In large-scale land acquisitions, local communities are often insufficiently compensated, under-consulted, and left with their livelihoods threatened.

A two-decade slump in Japan’s real estate prices, an incomplete land registry and lax rules on buying forest with water rights are attracting investors led by China.

"It seems incongruous that Herakles Farms claims it is trying to improve the lives of local people but then there is scarcely any consultation with those same people over what is to be done with the land they depend on for their livelihoods, nor any serious acknowledgment of the risks posed to local environments and the global climate," writes Kumi Naidoo

Only legal recognition of commons as the communal property of communities is sufficient to afford real protection, writes Liz Alden Wily

The New South Wales Farmers Association, in Australia, has switched policies to back much tighter restrictions on foreign companies and investment funds buying Australian farmland.

Using or acquiring land for your company can indeed be a risky business and particularly when poor communities are affected.

International groups give full support and solidarity to the farmers in Burma/Myanmar in resisting land grabs in their country

This article is part of a series of feature stories on land grabbing in selected countries in Asia, as part of an awareness-raising campaign on how land grabs worsen hunger, in commemoration of 'World Foodless Day' on October 16 by PAN AP and its partner organisations. (http://www.panap.net/wfd)

Land rights advocates are hoping ASEAN will come up with a regulatory framework to check private sector investment in land, particularly for agriculture, as land grabs and land-related conflicts soar in the region.

We are witnessing a second scramble for Africa and other poor countries by rich nations and agribusinesses to acquire land for agricultural and biofuel purposes.

Today in the lead up to World Habitat Day on October 1st Witness are proud to announce a new video People Before Profit – bringing communities across the world together to tell the global story of forced evictions.

This article provides an overview of the elements of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security most relevant to investors.

One of the greatest threats Africa has ever faced is the impact from this new phenomenon of land-grabbing

February 2012 workshop in Ouidah, Benin brought together over thirty participants from farmer organisations and NGOs in West and Central Africa to share experiences and analysis of land grabs.

Les responsables du Centre pour l’environnement et le Développement associés à ceux du Réseau de Lutte contre la Faim au Cameroun, ont décidé qu’il était désormais temps de se mettre définitivement en travers du chemin de l’entreprise SG Sustainable Oils Cameroon, filiale camerounaise de la firme américaine Herackles Farm.

Land grabbing in Congo is speculative, CONAPAC advisor Etienne Bisimwa says, often based on the anticipated demand for jatropha, for biofuel. The profits, he says, are unlikely to be invested in rural areas.

Colliers International estimates about A$4 billion is currently being raised for funds to invest in Australian agriculture, including PrimeAg’s raising of A$125 million in cash for a controversial unlisted A$250 million agriculture fund with Australia’s Future Fund.

The dominant myth of industrial agriculture is that it produces more food and is land saving. However, the more industrial agriculture spreads, the more hungry people we have. And the more industrial agriculture spreads, the more land is grabbed.

"We appreciate the Principles for Responsible Agricultural Investment elaborated by the World Bank, FAO, IFAD and UNCTAD, support the ongoing extensive consultations on these principles, and welcomed the approval of the Voluntary Guidelines for the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests."

Activists are fighting to introduce or strengthen laws intended to give women more secure access to land and are combating social norms and practices that stand in their way.

Les recherches menées par L’Oakland Institute et Greenpeace montrent l’étendu de ces investissements et les dangers que représentent la culture intensive d’huile de palme pour le climat, si le secteur reste libre d’agir, sans régulation.

From the World Bank to pension funds, efforts are under way to regulate land grabs through the creation of codes and standards. Rather than help financial and corporate elites to "responsibly invest" in farmland, we need them to stop and divest.

Lors d’un atelier organisé par Synergie Paysanne, GRAIN et le RAPDA, avec le soutien de Pain pour le Prochain, à Ouidah (Bénin) du 7 au 9 février 2012, plus d’une trentaine de participants représentant des organisations paysannes et des ONG actives sur les questions d’accaparement des terres en Afrique de l’Ouest et du Centre ont échangé leurs expériences et approfondi cette question.

Politicians and economists say that the Australian public is only worked up about foreign ownership of agricultural land because the community is misinformed. This drives the belief that a register of foreign land holdings will calm everyone's anxiety. Given that Queensland has had such a register for 20 years, and that disquiet about foreign ownership still resonates among Queenslanders, this means that something else is at play.

The recent increasing land acquisitions by transnational corporations (TNCs) is causing conflicts among farmers, pastoralists and other land users in Ghana, and have the potential of leading to the loss of arable land by smallholders, reveals a study.

If there is an issue that is the pulse of popular discontent in Tanzania presently, then, it is land.

Group says regent abused position in pursuing relationship between Iowa State University and Ratsetter's agribusiness corporation, which is developing a farming operation in Tanzania.

Everyone seems to agree on the need for “investment” in agriculture to fight hunger and support rural development, but the focus is exclusively on investment funds and big business, and nothing about farmers. Is the term part of a disinformation campaign to serve the interests of only a few?

Ces soi-disant « investissements » ne sont rien de plus que le vol des territoires des peuples indigènes, des paysans et des paysannes, des pêcheurs, des éleveurs et d’autres communautés locales.

Adoptée par l’Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie, réunie à Bruxelles (Belgique) le 10 juillet 2012, sur proposition de la Commission de la coopération et du développement