From the mid-2000s, a commodity boom underpinned a wave of land use investments in low- and middle-income countries. While agribusiness, mining and petroleum concessions often involve promises of jobs and public revenues, they have also prompted concerns about land dispossession, exclusionary investment models and infringements of the rights of vulnerable groups. 

Palm oil is one of the most controversial yet ubiquitous agricultural commodities in the world, used in everyday products ranging from cooking oil and chocolate to toothpaste and soap. Over the past few decades, the palm oil industry has contributed significantly to the economic development of Indonesia and Malaysia, which together produce an estimated 85 to 90 per cent of global supply.