As seen on First Peoples Worldwide

anzania is calling on owners of large swaths of unused lands to disclose their plans for developing them” and those that do not offer adequate explanations risk having their lands repossessed by authorities.  This could be an attempt to curb the large-scale land acquisitions that are sweeping the country” many of which are left unattended for years so that they can be sold at a higher price.  These “land grabs” are displacing small farmers and Indigenous Peoples and threatening the social stability of the country.  In 2011″ the Land Rights Research and Resources Institute estimated that 1″095 out of 1″825 land disputes in Tanzania involved large-scale land investments.

Land grabbing is not unique to Tanzania.  In September 2013″ the Munden Project released a report analyzing 153 million hectares of commercial concessions in Africa” Asia” and Latin America” and found that 31 percent (worth an estimated $5 billion) overlap with local community land claims.  Customary tenure assessments should be conducted as a standard risk management tool prior to any large-scale land acquisitions” in order to reduce the likelihood that conflicts will disrupt” delay” or terminate operations.

Original Article – Large Landholders Scrutinized in Tanzania