Save the Date: Dialogue on Responsible Investments in Land: Perspectives from Tanzania and globally

From June 5-16, 2017, Landesa and the Land Portal Foundation will be jointly holding a dialogue on Responsible Investments in Land: perspectives from Tanzania and globally

Since the global food crisis in 2009 and the subsequent ‘land grabs’ that swept across the Global South, guidelines and principles for responsible investment in land have proliferated. In Tanzania, the government aims at increasing agricultural investment, and the country’s National Land Policy is currently under revision, which has implications land-based investment decisions. In response, this dialogue will engage both Tanzanian stakeholders and global experts, to increase awareness about investment practices in Tanzania and empower the voices from within Tanzania to discuss the realities of trying to improve responsible investment practices in Tanzania. It also aims to improve the understanding of global experts and practitioners who are designing and/or advocating for more responsible investment practices in the region and globally. We hope to capture knowledge that may often be left out or is inaccessible to different stakeholder groups. We are inviting debate participants to answer the following questions:

What do “responsible investments in land” look like in practice?

• What can, should, and are companies doing to bring about more equitable and socially responsible investment projects?
• Where are we gaining ground, making improvements?
• What are some persistent gaps between international best practices (such as the Voluntary Guidelines on Governance and Tenure (VGGTs) and the African Union Guiding Principles) and practice that need the most attention? What gaps, if any, are unrealistic to bridge, and what should be done?
• How are gender differences in investment processes, participation and decision making, and benefit sharing being addressed, and to what effect?
• (Implicitly through targeted discussants: perspectives from Tanzania)

What is the role of civil society in promoting responsible investments and gap filling?

• How can/should civil society respond to governance gaps to protect land rights, and to empower communities, and women and men smallholders and community members, to participate more equitably as business partners and beneficiaries?
• What technical gaps can/should NGOs and CSOs help to fill (e.g. land tenure expertise; gender expertise; development and implementation of grievance mechanisms and dispute resolution)?
• Can, should CSOs serve as 3rd party intermediaries between community members and business (e.g. for land and livelihood assessments or valuation and compensation)?
• (Implicitly through targeted discussants: perspectives from Tanzania)

What can we learn from Tanzania?

• How might government strengthen the policy framework to improve investments in Tanzania?
• What are some of the obstacles to addressing gender differences and realizing more gender-equitable investments, and how can they be overcome?
• How can communities be more aware of and able to assert their land rights and strengthen their negotiating capacity in dealing with business?

How Can I Participate?

The dialogue will take place on the Land Portal in from June 5-16, 2017.   If you are already registered on the Land Portal, you will need to sign in to post comments. If you do not yet have an account on the Land Portal, please create your account now.