Don't Keep Calm...

Land Freezing and Land Grabs

Hello All, This is my first Blog on Oxfam Campaigns, All this information can be found on the Oxfam Website, However this is a condensed version, like a quick guide to Land Grabbing.

So What is a Land Freeze or Land Grab and Why are we campaigning?

An area the size of the UK is being sold off globally, this has been going on for a decade.

Big Land deals in poor countries are forcing families from their homes, off their land and leaving them no way or no where to grow food to generate any income or source of food.

The amount of land that is tied up in these big deals could potentially help a huge amount of the millions of people who go to bed hungry every night. Instead this land is being bought by foreign investors, which mostly intend to export the food grown on said land. But this often leads to a Land Grab.

A Land grab is a deal that violates human rights, fails to consult to affected people, has no consent and happens in secret!

What we want!!

Oxfam is calling on the World Bank to temporarily freeze its investments in big land deals!
(The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programs)

The world bank can play an important role in getting the situation back under control, for this to happen the bank must:

• Freeze for 6 months
• Review the extent to which the world bank holds its policy's and practises on land deals and are open and transparent
• Commit to improving its policy and practise on big land deals

What about the UK Government?

They need to:

• Urge the world bank to take action
• Use the presidency of the G8 to put land high on the global political agenda 

(The Group of Eight (G8) is a forum for the governments of eight of the world's largest economies)

 Responsible investment in agriculture and better support for small scale farmers is an essential part of fighting poverty!

However, this is where the land grabs are happening, poorest countries with weak protection of land rights.

What we can do as Campaigners:

Together we can pressure the World Bank and the UK Government:

•  Sign the online petition
• Stage a media stunt
• Hold a stall in a public place, hand out literature and talk to people about the issues
• Contact your MP
• Tweet or Facebook
• Make a video and upload t to You Tube

Hope this all helps guys! And you understand a little more about Land Freezing and Land grabs!

For More info Visit

www.oxfam.org.uk/land
www.oxfam.org.uk/toolkit
www.theyworkforyou.com
www.worldbank.org