By Akanimo Sampson
A leading policy think tank that is bringing fresh ideas and bold action to the most pressing social, economic, and environmental issues, Oakland Institute, says privatisation of land consistently serves the interests of private investors and multinational corporations at the expense of billions of livelihoods and the environment.
According to it, whether it is through private titling efforts or customary land made available for private investment or “development” projects, commodification of land drives inequity, dispossession, and displacement.
Consequently, the Institute says it is committed to increasing transparency about land deals including the terms of the deals, the actors involved, and the impact on people and the environment.
The group states on its website that over the last eight years, there has been a significant increase in land-based investment, both in terms of the number of investment projects and the total land area allocated.
Industrialised countries and private foreign investors, according to it, are driving demand for arable land in developing regions, particularly in Africa, as well as South America, and Asia-Pacific.
‘’The lands offered to investors are frequently in use although occupants lack legal claims to the land and access to legal institutions. As demand for land assets increases and governments and multilateral institutions promote land investment, displacement and impact on livelihoods have become serious sources of concern’’, the think tank says.
This Is Our Land: Why Reject the Privatisation of Customary Land is an educational resource that debunks myths used for privatising land around the world, while providing facts on how customary tenure systems are critical to protecting livelihoods and ensuring sustainable development for the people and the planet.
While insecure land tenure remains a pressing issue around the world, privatizing land does not offer communities the security and stability they need. Rather, it is just another avenue for further colonisation and exploitation of natural resources for the benefit of private interests and multinational corporations, that pose fresh threats to livelihoods, environment, and further the climate crisis.
Produced at the demand of partner organisations who are on the frontlines of the struggle against land grabbing, This is Our Land provides communities with critical facts and figures to challenge the theft of their land and resources.
The Institute is appealing to media houses to help it continue to debunk the myths used to justify the privatisation of land and protect customary land tenures systems around the world.
