Sites of Protest by Price Stuart;Sanz Sabido Ruth;

Author:Price, Stuart;Sanz Sabido, Ruth;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: undefined
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Unlimited Model
Published: 2012-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

The Global Rush for Land

Ali Hines

According to a recent report issued by Global Witness, ‘the world is currently witnessing the fastest-growing commercial pressure on land in history’ (Global Witness 2014a, 1). In its study of the rubber industry in Myanmar, the group notes that ‘approximately 40 million hectares of land in developing countries’ have been leased out to global investors, with agricultural land placed under particular duress (Global Witness 2014a, 1). Commercial interest in farmland must be seen in the context of a powerful rhetoric of scarcity, in which exploitative land deals are often conducted under the guise of ‘national development’ (Global Witness 2014a, 1). Colchester’s remarks, made in a UN report published over two decades ago, were quite clear in this respect: governments are complicit in the process of environmental degradation, with the principles of sustainability ‘being systematically overridden by international and national policies and development programmes’ (Global Witness 2014a, iv). Notions of ‘sustainable development’ suggest that the earth’s finite resources must be preserved. As Colchester argues, since ‘the needs of future generations are undefinable’ and ‘the future potential for wealth generation of species and ecosystems are equally unknowable’, the world’s biological assets must be carefully guarded (Colchester 1992, 1).

The Mekong in Southeast Asia is one region that is currently in the midst of a major social and environmental crisis, as the governments of Laos and Cambodia lease vast tracts of territory to private companies. Baird notes that, to date, ‘Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai companies’ have been ‘the most important investors in monoculture rubber estates’ (Baird 2009, 1). Environmentalists and human rights campaigners argue that this kind of exploitation has entirely negative consequences for both local communities and the environment, as the two elements cannot be considered separately. The harmful impacts of such investments are considerable, but they are protected by ‘a shroud of secrecy’ that is drawn across the process of land allocation (Global Witness 2014a, 6). Global Witness draws attention to the fact that often, the first notification received of a company’s right to take over a site is when the bulldozers arrive (Global Witness 2014a, 5). Many families affected by this kind of intrusion are reduced to poverty and receive little or no compensation. In cultural terms, too, indigenous peoples face the destruction of their lives, as their ‘spirit forests’ and ancestral burial grounds are destroyed (Global Witness 2014a, 5).

In Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar (otherwise known as Burma), the majority of the population is engaged in subsistence farming. In Cambodia and Laos, corrupt practices are widespread even though legal safeguards govern land investments. When they attempt to complain or resist, whole communities face violence, arrest and detention. In response, as the competition over land and resources increases, protests against land concessions have become increasingly common and violent. In 2012, for example, according to the human rights group ADHOC (the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association), the government of Cambodia arrested twice as many people during housing and land disputes as they did in 2011 (ADHOC 2013, 38).

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