at ASN Bank). Program in collaboration withOxfam Novib and ASN Bank.
Last Updated: 26th July 2019 by admin
Land Governance Donor Programme Database Launched
On January 22 a comprehensive database on land and resource governance programmes funded by members of the Global Donor Working Group on Land was presented during the Platform Annual General Assembly in Paris.
Global scope
Cooperating with the Global Donor Working Group on Land – comprising bilateral and multilateral donors as well as development agencies – USAID led a data collection and visualisation project that gathered information from around the globe. Currently the database retains 445 projects in 119 countries with a total value of 2.8 billion dollars. Project details have already been submitted by Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, the European Union, FAO and the World Bank. The Canadian and Japanese development agencies have recently joined this initiative and are in the process of entering information to the database.
Main objectives of the database
The overall aim of the initiative is to improve donor coordination and to support implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries, and Forests in the Context of National Food Security. To achieve this a clear understanding of who is doing what and where in the land and resource governance sector is necessary. The database therefore contains information on the location, duration, funding and scope of each programme, as well as on the specific aspects of the Voluntary Guidelines it supports.
Visualisation and additional functions
The interactive mapping tool clearly displays where different donors and development agencies are working and what they do with respect to land and resource governance. The database allows donors to include links to supplemental resources, such as reports on their programme websites. This information helps various stakeholders identify opportunities to leverage their resources for greater impact in the efforts to improve food security and nutrition, reduce land-related conflicts and promote economic growth.
The database can be accessed here.
Last Updated: 26th July 2019 by admin
Presentation George Schoneveld 16 january 2014
16 January, The Hague
On Thursday 16 January, former LANDac PhD George Schoneveld presented his dissertation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Around 50 participants joined the presentation and discussion about his research into ‘The Governance of Large-Scale Farmland Investments in Sub-Saharan Africa’. The work contains a comparative analysis of challenges for sustainability in four African countries: Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria and Zambia. The presentation was attended by a varied audience of researchers, policy makers, NGOs and private sector representatives. George’s presentation can be accessed through the following link: Presentation George Schoneveld 16 January 2014
Last Updated: 26th July 2019 by admin
Global Donor Working Group policy brief ‘land in a post-2015 framework’
The Global Donor Working Group on Land (http://www.donorplatform.org/land/on-common-ground.html?Itemid=9) published a platform policy brief on land in a post-2015 framework. The policy brief can be accessed via this link.