Businesses: Can Big Brands Like Nestlé Really Play a Role in Halting Land Disputes?

Aug 6, 2015 | Oliver Balch, The Guardian
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Globally, over 70% of land lacks clear registration or is subject to ownership disputes. This phenomenon directly increases the vulnerability of the world’s poorest, as development agencies such as the World Bank now widely recognise. Liberia’s emerging palm oil industry provides a case in point. Golden Veroleum, one of the sector’s largest foreign investors, stands accused of intimidating local landowners and trampling on communal property rights. In response, the firm says all its concessions comply with government rules, “thereby recognising the communities’ customary stake”.