LAND AND POWER

1. LAND AND POWER The growing scandal around the new wave of investments in land 151 Oxfam Briefing Paper Published 22 September 2011 Date Presenter <enter date> <enter name>

2. Contents • Introduction ( definition, scale, and drivers) • Country case studies (Indonesia and Uganda) • Key issues at national and international levels • Recommendations

3. Trend: a new global land rush

4. Trend: a new land rush • In developing countries, 227 million hectares of land have been sold or leased since 2001 • An area the size of North Western Europe, 50% in Africa • Bulk of these have occurred since 2007-08 food price spike • Mostly to foreign investors

5. What is driving this land rush? Increasing pressures on land from: • World population – 7bn now to 9bn by 2050 • Global economic growth – economy to triple by 2050 • Changing diets – shift towards animal proteins and convenience foods is more land-intensive • Increased demand for biofuels and other non-food agricultural products • Rich countries that depend on food imports buy agricultural land abroad to protect against price hikes • Speculation

6. Why is this land rush occurring now? • 2007-08 food price spike has triggered renewed investor interest (public and private) in land and agriculture (2011: food prices are back at similar levels as in 2008) • 2008 financial crisis has sent investors looking for new investment opportunities • Investment in land is seen as a safe bet in unsure financial times

7. Land is increasingly scarce • The demand for land is increasing… • … while the share of land available for agriculture has peaked. • So… available land per capita is declining.

8. Land is importantFor small-scale food producers • Productive asset – Food security, livelihood security, development opportunities. • Safety net – In times of crisis and unemployment, access to land means social security. • Secondary uses – From medicinal plants to building materials • Connection to community and identity – Space for social, cultural and religious events. • Gender (in)equality

9. Land is important for womenLack of control of land leaves women vulnerable • Women account for 50 to 80% of farm work in Africa and Asia, but control only 10 to 35% of farm land. • When new commercial opportunities emerge and land gains value, men often assume control over land, at the expense of women. • Women have little access to decision making processes • Legislation & implementation discriminate against women (family law, inheritance, etc) • Gender based violence is common in land disputes

10. Land rights are human rights • Various UN Human Rights conventions aim to protect land rights. • Crucial principle: no shift in land use without the Free Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) of all potentially affected land users before changes in land ownership take place. • Respect for FPIC puts rights holders in a position to negotiate (say ‘no’, or require adequate compensation) • Transparency and full impact assessments are crucial for informed negotiations. • Rights holders must have access to remedy mechanisms if rights are violated.

11. What do we mean by a land grab? * ‘Land grabs’ are land acquisitions that do one of the following: • Violate human rights, especially those of women • Flout the principle of free, prior and informed consent of land users • Ignore the impacts on social, economic and gender relations, and on environment • Avoid transparent contracts • Eschew democratic planning, independent oversight and meaningful participation of land users *Definition agreed by the ILC – International Land Coalition

12. Risk or opportunity? Increasing investor interest in agriculture and land should come as good news for small producers… • … if they are given the right support to benefit from new opportunities • … if their land rights are protected by governments • … if they are respected by investors. The following case studies show that many land investments take the form of ‘land grabs’

13. Case studies

14. Uganda • At least 25 000 people evicted from their homes for tree plantations of UK-based New Forests Company. • NFC promised jobs, and health and education facilities for local communities. None of these materialised. Affected families have not been compensated. • Inconsistent messages from government about whether inhabitants are living there (il)legally. The High Court found sufficient ground to order postponing evictions pending hearings. • Violent evictions went ahead regardless. Homes burned down, crops destroyed and livestock butchered. • Communities not involved in negotiation, did not give consent, they were not compensated, they found no remedy even in a High Court order

15. Indonesia • Palm oil producer PT MAS (part of Malaysia’s Sime Darby) engaged in contracts with farmers in 11 villages of Tayan Hulu district (Sanggau District, West Kalimantan, Indonesia). • Families delivered 7.5 ha. per family and should have received 2 ha in return, planted with oil palm. However, they only received 1.2 ha. on average, not enough for a livelihood. • Villagers assumed they were leasing out the land for 35 years. Then discovered land would revert to the government not to them, and government may extend the lease to PT MAS for up to 95 years. • In 2007, PT MAS promised to resolve the dispute, but it hasn’t. • Many of the affected families did seem to negotiate and give priorconsent by signing a contract, but they were notwellinformed. They were not sufficiently compensated. Even after 15 years, no effective remedy.

