Few Benefits, Huge Risks: Taking Stock of the Global Land Rush

Since the surge of large-scale land acquisitions by international investors starting a decade ago, the Land Matrix Initiative has recorded land deals with a staggering total contract size of 30 million hectares. In its third Analytical Report, the Land Matrix Initiative assesses the wide-ranging impacts of these land acquisitions on people’s livelihoods, on land tenure, and on the environment.

Some of the conclusions are alarming: The non-consensual and uncompensated loss of land experienced by local communities often comes with few socio-economic benefits – be they employment, newly introduced technologies, or infrastructure. Beyond economic woes, these large-scale land acquisitions destroy rainforests, natural habitats, and biodiversity. The report clearly shows the urgent need to rethink and transform current practices of large-scale land acquisitions into responsible and sustainable contributions to economic and social development.

Welcome note: Nora Boehm is Senior Policy Officer for land-related issues at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Speaker: Apl. Prof. Jann Lay is Lead Research Fellow at the GIGA Institute for African Affairs and Head of the GIGA Research Programme “Globalisation and Development.” He is a member of the Land Matrix Steering Committee and a co-author of the report.

Discussants: Constanze von Oppeln is Program Manager at Welthungerhilfe.

Berns Komba Lebbie is National Coordinator of Land for Life in Sierra Leone.

Moderator: Dr. Christoph Kubitza is Research Fellow at GIGA Institute for Asian Studies and co-author of the report.