Land acquisitions and rights news
Navigating the challenges of land-based investment: new blog series
31 March 2022 IIED and Land Portal have launched a new blog series on the governance of land-based investments in the global South. The series will explore practical strategies and approaches adopted by rights defenders and others to address common challenges surrounding these investmentsWomen’s land rights: it's more complex than just tenure
18 August 2021 A new briefing from IIED looks at the complexities around land tenure systems in sub-Saharan Africa and how the dominant approach to secure ‘women’s land rights’ isn’t delivering the change women needBringing attention to what works for women’s land rights
15 October 2020 Coinciding with the International Day of Rural Women on 15 October, IIED launches a new series of blogs exploring core principles that can help to strengthen women’s land rights in the global SouthWhat’s needed to halt threats to rural land rights in Cameroon
9 September 2020 A new briefing explores the gap between statuary and customary land tenure systems in Cameroon, and suggests ways to advance land reform so that the rights of all are protectedInvestor-state dispute settlement: IIED and partners contribute to reform working group
22 July 2019 IIED and partners have published four submissions to the UN working group on reforming investor-state dispute settlement. The submissions reflect a concern about ensuring sustainable development is central to the reformsNew 'Landcam' website launched
1 May 2019 Landcam.org supports improved land governance and inclusive dialogue on land policy reform in CameroonGWI animation: how to secure land rights of people affected by dams
9 February 2017The Global Water Initiative (GWI) West Africa has released a new animation explaining how policymakers can work with local communities to protect the rights of people affected by large dams in West Africa
ECOWAS water ministers agree to build fairer dams
16 December 2015The Economic Commission of West African States (ECOWAS) has approved a proposal for a directive designed to ensure future water infrastructure projects respect the environment and benefit all
New online database of investment contracts hailed as a "game changer"
6 October 2015 IIED principal researcher Lorenzo Cotula will celebrate the launch of the first searchable online repository of investment contracts at an event at Columbia University on WednesdayIIED animation to help communities protect legal rights
19 May 2015IIED has released a new animation designed to help local communities protect their rights in the face of large-scale land acquisitions
Farming impacts in sub-Saharan Africa
23 April 2015 Three new papers looking at the way in which agriculture is contributing to development in Sub-Saharan Africa have been published as part of an ongoing series, which was launched last year on World Food DayECOWAS encourages states to learn from returns on investment of large dams in West Africa
25 March 2015Government representatives and economists from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are meeting in Burkina Faso to review the economic impacts of large dams
Niger hosts forum on securing land rights in irrigated areas
7 May 2014 On 7-8 May, in the town of Konni, Niger's Minister of Agriculture will chair a national forum on legal protection of land tenure in irrigated areas. The forum will be attended by representatives from government, regional and local authorities, local groups, the private sector and civil societyLarge land deals: Complex financial flows create routes for accountability
24 March 2014 Complex webs of finance can often create barriers but research by IIED shows understanding and harnessing this complexity can create opportunities for public accountabilityHow to use law to make foreign investment work for sustainable development
22 November 2013 As foreign investments in agriculture and extractive industries increase pressures on land and natural resources, governments and civil society can harness the law to promote sustainable development.Book charts path from harmful land grabs to people-centred investment in Africa
15 July 2013The time is ripe for a new approach to the large-scale land deals that ultimately connect millions of consumers and savers in rich nations with millions of poor rural farmers in Africa, says a new book by one of the world’s leading experts in such deals.
African governments signing away water rights for decades
24 November 2011The water rights often feature in the growing number of large land deals that governments are signing with investors (see First detailed study of large land acquisitions in Africa warns of impacts on poor rural people) as many of these areas require irrigation to be viable.
Such deals have already raised concerns for being rushed, secretive and one-sided. Many fail to deliver real benefits and can even create new social and environmental problems (see Report shows how secret land deals can fail to benefit African nations – and how to make them better).
Now, researchers at IIED warn that governments risk signing away water rights in ways that harm the future prospects of their citizens, especially fishermen and pastoralists, who rely on the same water as the investors. Some investors in Mali and Sudan have been given unrestricted access to as much water as they need.
"Companies that acquire land for irrigated farming will want secure water rights, but long-term contractual commitments can jeopardise water access for local farmers," says co-author Lorenzo Cotula. "This affects not only the people who have customarily used the land that is being leased, but also distant downstream users who can be hundreds of kilometres away and even across an international border."
Rising demand for renewable energy could drive more land grabs
30 August 2011Rising demand for the dominant form of renewable energy worldwide – wood – could drive yet more acquisitions of land in developing countries where food insecurity is rising and land rights are weak, say researchers at IIED.
Open letter to Bill Gates on African land acquisitions
11 February 2011IIED's director Dr Camillla Toulmin, responds to comments Bill Gates made about large-scale land acquisitions in a recent interview.
Report shows how secret land deals can fail to benefit African nations – and how to make them better
31 January 2011African nations risk giving investors access to large areas of land in rushed, secretive and one-sided deals that fail to deliver real benefits or create new social and environmental problems, according to the first ever legal analysis of contracts which is published today (31 January) by the International Institute for Environment and Development.
IIED's director Camilla Toulmin discusses 'land-grabs' on Guardian podcast
28 January 2011Large-scale international land deals are having a huge impact on local communities. In this podcast produced by The Guardian, journalist Madeleine Bunting and a panel of guests discuss the issue and debate whether anything can be done to make these agricultural investments work for global development.
First detailed study of large land acquisitions in Africa warns of impacts on poor rural people
25 May 2009Land acquisitions are on the increase in Africa and other continents, raising the risk that poor people will be evicted.
Biofuels boom risks increasing landlessness among world's poor
2 June 2008The global biofuels boom risks harming poor people in poor countries by forcing them off land they depend on, says a report published today (2 June) by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.