Africa: Land Grabbing in Africa 'Is Fueling Conflicts'

Feb 9, 2017 | Emmanuelle Landais, Deutsche Welle
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The study by Washington-based Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI), a global network advocating for the land and forest rights of indigenous peoples and local communities, compares databases of conflicts in Africa and the world, focusing on three regions: West Africa, East Africa and Southern Africa. It finds that in West Africa, plantation agriculture—especially palm oil projects—drives a majority of disputes. Community displacement is the primary driver of 70 percent of the tenure disputes examined, while issues related to compensation are the primary driver for the remaining 30 percent.