Another phase of colonialism could be upon us, in which the rich and mighty are competing among themselves to squeeze revenue from whatever remains of the world’s all-too-finite remaining resources. But in contrast to earlier phases, some of the leading actors in this competition are the governments of the colonised territories themselves.
What is incontrovertible is that international investors of all kinds have stepped up their efforts to secure long-term rights over land. To a large extent, this has been for the purposes of growing crops with assured market prospects, including grains, vegetable oils and biofuels. At the same time, many speculators have been seeking to obtain rights to timber or else responding to the latest carbon-offsetting opportunities.
An important enabling factor in this large-scale transfer of rights would appear to be the absence, or vulnerability, of established property rights in many developing countries. In these cases, governments have been able to exercise almost unlimited power in leasing their citizens’ untitled land to investors and speculators.
Recent reports on the subject indicate that poor rural communities are almost defenceless against the forces now pitted against them, and that policies designed to support smallholder agriculture are proving ineffective. A major international study urged governments to do more to protect and promote land rights, and to recognise the central role that local populations play in land use and management. “It is to be hoped that the rush for land will act as a wake-up call, provoking a reconsideration of the path we are on”, said the authors of a report by the Commercial Pressures on Land Research Project.
