A new report released by the Earth Security Initiative puts the question of
arable land at the center of a new security agenda. The risks to national
economies, political stability and social cohesion, it argues, must now be
acknowledged and dealt with. As the interest in farmland and commodities
investments accelerates over the next decade, a new risk management agenda
for investors and governments must focus on creating long-term value.
The report shows the interdependence that soil resilience, human rights and
access to water has on these risks, and why all three must be considered
together within a single risk framework.
Download:
“The Land Security Agenda: How Investor Risks in Farmland Create
Opportunities for
Sustainability” at: http://www.earthsecurity.org/projects/landsecurity
The report introduces an action agenda, which seeks to mobilize:
1. Investors to manage the long-term risks in their portfolios as
opportunities to create value for people, land and water. The performance
reviews of fund managers and their pre-investment due-diligence processes
integrate these criteria.
2. Governments regulate land acquisitions according to these criteria,
applying them to domestic and foreign investments alike. Transparency on
these three trends enables civil society and investors to assess the
long-term risks of nations.
3. The customary rights held by communities are fully recognized by
investors and governments, ensuring communities to own their land assets,
which is a condition for prosperity.
Quotes:
“The Land Security Agenda is definitely a rallying point for action. This
well-written report has educated me on how we can begin to address this
widespread issue. Our network across Africa is interested in a continued
engagement with this agenda.” Gilbert Sendugwa, Africa Freedom of
Information Center (AFIC), Uganda.
“The Earth Security Initiative’s report is relevant to many countries across
the globe. Issues of soil erosion, land rights and water availability are
becoming real risks for investors in farmland and other commodities in both
the developed and developing world. The greater pressures on arable land
mean that these challenges are likely to grow in significance. Building an
understanding of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues and how
they manifest as investment risks and opportunities creates the business
case for investors to take a proactive approach to these issues. The PRI
Secretariat looks forward to the discussion that will be generated by this
report.” Katie Swanston, Head of Implementation Support, UN-backed
Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI)
“The land question puts sub-Saharan Africa’s future on the balance. The
region’s political stability, equity and economic prosperity depend on how
we manage this issue. The ESI’s Land Security Agenda provides us with a new
perspective on the practical actions that we can take now to address this
challenge. It rightfully highlights that issues like soil, biodiversity,
water, human rights, transparency, governance and access to information must
now be seen and acted upon through one single Land Security framework.”
Mukelani Dimba, Executive Director, The Open Democracy Advice Center,
South Africa
“The Earth Security Initiative manages to look holistically at land issues,
a real need given the changing context of a global financial crisis and the
growing trend in foreign involvements in land. It opens new possibilities
for action to advance good governance. It is timely and will prove important
in defining the sustainability debate for land.” Charles Wanguhu, Africa
Centre for Open Governance, Kenya
“In order to move from ‘land-grabs’ to ‘land stewardship’, politicians and
financial markets must internalize a new vision of prosperity. This vision
must include the full recognition of informal land rights held by
communities, on a continental scale, as the only route to a sustainable
economic prosperity. Hand-in-hand with this is the effective protection of
soil resilience, biodiversity and freshwater resources. Given the risk
exposure of countries to climate change these resources should be now seen
through an economic lens, as precious national assets.”Alejandro Litovsky,
lead author of the report and Founder of the Earth Security Initiative
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