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Lorenzo Cotula
Principal researcher (law and sustainable development), Natural Resources; team leader, legal tools
Lorenzo Cotula is an expert in law and development. He works on international investment law, human rights, land rights and legal issues related to "land grabbing", as well as the political economy of natural resource investments. He leads IIED's work on Legal Tools for Citizen Empowerment – a collaborative initiative to strengthen local rights and voices in natural resource investments. He has extensive experience in low-income countries in Africa and Asia.
Law and development, human rights, international investment law, human rights, land rights and legal issues in "land grabbing", law and political economy in natural resource investments.
Extensive country experience in Africa and Asia, particularly low-income countries in these regions.
Lead on Legal Tools for Citizen Empowerment – a collaborative initiative to strengthen local rights and voices in natural resource investments; rethinking investment treaties, laws and contracts; accountability in investment chains, legal and social accountability tools in agricultural investments; legal empowerment work, and international lesson sharing among legal empowerment practitioners.
Research consultant to the Legal Office of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO); collaboration with two Italian NGOs.
Education:
Postgraduate certificate in Sustainable Business, University of Cambridge; PhD in Law, University of Edinburgh; MSc in Development Studies (Distinction), London School of Economics; Degree in Law (cum laude), University "La Sapienza" of Rome.
Italian, English and French
Lorenzo Cotula's blog posts
The commodity slump has cooled the global land rush. But land rights are still under pressure, requiring action at local to global levels.
New research examining the geographical coverage of international investment treaties raises concern about how they might affect public action to address 'land grabbing'.
Many land deals are still kept secret. Will a new online resource change the game?
There are growing calls to reform international investment law, but how can we ensure that the people affected by these decisions are part of the debate?
Commercial land concessions may be protected under international investment law, with important implications for local land relations. Lorenzo Cotula argues that securing land rights requires tackling these global dimensions.
The House of Commons has been debating the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). But will the UK parliament use its powers to debate a bilateral investment treaty signed with Ethiopia?
If foreign investment is to promote inclusive sustainable development, investment policy must take human rights seriously.
The European Union's negotiations with the United States over the investment chapter of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership propose a more balanced text than many earlier treaties. But the EU has not made a compelling case for including an investment chapter in the first place.
Investor-state arbitrations can affect important areas of public policy – from environmental protection to public health. Yet many people may have never heard about this mechanism for settling disputes between investors and states, particularly in low and middle-income countries.
As trade talks regain momentum, 'land grab' activists are scrutinising negotiations and pioneering new opportunities for public accountability.
A new report claims that European demand for biofuels is not to blame for land acquisitions in poorer countries. But evidence suggests that the issue is more complex than the biofuels industry would like us to believe.
African governments have played a key role in allocating land to investors. Recent developments hold out promise for more carefully thought out approaches by them in the future.
A recent US judgment is a setback in efforts to improve corporate accountability, but promising developments elsewhere are creating new opportunities.
Greater transparency was a key theme at the World Bank land conference last week. Transparency is critical, but without greater accountability to local communities it is not enough.
In January, the president of Benin and the prime minister of Canada announced they had signed a new bilateral investment treaty (BIT). The treaty, which is now publicly available, is just the latest in a large number of BITs signed by African countries over the past 20 years.