London, UK, February 2013
A panel on the rural development choices facing leaders of developing countries

State of Rights and Resources 2012-2013: Landowners or Laborers?

Press Release

New Reports: Global Land Grab Brings Significant Risk to Investors As Communities Respond to Economic Harm, Human Rights Abuses
Risk Analysts Show that Operational Cost Increases Can Approach 2,800%; Myanmar is Latest Flashpoint in Alarming Trend

New RRI Analyses

RRI launched both of the reports below at a panel event in London on February 5, 2013. For more information, click here.

Click here to download the event agenda. Webcast recordings for the event will be available soon in English, French, and Spanish.

Landowners or Laborers: What choice will developing countries make?

Download the report [Available in French and Spanish]

In 2012, a key choice facing developing countries was revealed ever more starkly. Would they choose a development path built on inclusiveness and respect for the rights of their citizens, or would they opt instead for extractive exploitation of their people’s land and natural resources? RRI’s annual review of the state of rights and resources identifies this and other key choices and challenges that emerged in 2012 for forest rights and tenure globally.

The Financial Risks of Insecure Land Tenure: An Investment View

Download the report

The Financial Risks of Insecure Land Tenure: An Investment View, prepared by The Munden Project, investigates the real financial consequences of investing in land with disputed tenure rights. The findings demonstrate that companies and their investors can face substantial risks when they overlook or underestimate the land tenure contestation in rural areas.

Media Contacts

Key Spokespeople Biographies (Click here to download all)

• Li Ping – Senior Attorney, Landesa, China
• Samuel Nguiffo – Director, Center for Environment and Development, Cameroon
• Maung Maung Than – Project Coordinator/Consultant (Capacity Building Program for Community Forestry in Myanmar), RECOFTC – The Center for People and Forests
• Joji Carino – Coordinator of the IIFB Working Group on Indicators, Tebtebba, Philippines
• Saskia Ozinga – Campaign Coordinator, Climate Change, Export Credit Agencies and Forest Peoples, FERN
• Jeffrey Hatcher – Director, Global Programs, Rights and Resources Initiative
• Fred Pearce – Journalist and author of the upcoming book, The Land Grabbers: The New Fight Over Who Owns the Earth
• Tom Griffiths, Coordinator – Responsible Finance Programme, Forest Peoples Programme
• Andy White, Coordinator, Rights and Resources Initiative.

Additional Resources

• Watch speaker Samuel Nguiffo discuss his work in Cameroon on Youtube.
• Watch speaker Li Ping discuss his work in China on Youtube.
• Click here to download the Jan. 31 Press Release «urging palm companies to respect human rights, renegotiate contracts and protect livelihoods of the rural poor» from Sustainable Development Initiative (SDI-Liberia) and Save My Future Foundation (SAMFU-Liberia), or the civil society coalition statement on Oil Palm concessions in Liberia.
• Download the RRI Press Kit
• Click here to view RRI’s tenure rights data
• Click here to learn more about land tenure and rights in Myanmar