The focus of this panel is the relationship between land grabs, dispossession and livelihoods. Land is a key livelihood resource and is used in a variety of ways by different peoples; an analysis of the effects of dispossession on livelihoods must be situated in localized contexts as “case studies” bear important implications for the understanding of broader, globalized processes.
Presenters on this panel cover a variety of topics: Kathleen Guillozet and John Bliss discuss the implications of increased foreign investment in Ethiopian forestry and agriculture, Martina Locher analyzes the role of collective decision making in the transfer to land titles to foreigners in Tanzania, Marja Spierenburg outlines the livelihood implications of privatizing conservation in Malawi, and Shelley Feldman and Charles Geisler discuss the historical and contemporary dynamics of dispossession in Bangladesh.
Chair: Tania Li, University of Toronto
- Kathleen Guillozet and John Bliss, Oregon State University College of Forestry, Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Household Livelihoods and Increasing Foreign Investment Pressure in Ethiopia’s Natural Forests
- Martina Locher, PhD Student, Department of Geography, University of Zurich, How come that others are selling our land?’ – Customary Land Rights, Rural Livelihoods and Foreign Land Acquisition in the Case of a UK-based Forestry Company in Tanzania (Presentation)
- Marja Spierenburg, VU University Amsterdam Stuck between a Park and a Plantation the Privatization of Majete Wildlife Reserve in Malawi
- Shelley Feldman and Charles Geisler, Development Sociology, Cornell University, Land Grabbing in Bangladesh Displacement of Peasant Holdings