Seminar on Commercial Pressures on Land – Utrecht, 8 July 2009

International Land Coalition | 16 July 2009 The 8 July 2009, almost a hundred development practitionners from all over the world convened in Utrecht to participate to the DPRN Expert Seminar “Commercial Pressures on Land: rethinking policies and practice for development”. Representatives of civil society, intergovernmental organisations, research institutes, governments as well as private sector have animated the debate addressing the increasing phenomena of the so called “land grabbing”. The seminar was articulated around three different panels, each of which tried to capture a different aspect: (i)the southern stakeholder perspective, which included representatives of southern governments, research institutes and civil society organisations; (ii) the corporate and multistakeholder initiatives, which analyzed possible ways for redressing social and ecological effects caused by foreign corporate activity in Southern countries and (iii) the international community perspective, where international IGOs and NGOs explored possibilities for a sustainable way forward. Here below you can find downloadable versions of the presentations for each panel. Read the Full program. Reframing Global Land Issues and Struggles in the context of Commercial Pressures on Land Jun Borras, Research Professor, Saint Mary’s University, Canada. Large-scale land acquisitions and leases: A set of core principles and measures to address the human rights challenge Gaëtan Vanloqueren, Representative of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Taking stock: responding to the global rush for land Michael Taylor, International Land Coalition Secretariat. PANEL 1: SOUTHERN STAKEHOLDER PERSPECTIVE: PROMOTING SOCIALLY AND ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE LAND-RELATED INVESTMENTS Les pressions commerciales sur les terres rurales dans les pays sahéliens: cas du Niger Abdoul Karim Mamalo, Permanent Secretary Code Rural, Niger. Peasants and Indigenous Social Movements for Rights of Land in Bolivia Pamela Cartagena, CIPCA, Bolivia A brief on industrialization, urbanization and land conflicts in Vietnam Le Quang Binh, ISEE, Vietnam Assessing the issue of land acquisition through Human Rights perspective Vidya Bhushan Rawat, Social Development Foundation, India Panel Summary by Chair Nathaniel Don Marquez, ANGOC, Philippines PANEL 2: CORPORATE CODES AND MULTISTAKEHOLDER INITIATIVES: REDRESSING SOCIAL AND ECOLOGICAL EFFECTS CAUSED BY FOREIGN CORPORATE ACTIVIY IN SOUTHERN COUNTRIES Corporate codes and multistakeholder initiatives: redressing social and ecological effects caused by foreign corporate activity in Southern Countries. The case of Indonesia Abetnego Tarigan, Sawit Watch, Indonesia Mali Biocarburant SA making core business of sustainability Walter Hetterschijt, Fund Manager of Annona Sustainable Investmet Fund The negative impacts of the fat and oil sector Marieke Leegwater, Productschap MVO Challenges of mitigating social and ecological effects of corporate activities in the South Yefred Myenzi, LARRRI/Hakiardhi, Tanzania Panel summary by Chair Ujjaini Halim, IMSE, India PANEL 3: ROLE OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY: WORKING TOWARDS SOCIO-ECONOMICALLY AND ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENTS IN NATURAL RESOURCES FOR CROP PRODUCTION Land grabbing: International Community Responses Klaus Deininger, Lead Economist, World Bank Responding to the Increased Demand for Land: Possible roles of IGOs Harold Liversage, IFAD Aland Tenure Advisor Paul Mathieu, FAO Land Tenure Section The role of the international community Gine Zwart, Oxfam Novib Panel summary by Sander van Bennekom, Oxfam Novib A case of land governance: Chinese Local and Global impact Prof Gao Guiying, Ningxia University, China Western Development Centre, China

---

Source: ILC