A majority of the world’s poor live in rural areas and depend on land and other natural resources for their livelihoods. Secure rights of access to these resources is thus of fundamental importance for these people. Land rights issues have been on the development agenda for a long time but they have taken on increased importance in recent years due to the escalating global competition for land. One of the principal drivers in this context is the rapidly growing interest for investments in land for large-scale commercial production of biofuels, food crops for export, forest plantations, etc. 

 

This seminar discusses, with examples from Africa, how this growing demand for land for commercial investments threaten to deprive poor rural households of their access to land but also what scope there is and what measures are required to turn this development into a positive outcome at the local level. Introductory presentations are given by Jesper Karlsson, GU-School of Global Studies with field experience from Sierra Leone, and by Lasse Krantz, Research Fellow at GU-Deptartment of Economics and former policy adviser on land issues at Sida. 

 

This is the first in a series of seminars organized by LARRI (Land Rights Research Initiative) which is a platform for discussion, exchange of ideas and information as well as for promoting collaboration among researchers and students interested in land rights issues from a poverty and development perspective. The initiative is hosted by Gothenburg Centre of Globalization and Development.