Land Matrix

This article was published by the International Land Coalition América Latina, covering a new data base on global land purchase (http://americalatina.landcoalition.org/node/2874).  The Land Matrix (http://landportal.info/landmatrix) is a web site that contains information about the global phenomenon of land acquisition on a large scale.  It offers different resources, like interactive maps, information on regional land acquisition and even individual purchases.  One of the main objectives of the project is to show that this trend continues around the world, although it peaked in 2009, and that it is not merely a “bubble”.  Another important objective is to promote transparency and accountability in decision-making around land issues.  Since the year 2000, most of the over 1,000 transactions related to agriculture have been concentrated mainly in 11 countries in East Africa and Southeast Asia.  At least half of the acquired land is already in use, which means an increased competition between investors and small producers.  According to their research, a lot of the land that is being purchased has high population densities, and are not “vacant lands”.  This may have short and long-term effects on local and regional conflict, environmental degradation and the sharpening of economic fluctuations.  This and more information can be found in their report, “Transnational Land Deals for Agriculture in the Global South”.  Main questions such as who is investing, where and why are answered, visually and in written manner as well.  The website also offers information on partners and organizations, and many of them are women’s organizations, such as, Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID), Asian Rural Women’s Coalition (ARWC), Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), Gender Action and many others.  The International Land Coalition is one of them, and in the issue of women’s access to land, they work on three main issues: knowing your rights so you can exercise them (as citizens, community members, and society members), deepening the knowledge about rural women’s realities (including access to land, peasant economies, and organizations working towards these goals), and recognizing women’s contributions to society (campaigns and policy making).