Protest at land grab summit27 June 2012
Big investment companies and pension fund managers met in London this week - buying and selling land that belongs to others.
Friends of the Earth and other civil society groups protested against land grabbing outside the three day agricultural investment conference.
Large-scale acquisitions of land - particularly in Africa and South America - are soaring. This land is often being relied on to provide food for local small-scale farming communities.
Pension funds are increasingly using our money to invest in land. Last year they reportedly spent between £3-9 billion on buying farmland. (GRAIN 2011)
The lack of transparency in the pension investment world means anyone's pension fund could be used to wreck the livelihoods of farming communities' around the world - without their knowledge.
Kenneth Richter, Campaigner at Friends of the Earth
The true impact of the 'land investments' by pension funds include:
- The destruction of small farms and the communities they support
- The devastation of the environment
- The abuse of human rights
Friends of the Earth and other civil society groups are calling for companies to stop investing in land grabbing.
To find out more, you can read the civil society joint statement: "Land grabbing by pension funds and other financial institutions must be stopped"
© Henry Nicholls/ActionAid
