Date: February 13, 2009
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Rapidly growing world demand for food, fiber,and bioenergy could lead to a global land grab,with severe consequences for many of the world’spoorest people, particularly those occupyingforest lands.Recognizing and strengthening the propertyrights of forest-dwelling communities, includingindigenous peoples, is the first and most importantstep towards averting the social and environmentaldisasters that a global land grab could invoke.There is tremendous scope for investmentsaimed at mitigating and adapting to climatechange that strengthen local land rights, reducerural poverty and conflict, protect remainingnatural forest areas, and restore degraded forestareas.