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Palm oil and indigenous people in South East Asia

1 Jan 2011

Rapid expansion of oil palm estates in Southeast Asia is being driven by rising global demand for edible oils and biofuels. Two countries – Malaysia and Indonesia – dominate world production. According to the study, an estimated 4 million hectares of land are currently under oil palm in Malaysia – with a target of planting of 60,000–100,000 hectares per year on customary lands – and over 7.5 million hectares in Indonesia, where the current rate of land clearance for oil palm exceeds 600,000 hectares per year.

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The tragedy of public lands: The fate of the commons under global commercial pressure

1 Jan 2011

This paper looks at the impact of commercial pressures upon common lands. Its main task is to identify the factors that make local possession of the commons vulnerable to involuntary loss in the face of such pressures. As the main location for acquisitions with around 20 million hectares formally acquired since 2007, sub-Saharan Africa is its main focus.

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A historical perspective on the 'Global Land Rush'

1 Jan 2011

Using a broad historical and conceptual scope, this paper by Chris Huggins and the International Land Coalition acknowledges the difficulties inherent in drawing neat conclusions regarding a long history of unequal relations around agricultural production and trade.

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Alternative Indicators of Well-Being for Melanesia: Changing the Way Progress is Measured in the South Pacific

1 Sep 2010

The Republic of Vanuatu has begun the process of testing alternative indicators of well-being which reflect Melanesian values. These specially tailored indicators modify the existing progressive measures accepted internationally by governments and aid agencies in order to better track the factors that contribute to ni-Vanuatu wellbeing. The indicators focus on factors not currently captured by the Human Development Index or accounted for within the Millennium Development Goals— factors including free access to land and natural resources, community vitality, family relationships, and culture.

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The Mele Decleration 2010

19 Jun 2010

The declaration of the second annual meeting of the Melanesian Indigenous Land Defence Alliance, held at Mele village in Port Vila, Vanuatu, 14-19 June 2010

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Donors open the door for land grab in PNG

1 May 2010

Video created by GRAIN in May 2010. Foreign donors are promoting land registration in Papua New Guinea (PNG) to facilitate a farmland grab, under the guise of agricultural development. Aid agencies, such as AusAid under its "Making Land Work Initiative", are ramping up the push to reform customary land tenure in order to commodify rural lands in PNG and throughout Melanesia and turn them over to foreign investors.

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Introduction: Understanding Melanesian customary land

1 Apr 2010

Introduction to 'In defence of Melanesian customary land' (Anderson and Lee eds, 2010).

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