Seminar series: Water, Energy, Land and Food Security. December 10 |
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December 10, 2014
International Seminar
"The Land Matrix – Patterns and Challenges of Tracking Large-Scale Land Acquisitions" Martin Ostermeier (GIGA, Hamburg)
Abstract: Large-scale land acquisitions (LSLA) are notoriously non-transparent. The Land Matrix is a global and independent land monitoring initiative that promotes transparency and accountability in decisions over land and investment. The first part of this seminar will introduce the Land Matrix database and highlight general patterns and recent trends around LSLA. The second part discusses challenges of gathering data and tracking land acquisitions.
"Large-Scale Land Acquisitions in Africa: Exploring Actors, Roles and Responsibilities" Stefania Bracco (University of Siena)
Abstract: Adding additional sources and information on the concluded deals collected by the Land Matrix Global Observatory dataset, we will provide a detailed assessment of the large-scale land acquisitions in Africa, in terms of investors (private, financial, public sector, multinational corporations, etc.), purpose of the deal and investors’ behaviour. It will show economic, environmental and social benefits and costs of large-scale land acquisitions, and explain how external environmental and social negative spillovers create space for responsible investment initiatives to internalize these costs in a corporate strategy. Adopting unsustainable strategies, investors encounter potential costs in terms of conflict with local communities and/or NGOs, reputational and credit risk and financial losses. Hence, in many cases they have incentive to adopt sustainability criteria and responsible strategies. We will review the corporate social responsibility’s initiatives and standards that the actors involved in land acquisitions in Africa declare to join and follow. The analysis of requirements and criteria set by various initiatives helps to identify which role corporate social responsibility may play in making large-scale land acquisitions in Africa more beneficial, or at least less harmful, for sustainable development. The evidence provided on what the investors are currently doing to ensure fair acquisitions is showing that the goal of responsible land investments in Africa is still far to be reached, despite some steps in the right direction.
Venue Room Tafuri, Palazzo Badoer San Polo 2468 IUAV University of Venice
The seminar is part of the series “Water, energy, land and food security. The challenge of large-scale land acquisitions” that will run from October 2014 to January 2015.
Organized by The School of Doctorate of the University of Venice IUAV and the Department of Design and Planning in Complex Environment in collaboration with Venice International University.
Participation is free of charge. Please register here. For further information follow this link
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