Pension funds are influential actors in global finance, managing more money than all sovereign wealth funds, hedge funds and private equity funds combined. Canada has some of the world's biggest pension funds and increasingly they are investing in farmland – both in Canada and in the Global South. Panelists will explore the impacts of this on farmers using a case study of one investment in Brazil and research on the situation in Canada, followed by discussion.

Event brings together ILC members and other stakeholders to advance understanding of the complex and dynamic political, economic, environmental and social linkages between land governance, food security, poverty and democracy.

The Mekong Region Land Governance (MRLG) project and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) welcome you to join us for our Second Regional Land Forum, to be held in Bangkok on 28-30 May.

What will be happening there?

We will launch the new Mekong region State of Land report prepared by our partners from the Centre for Development and Environment of the University of Bern, with support of RCSD, FAO, EFICAS, MRLG). The first of its kind, this report presents a comprehensive overview of land resources, distribution and governance conditions in the Mekong region, including Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam. The 2018 State of Land will serve as a benchmark of current conditions, and set a baseline for future measuring and reporting of progress in land governance in the Mekong region.

What else?

Similar to the First Regional Land Forum, we are inviting land professionals and practitioners at both the local and global level to present the latest information and current progress on key topics addressing smallholder tenure security. These include:
– community access to land and forests, including mechanisms for better recognition of customary land rights;
– successful techniques for community empowerment and policy advocacy;
– putting a gender lens on land issues;
– new instruments and global finance measures towards responsible agricultural investment;
– land conflict resolution and mitigation strategies; and more.

Other events include a master class on Land Conflict Transformation and an academic sharing session.

We’ll also be inviting donor partners to outline their priorities and activities on land issues in the region, with the opportunity to “pitch” proposals to be taken up in country agendas or for potential funding.

With this event marking the end of MRLG Phase 1, we expect to share some of the novel solutions to difficult regional land governance problems that are emerging in the region. We are also excited to introduce Phase 2, and to continue working together to ensure that all smallholders both women and men have secured and equitable access to agricultural land and forest, particularly indigenous and ethnic minority communities.

We’d like to acknowledge our initial partners supporting the event organisation: the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), the Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), the University of Bern, the Research Centre for Social and Sustainable Development (RCSD), Deutsche Gesellscha& f?r Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and the Independent Mediation Group.

Annual farmland investor conference, now celebrating its 10th anniversary

Nos terres : Elles constituent un bien précieux et sacré pour la majorité des familles malgaches et, pourtant, elles sont convoitées par des sociétés et des individus, étrangers et nationaux.

Comment se passe l’accaparement des terres à Madagascar ? Qui favorise le phénomène ? « Zones économiques spéciales », ZIA, ZII et ZEE, c’est quoi ce grand bazar ?

Le Collectif « TANY » nous apportera des éléments de réponses.

Conférence-débat
21 avril 2018
14h30-18h

Salle Edith Piaf
3 rue Mébout
69120 Vaulx-en-Velin

Renseignements:
Espace Projets Interassociatif : 04 78 79 52 79

At the World Bank Land Conference 2018’s edition, the Global Donor Working Group will hold a session about responsible land-based investment – with a slightly different focus. Under the theme Influencing the next tier of companies – promoting responsible land-based investment through investors or investment frameworks, the Group aims to advance the debate beyond the role and practices of large food and agriculture companies to better understand how global investors and national investment frameworks are selecting land-related businesses which they will support. This session will explore new ways donors and other actors can reach and influence the practices of companies investing in land at national level and discuss the opportunities and limits to influencing change via investment standards or national investment assessment processes. It will look at key incentives and constraints faced by investors in influencing the practices of investees and tools they use to assess and manage tenure risk. The panel will be composed by Samantha Lacey, from CDC Group (UK’s Development Finance Institution), Francine Picard, from IISD, who will talk about the role of DFIs in improving legal frameworks for agricultural investment in Africa, and Vivek Maru, from NAMATI, elaborating on the role of legal empowerment on making land investments responsible.

One theme of discussion will be "Achieving responsible large-scale land based investments: lessons learned 10 years on."

This presentation compares food systems under large agricultural investments, including land grabs or dispossessions, in Kenya and Mozambique. The objective is to understand the effects these investments have on the food systems, livelihoods and food security of its immediate communities.

PRI webinar: Planting the seeds of change - managing social issues in land investing

Join the PRI's webinar Planting the seeds of change: managing social issues in land investing on 6 March 15.00-16.00 (GMT) to find out about why investors should consider land issues and learn about the Reference Guide for Risk Assessment in relation to land.

The guide provides a useful tool that can help investors identify and monitor ESG risks, and gives an overview of available information on general land-related topics for specific sectors and regions, including land use legislation for a number of countries.

Investments in real estate, large scale infrastructure, farmland and timber assets are becoming increasingly popular among institutional investors. Investments involving land acquisition carry a unique set of social and environmental risks and require specialist expertise for successful due diligence.

In this webinar we will explore some of the key characteristics of land investments and strategies for identifying and managing ESG risks with a focus on social issues including land rights, labour regulations, indigenous rights and rules on the purchase of agricultural land. Speakers will also focus particular attention – but not exclusively – on emerging market investments.

If you are unable to attend or are based in a different time-zone, we encourage you to register for this webinar so that you can receive a copy of the recording