This blog, which is part of a wider global initiative on Commercial Pressures on Land led by the International Land Coalition, contains press reports, research papers, case studies and any other relevant information about the new wave of “commercial pressures on land” that poor rural land-users are facing all over the world.
It seeks to provide updated information to all those trying to monitor, quantify and understand the extent of this ongoing phenomenon.
Read more about the Blog
Read more about the Commercial Pressures on Land Initiative
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EVENT “Land matters: small farmer, large farmer, land grabber”
Posted on 08 September, 2010 No comments
ODI and screened live online21 September 2010, 17.30-19.00
“Land policy in Africa has long been keenly debated. Do customary forms of tenure offer security and thereby allow farmers to invest and innovate? Programmes to register formally land rights and allocate freehold titles have often been proposed; but they may be unnecessary, and furthermore may lead to those with secondary, temporary and precarious rights to land losing access completely. Read the rest of this entry »
CONFERENCES & SEMINARS (english), *Africa*, agriculture, food production, land rights, policies and laws -
New World Bank Report Sees Growing Global Demand for Farmland
Posted on 08 September, 2010 No comments
World Bank, 7 September 2010Photo by WB Photo/Flickr
“A new World Bank report says volatility in food prices has been a key factor behind a rising tide of large scale farmland purchases in the developing world, which can pose social and environment risks, if not well managed. The report, Rising Global Interest in Farmland, calls on developing countries to recognize and respect resource rights of their people, warning that countries with poor records of formally recognized land tenure attract strong investor interest – which raises real concerns about the ability to protect vulnerable people from losing their land. Read the rest of this entry »
Commercial Pressures Key Readings, press, reactions, research papers (english), *Africa*, *Asia*, *global*, *Latin America*, agrofuels, food production, land rights, livestock, policies and laws, private sector, public sector, timber, women, [Cambodia], [Democratic Republic of Congo], [Ethiopia], [Indonesia], [Laos], [Liberia], [Mozambique], [Nigeria], [Pakistan], [Paraguay], [Peru], [Sudan], [Ukraine], [Zambia] -
The impact of environmental and political influences on pastoral conflicts in Southern Ethiopia
Posted on 07 September, 2010 No comments
International Peace Research Institute, Oslo , 2010Draft paper presented at the conference on climate change and security in Trondheim, 21-24 June 2010.
By Amsale Kassahun Temesgen
“This paper attempts to understand the relationship between environmental and climatic factors on the one hand, and the conflict dynamics in the African Horn on the other hand. The paper recognises aspects like global climatic change and local political dynamics, which intensify the competition for scarce water and pasture, the degradation of natural resources and violent conflict. Read the rest of this entry »
research papers (english), *Africa*, climate change, conflict, environmental degradation, evictions, food production, land rights, livestock, policies and laws, water, [Ethiopia] -
The new African land grab
Posted on 07 September, 2010 1 comment
Foreign control of African land has a long history, but the current land grab involves transfer of ownership on a vast new scaleThe Socialist Worker, 7 September 2010
By Lee Wengraf
Photo by Fred R/Flickr
“A NEW scramble for profit is sweeping Africa–foreign investment in agricultural land on a massive scale. Referred to as a “land grab,” the privatization of millions of acres of land is helping to fuel a crisis of hunger and displacement across the continent. Read the rest of this entry »
ILC in the media, press (english), *Africa*, agribusiness, agrofuels, CPL affecting family farmers, evictions, food prices, food production, food security, land rights, policies and laws, transnational private investment funds -
Mapping Food and Bioenergy in Africa
Posted on 05 September, 2010 No comments
FARA, CAMCO and Imperial College, May 2010“Bioenergy interest has gained much attention in the last years due to the positive issues that it can bring specially for developing countries but at the same time because of the many concerns on risks and trade-offs that could generate. FARA considers that the production of bioenergy crops will need to take into account a) a broader understanding of the extent of the issues and concerns surrounding food to bioenergy conversion and b) the accompanying policy/institutional dimensions as input to the development of an appropriate and truly responsive food and bioenergy programs in developing economies. Read the rest of this entry »
research papers (english), *Africa*, agrofuels, CPL leading to land use change, food security, Maps, policies and laws, [Ghana], [Kenya], [Mali], [Mozambique], [Senegal], [Tanzania], [Zambia] -
India: Chinese food for thought
Posted on 05 September, 2010 No comments
The Chinese have been shopping for farmland abroad while Indian states are finding ways to get rid of their landBusiness Standard, 5 September 2010
By Sreelatha Menon
Photo by WB Photo/Flickr
“The Uttar Pradesh government cannot be called insensitive when it comes to farmers. But it could take a lesson from China in the manner it values farmland. The agitation by farmers in Aligarh has prompted the state government to come out with a land acquisition policy that tries to take every wish of the farmer into account. Read the rest of this entry »
press (english), *Asia*, CPL leading to land use change, food production, food security, land rights, policies and laws, [China], [India] -
UP frames ‘India’s best’ land acquisition policy
Posted on 03 September, 2010 No comments
Rediff, 3 September 2010By Sharat Pradhan
Photo by Himanshu Sarpotdar
“With a view to containing the crisis arising due to the on-going farmers’ agitation in western Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Mayawati on Friday chalked out a new farmer-friendly course. Her cabinet secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh surprised all and sundry by announcing a new land acquisition policy with such lucrative sops that farmers may not find easy to refuse. Read the rest of this entry »
press (english), *Asia*, evictions, land rights, policies and laws, [India] -
Modeling the global trade and environmental impacts of biofuel policies
Posted on 03 September, 2010 No comments
IFPRI, August 2010By Bouët, Antoine, Dimaranan, Betina V., Valin, Hugo
“There is rising skepticism about the potential positive environmental impacts of first generation biofuels. Growing biofuel crops could induce diversion of other crops dedicated to food and feed needs. The relocation of production could increase deforestation and bring significant new volumes of carbon into the atmosphere. In this paper, we develop a methodology for assessing the indirect land use change effects related to biofuel policies in a computable general equilibrium framework. Read the rest of this entry »
research papers (english), *EU*, *global*, agrofuels, climate change, CPL leading to land use change, deforestation, environmental degradation, policies and laws, [Brazil], [Indonesia], [USA] -
Parecer que limita a compra de terras por estrangeiros terá efetividade reduzida
Posted on 02 September, 2010 No comments
MST, 2 Setembro 2010Por Igor Felippe Santos
Foto por Ali Mustafa/Flickr
“O presidente Lula assinou na semana passada um parecer da Advocacia Geral da União (AGU), que impõe limites para a compra de terras pelo capital estrangeiro, com base na lei n° 5.709, de 1971. O texto impede empresas controladas pelo capital estrangeiro de adquirir imóveis rurais acima de 50 módulos fiscais (varia entre 250 a 5 mil hectares, dependendo da região do país). Read the rest of this entry »
press (portuguese), *Latin America*, agribusiness, agriculture, land concentration, policies and laws, privatization, [Brazil] -
80% of tropical agricultural expansion between 1980-2000 came at expense of forests
Posted on 02 September, 2010 No comments
mongabay.com, 2 September 2010By Rhett Butler
Photo by Frank Kehren
“More than 80 percent of agricultural expansion in the tropics between 1980 and 2000 came at the expense of forests, reports research published last week in the early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Read the rest of this entry »
press (english), *Asia*, *Latin America*, agribusiness, agrofuels, climate change, CPL leading to land use change, deforestation, food production, policies and laws, r.e.d.d.