New Research: Forcing Local Peoples off Their Lands Drives Almost Two-Thirds of Conflicts Between Companies and Local Communities in Africa
(RightsAndResources.org) Experts at Dakar event point to a significant cause of investment losses, work stoppages and violence across Africa: the failure of governments and companies to respect the land rights of indigenous and local communities
Sixty-three percent of disputes related to private sector land and natural resource investments in Africa began when communities were forced to leave their lands, according to new research released today by TMP Systems and the Rights and Resources Initiative.
“African governments are competing for investment to spur economic development and improve living standards,” said TMP Systems CEO Lou Munden. “But most countries need to radically improve the governance of tenure rights to create an attractive and stable investment environment. Companies and investors—who increasingly understand that unclear tenure rights create financial and reputational risks—need to do more to identify and respond to these implicit challenges in emerging market investments.”
The research also found that areas targeted for development in Africa are more heavily populated than similar developments elsewhere in the world. The population density within a 50- kilometer radius of disputed projects in Africa was more than twice the global average: 816,547 people compared with 319,426 globally. For West Africa, the average was over 1 million people.
“The mistaken belief that Africa is a continent of empty, freely available land open for development has done so much harm,” said RRI Coordinator Andy White. “No land is unclaimed, and uprooting communities without their consent from their lands and traditional livelihoods creates conflicts and social unrest. Recognizing and securing local peoples’ property rights instead provides security for governments, investors and companies—a critical need, given all the political uncertainty in the world today.”
According to the research, the typical tenure-related dispute in Africa occurs:
- An average of 61 kilometers from national borders, far from the seat of centralized government;
- In an area with endemic poverty, low access to government services and poor nutrition;
- In an area that is less developed with little prior change in how the land was used; and
- In an area with a history of social conflict.
