The Wilson Center’s Asia Program and Environmental Change and Security Program present a book launch for: The Global Farms Race: Land Grabs, Agricultural Investment, and the Scramble for Food Security Featuring: Michael Kugelman, Senior Program Associate for South and Southeast Asia, The Wilson Center Derek Byerlee, Independent Scholar and Adviser Gary R. Blumenthal, President and Chief Executive Officer, World Perspectives, Inc. Janet Larsen, Director of Research, Earth Policy Institute The world has entered into a new phase of the global food crisis. Wealthy food-importing countries and private investors are racing to acquire huge swaths of farmland abroad. Nearly 230 million hectares—an area equivalent to the size of Western Europe—have been sold or leased since 2001, with most of these transactions occurring since 2008. The Global Farms is the first book to examine this trend in all its complexity, considering the implications for investors, host countries, and the world as a whole. This launch will feature presentations from book contributors and other experts.
Event Type: Event
Land Tenure and Property Rights and Natural Resource Management – Constraints and Best Practices
Land Tenure and Property Rights and Natural Resource Management – Constraints and Best Practices training event, May 29 – June 4, 2007 (Washington, DC).
Land Tenure and Property Rights and Natural Resource Management Issues and Best Practices
Land Tenure and Property Rights and Natural Resource Management Issues and Best Practices training event, April 16-18, 2008 (Gaithersburg, MD).
Land Tenure and Property Rights and Natural Resource Management – Issues and Best Practices
Land Tenure and Property Rights and Natural Resource Management – Issues and Best Practices training event, February 4-6, 2009 (Washington, DC).
Best Practices for Land Tenure and Natural Resource Governance in East, Central, and Southern Africa
Best Practices for Land Tenure and Natural Resource Governance in East, Central, and Southern Africa training event, March 1-7, 2009 (Nairobi, Kenya).
Best Practices for Land Tenure and Natural Resource Governance
Best Practices for Land Tenure and Natural Resource Governance training event, October 21-23, 2009 (Washington, DC).
Property Rights and Resource Governance Issues and Best Practices
USAID/Washington is pleased to announce the USAID Short Course on Property Rights and Resource Governance Issues and Best Practices, scheduled for Fall 2012. The course is intended for approximately 35 USG foreign assistance practitioners interested in strengthening their knowledge and skills in applying LTPR in their economic, food security, governance, climate change, and natural resource, portfolios. The course has three objectives: 1. Exchange experiences and strengthen understanding of LTPR issues, best practices and their application to USG programming; 2. Introduce LTPR concepts and approaches at improving programmatic interventions; 3. Teach USG foreign assistance practitioners tools to address land tenure and property rights issues, or use land tenure and property rights interventions to strengthen economic, food security, governance and natural resource management objectives. This course also includes cross-cutting foci on the rights of women and other vulnerable populations. Through presentations, video, discussion and practical exercises based on country case studies, participants will share experience and strengthen their skills and expertise in the following: • LTPR concepts, current issues and interventions • Land and resource tenure for women and other vulnerable groups • Secure land rights as a critical factor for land markets, investment and agricultural growth • LTPR in natural resource management, biodiversity conservation, and climate change • Land and resource-based conflict and post-conflict stabilization • Competing priorities for land (food security, climate change and commercial pressures) The course agenda and other materials, when available, are located on the Training page. This course is being offered in conjunction with the Office of Conflict Management and Mitigation’s Conflict 102 course, which will be offered on October 29-30, 2012, so that interested participants have the opportunity for a full week of related training. Please register through USAID’s Learning Management System (LMS). Registration will close on October 21, 2012. For questions on how to use LMS or any other course queries, feel free to contact the course coordinators. Peter Giampaoli, Land Tenure and Climate Change Advisor, USAID Sandy Stark, Course Coordinator, TetraTech ARD Participant comments on the course “I enjoyed the course more than any other training I’ve had in Washington thus far.” “Really great course. One of the best I’ve attended so far. Made me reconsider – re-vision – the role of economic development in a land context” “This was one of the best trainings I’ve attended while at USAID. It is clear that the content and learning approaches were well thought through. I really appreciated the country case studies – the materials, the expert as part of our group, the way the exercise mirrored what we were learning, the video clips, the examples provided from actual USAID program experiences”
Best Practices for Land Tenure and Natural Resource Governance in Africa
USAID/Washington is pleased to announce the USAID Short Course on Best Practices for Land Tenure and Natural Resource Governance in Africa scheduled for October 8-11, 2012 in Monrovia, Liberia. The course will host approximately 35 decision makers from Africa and USG foreign assistance practitioners interested in strengthening their knowledge and skills in applying land tenure and property rights (LTPR) in their economic, governance and natural resource (biodiversity) portfolios. The course will provide participants with the opportunity to: 1. Exchange experiences, deepen discussion and strengthen understanding of land tenure and property rights issues, and their application to government and USAID programming; 2. Study land tenure and property rights approaches, best practices and tools aimed at improving programmatic interventions on critical issues in the region related to natural resources, agriculture and economic growth, and governance and conflict; 3. Learn tools to address land tenure and property rights issues, or use land tenure and property rights interventions to strengthen economic development, governance, conflict mitigation and natural resource management objectives. Focused on land and resource governance issues, the course aims to introduce LTPR concepts, approaches and tools aimed at improving programmatic interventions in economic growth, governance and natural resource management. Likewise, the course will teach participants tools to address land tenure and property rights issues and how to use land tenure and property rights interventions to strengthen economic, governance and natural resource management objectives. The course also includes cross-cutting foci on women’s rights and indigenous rights. This inter-active training course will be delivered through lectures by regional and international experts combined with participatory activities including a multi-round land markets simulation. Draft agenda and other materials for the course are available for download in Training. USAID officials should register through USAID’s Learning Management System (LMS). Registration will close on September 24, 2012. To register host-country government participants, please email Maria Echevarria (contact information below). For questions on how to use LMS or any other course queries, feel free to contact the course coordinators. Peter Giampaoli, Land Tenure and Climate Change Advisor, USAID Maria Echevarria, Course Coordinator, TetraTech ARD Illustrative evaluation comments by participants of past land training courses: “I’m glad I had the opportunity to take this course. I wish I had taken it 15 years ago.” “I can now make stronger arguments for coordinating with or including property rights components in my development-focused food security work” “The course was a great success as it dealt with the fundamental issues of Land Tenure and Property Rights governance in my country. It placed me in the right position to be able to deal with these issues back home and give appropriate advice to my policymakers”
Roundtable Discussion on Land Access and Responsible Agribusiness Investment
USAID and MCC elected to convene this discussion because identifying common ground among various sides of the debate around land acquisition is difficult. There are divided views on the issue, even among different stakeholder groups, such as civil society and private sector. Objectives: 1) Bring together various actors around one table; 2) Move discussion forward; Large-scale acquisition mistakes occurred; need to respect local rights, need of private sector to protect investments, large scale and small investors; limit predation; 3) meet concerns of civil society in participatory fashion; 4) To achieve the right balance of investment and rights protection to achieve food security, an important Millennium Development goal.
Policies and Politics of Responsible Land Governance
The Royal Tropical Institute (KIT), the University of Utrecht and LANDAC (IS Academy on Land Governance for Equitable and Sustainable Development) is organizing a training course for development professionals. The upcoming course will take place from 3rd – 7th of October 2011 in Amsterdam. The aim of this course is to strengthen capacity to deal with land and natural resource governance issues.