Impact of Large-scale Land Concessions in South-East Asia

Ing. Petr Drbohlav

Doctoral thesis

Abstract:

Land is one of the key factors of production, a vehicle for socio-economic development,physical commodity and investment opportunity as well as abstract concept and provider ofamenity services. Governments of some developing countries provide land in the form orlong-term land concessions to agribusinesses and other investors, such as mining or tourismindustry, with the justification of agriculture intensification, job creation and economicdevelopment / growth. Unfortunately, these land concessions very often lead to land grabbingand have negative consequences on tenants of the land in question as well as on theenvironment. The peasants and indigenous peoples have often their rights violated as the landthey use is alienated from them. The colonial rule in some countries led to the process of landacquisition by the elite, land grabbing and created a system of property rights arbitrary topeasants. To reverse these historical land grabs, land reforms were launched.This PhD Thesis is using case study design based on qualitative methodology to analyseselected critical issues related to land grabbing and land concessions in South-East Asia withthe attempt to explore complex real-life issues and provide holistic and in-depth explanationof social behaviour and community-based problems from perspectives of multiplestakeholders. The three selected research subtopics – living conditions after relocation,indigenous peoples’ land tenure security and land redistribution to remedy historical landgrabbing - describe typical yet in a way specific cases and phenomena which are in forefrontof academic research as well as (not only) political debates in Cambodia and the Philippines.The research results show that those affected by land concessions are worse off in the short tomedium term than they were before the relocation. They have lost their livelihoods, their foodand nutrition security have worsened, and their access to health services, education, roadinfrastructure and housing as well as to drinking water is problematic. Although somefamilies found jobs with the investment project, they were concerned about its long-termprospects.The recognition of the indigenous peoples’ rights to their ancestral lands and domains in thedomestic legal framework of some countries offers a way of improving the indigenous landtenure security. The research results indicate that conflicting laws and mandates of various government bodies and lack of coordination between them, as well as lack of resources andpolitical will to implement the laws and regulations are important factors behind slowissuance of ancestral domain titles.While the land distribution to peasants through agrarian reform could present potentialalternative to large-scale land concessions with its associated risks, high opportunity costs andnegative externalities, the land redistribution implementation in practice shows that it is adifficult task with many challenges. Moreover, the beneficiaries of land redistributionsometimes become victims of new land grabbing.

Keywords

Land grabbing, land tenure, Cambodia, Philippines, relocation, agrarian reform, indigenous peoples

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 22. 8. 2017

Thesis defence

• Supervisor: doc. Dr. RNDr. Tomáš Ratinger
• Reader: Michal Lošťák, Ph.D., prof. PhDr., Ondřej Horký Hlucháň, externi

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences

Doctoral programme / field:
Agricultural Specialization / Sustainable Rural Development in the Tropics And Subtropics