16. Summary: impacts on communities • Lack of transparency and exclusion from decision making, causing uncertainty and disempowerment • Violent evictions • Loss of assets including land, houses, crops. • Loss of livelihoods –> fewer meals, less nutritious food, school drop-out • Loss of opportunities • Divided communities; increased strain on neighbouring communities and infrastructure.

17. Failing accountability mechanisms at national and international levels

18. National and international companies and governments are accountable • Operating companies must protect and respect rights and provide remedy to land use rights holders • National governments must protect and respect rights and provide remedy to land use rights holders • International investors, their financiers and companies buying from them must equally respect and protect local land rights, and provide remedy. • Home governments must hold companies to account for their activities overseas, and provide protection and remedy.

19. National governments and companies fail • Principle of Free Prior Informed Consent not respected by companies nor required by governments • No transparency about land deals and contracts • Complex and overlapping legal systems (including customary and statutory law) that are exploited or ignored • Lack of recourse: Courts inaccessible for rights holders, or court orders overruled by governments.

20. International investors, financiers and buyers fail • Investors do not respect previous land use rights • Financiers do not hold their clients to account • Sourcing companies do not hold their suppliers to account • Investor and sector standards may be useful. They express commitments and sometimes provide access to recourse mechanisms. But: • Voluntary standards do not bind non-signatory companies • Complaints mechanisms have not been tested

21. International community and home governments fail • UN Human rights instruments lack effective mechanisms to hold governments and companies to account • Few home governments have effective legislation to hold their companies to account for overseas activities, or even require transparency • Some governments have counterproductive policies that encourage land grabs, e.g. biofuels mandates

22. Roles and responsibilities

23. Topline recommendations • Grievances of communities affected by the case studies must be resolved • The balance of power must be shifted in favor of local communities

24. What should international community do? • Adopt strong internationally applicable standards on good governance relating to land tenure and management of natural resources. • Voluntary Guidelines on tenure of land, forests and fisheries to be agreed this year by the CFS. • Strengthen effectiveness of Human Rights mechanisms [insert picture here]

25. What should host governments do? • Respect and protect all existing land use rights, and ensure that the principle of free, prior and informed consent is followed, and that women have equal rights to access and control over land. • Ensure women have the same rights to access and control over land as men, in all relevant legislation. • Require full disclosure of information and impact assessments. • Situate land policies within wider pro-poor agrarian policies and support to small-scale food producers to producers • Design and implement fair and robust redress mechanisms to process and settle land related disputes.

26. What should investors do? • Respect all existing land use rights • Make sure that the principle of free, prior, and informed consent is followed in all agreements • Seek alternatives to the transfer of land rights from small food producers • Be guided by proper social and environmental impact assessments (including relating to water use) • Address food security issues. [insert picture here]

27. What should financiers & buyers do? Financiers, including private financiers and public financial institutions like the World Bank and, buyers, traders, processors, retailers, brands. • Accept full supply-chain responsibility. • Require all agricultural operations that they finance or use as suppliers to follow minimum principles • Remedy existing problems. [insert picture here]

28. What should home governments do? • Oblige and monitor companies and (inter)national public financial institutions like the World Bank/IFC to: • Acknowledge full supply-chain responsibility • Provide full disclosure of activities and their impacts on local communities and natural resources. • Offer (redress)mechanisms for affected people to hold investing or sourcing companies to account. • Remove measures (and subsidies)in national legislation that support reckless large-scale land acquisitions, including Biofuels mandates.

29. What can (civil)society do? • Citizens can hold investors, traders and financers accountable through the ballot box, consumer choices, and their pensions and investment choices. • Civil society organizations, along with media and research institutes, can use accountability mechanisms, expose bad practices, acknowledge good practices, and help build transparency. • Find out more at: www.oxfam.org/landgrabs