Land grabbing, sustainable development and human rights

The term land grabbing refers to investment by global corporations and investors from wealthy developed nations in agricultural land in less developed countries. Such land deals are usually negotiated between host governments and foreign investors without participation of local communities who depend on the land for their livelihoods.

There is growing evidence that the implementation of such agreements often has serious detrimental impacts on the environment and negative effects on a range of human rights, including rights to land, food and water.

The project explores the possibility of an integrated human rights and sustainable development approach as a holistic framework for assessing the impact of land grabbing and for the development of policy and regulatory responses. For more information, see E Grant and O Das, Land Grabbing, Sustainable Development and Human Rights (2015) 4 Transnational Environmental Law 289-317.