eDiscussion

World Bank annual meetings

René Adrian — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 12:55:26 +0000

Each autumn, the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund (IMF) hold their Annual Meetings to discuss a range of issues related to poverty reduction, international economic development and finance.

The Annual Meetings provide a forum for international cooperation and enable the Bank and Fund to better serve their member countries.

Have your final say?

Carin Smaller — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 09:01:04 +0000

Our eDiscussion is coming to a close on Friday 8 October . Do you want to have your final say? The World Bank report has provided us with important information about what is happening on the ground in relation to foreign investment in farmland. So, what should happen next? Tell us how you think governments, donors, private sector, intergovernmental organisations and civil society should respond. You can send us an email ediscussion@donorplatform.org or post something directly on the website. Go for it! Continue reading

Do you want to have your final say?

Carin Smaller — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 08:58:56 +0000

Do you want to have your final say?

Carin Smaller — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 08:56:06 +0000

Have your final say!

Carin Smaller — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 08:45:53 +0000

Importance of land information systems

Hubert Ouedraogo — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 14:27:21 +0000

Dear all, We did not have time to discuss the role of land information systems, while this seems to be a subject of interest for some of you. Land information systems are designed to provide parcel information, data on land ownership and general property, land use... They are of interest for governments as well as for the public. However, it is common knowledge that most Governments in countries of interest for foreign investors lack reliable information on available land resources or on the land rights of local communities. - What is the role of land information systems in minimising the risks associated with rising foreign investments in land ? - Is systematic documentation of local land rights an appropriate mean of preventing non serious investors from grabbing the land of the poor people? - Is general computarisation of land information systems a sustainable approach in the context of countries lacking appropriate infrastructure (electricity for example) and which are short of human resources? Feel free to contiue exchanges on this topic a few more days Hubert Continue reading

Many Commodities – One Standard

Reinier de Man — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 06:49:41 +0000

The Forest Stewardship council (FSC), the Roundtable of Sustainable Palm oil (RSPO), the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels, and many similar initiatives, have all defined more or less detailed criteria on land rights issues. FSC principle 2 deals with “Tenure and use rights and responsibilities” as well as “indigenous peoples’ rights”, for example. Other initiatives use somewhat different formulations. What seems to be missing, is a common frame of reference similar to the situation with social compliance standards, which all refer to the same ILO conventions.

Is there a need for harmonising land rights related issues in the many existing and emerging commodity standards?
Could IFC Performance Standard 5 or an existing commodity standard (such as RSB) serve as a starting point?

What about the pastoralists?

Carin Smaller — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 18:59:14 +0000

Cordaid and IUCN/WISP just posted a comment calling for greater attention to the plight of pastoralists. They are happy that the issue is raised in the report. But, they argue, there is a “fundamental misconception […] among policymakers that pastoral lands are underused and therefore should be developed.” And, they say the World Bank has made the same mistake in its report. They say the misperceptions “have subjected pastoral communities to political and economic marginalisations,” and this is evident in a recent study on Ethiopia by IIED. They offer a series recommendations that are well worth a read. So what are your views on the situation of pastoralists? Should their land be used for large scale farming? What are the pros and cons? Continue reading

Commodity Supply Chains and Responsible Agro-Investments

Reinier de Man — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 06:34:59 +0000

Conflicts over land rights create major risks in the supply of expanding agricultural commodities: supply security risks and reputation risks. It is therefore important to strengthen the content and implementation of criteria on land rights in the sustainable commodity initiatives for palm oil (RSPO ), soy (RTRS), cotton (BCI), timber/fibre (FSC), sugar cane (BSI), bio-fuels (RSB) and others. See also Reinier de Man's paper.

Do commodity producers, processors, traders, producers of end products and retailers recognise their interest to implement land right related criteria?
What are the limits of private sector responsibility? What issues should be left to public policy and legislation?

Learning from the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)

Bernd Schanzenbächer — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 04:45:57 +0000

Developing countries can profit from (foreign) investments in agriculture, but as the World Bank Report’s executive summary says:“… there is an urgent need to attract not just more investment, but to better investment that contributes to sustainable agricultural growth in the host country”. The risks here are not too different from the risks with mining. In many countries, the people are not benefiting from the potentially high benefits mining could bring, because of bad governance. The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI http://eiti.org/eiti ) aims at strengthening governance by improving transparency and accountability in the extractives sector. Similarly, a transparency initiative on agricultural investments could improve governance by improving transparency on large scale investments in agriculture, including land transactions.

Will a transparency initiative on large scale agricultural investments be a contribution to both good governance in the producing countries and risk reduction for (foreign) investors?
Are the EITI model for creating transparency and its multi-stakeholder governance model suitable for a similar initiative on agriculture? What could be major differences?