The Guiding Principles are designed to help a number of stakeholders develop larger-scale agricultural investments that are more likely to prove sustainable, beneficial, and successful for communities, investors and governments.

This book approaches water and sanitation as an African gender and human rights issue. Empirical case studies from Kenya, Malawi, South Africa and Zimbabwe show how coexisting international, national and local regulations of water and sanitation respond to the ways in which different groups of rural and urban women gain access to water for personal, domestic and livelihood purposes. Explores how women cope in contexts where they lack secure rights, and participation in water governance institutions, formal and informal.

A critical assessment of 22 years of land reform policies in South Africa. Concludes that land reform has been captured by elites. The most powerful voices are those of ‘emerging’ black capitalist farmers (often with non-farm incomes), traditional leaders, large-scale white commercial farmers and agribusiness corporates, who are all benefiting more than the poor.

Includes large-scale concessions and oil palm growing in Liberia, international attempts to qualify big land concessions, the FAO’s Voluntary Guidelines, national law and its relevance, the national legal framework concessions in Liberia, Sime Darby and Golden Veroleum in conflict.

This policy brief is based on research that examines women’s security in the context of large-scale land deals in West Africa. It focuses on Northern Sierra Leone and the impact of biofuels investment projects in Port Loko district, recommending three key changes.

CARE commissioned a review of the community land delimitation and demarcation processes implemented by various organisations in Nampula province, focusing on the work of ORAM. Contains an analysis of the extent to which these programmes are assisting communities to prepare for the advent of an expected wave of large-scale investments throughout the north of the country, in the face of gas and coal discoveries and the proposed development of large-scale agribusiness ventures along the Nacala corridor.

Includes the commodification of land, the effects of the land rush in developing countries, land rush land grab?, how much land is involved?, can land deals work for small farmers?, the actors involved in large-scale land acquisitions, legal frameworks protect the investors, international mechanism for protecting human rights, at national level little protection for the poor.

Includes the impacts of failed large-scale investments: the case of Bioshape; Bioshape’s land acquisition process at the national, district and village level; the impacts of Bioshape’s investment in Kilwa; the biofuel boom and bust in Tanzania 2005-11; options for the affected villagers, policy implications; recommendations.

A surprising number of large-scale land acquisitions have taken place in Southern Sudan in recent years. Presents preliminary data on Central and Western Equatoria, examining company-community engagement and the extent to which communities are being involved. Presents a number of case studies illustrating the complex interplay between cultural sovereignty and post-war reconstruction. Makes recommendations.

Includes the approach of this study; land and governance; large-scale land deals; open door policy and land to investors; land deals; processes and outcomes; findings from Gambella Region and Bako Woreda in Oromia Region; conclusions; partial list of large-scale land transfers in Ethiopia; notes on Ethiopia’s administration.

Paper reviews the South African experience with land reform, and land redistribution in particular, up to the end of 2005. Looks at various aspects of market-based land reform – landowner veto on participation in land reform; payment of ‘market prices’ for land; self-selection of beneficiaries; focus on ‘commercial’ forms of production; prominent role for the private sector in provision of credit, extension, and other services.

Focuses on tenure reform (as a necessary first step); securing rights for farmworkers and labour tenants; slow progress and key challenges in restitution; redistribution; what is to be done? Offers an overview of the key challenges facing land reform and suggests a number of ways in which the current reform programme can be accelerated to fight poverty and inequality. Argues there is urgent need for a comprehensive, transparent, participatory process and for widespread public debate, especially in the light of events in Zimbabwe.