Panel 16: LIVELIHOODS – Transition countries

This panel aims at exploring the blank spot in the “land grab” debate: the concealed but accelerating process of domestic and international large-scale land acquisitions in the transition countries of the former socialist countries in Eurasia.

As practically nothing is known yet about the ways such land deals materialise, it firstly aims at investigating the magnitude and nature of the land deals. In particular it will investigate the various ways in which land acquisitions occur (lease/sale, legal/illegal, private sector/government driven), exploring the actors involved and their motivations. The panel will cover land grabbing in various sectors: agriculture, forestry and (sub) urban real estate development.

Chair: Max Spoor, International Institute of Social Studies (ISS)