An invisible crisis: New dimensions of land grabbing

Since the 2007–08 food crisis, large-scale land acquisitions have given way to a multifaceted “land squeeze” affecting communities worldwide. Today’s pressures on land come from a mix of sources—agribusiness expansion, carbon offset projects, conservation schemes, infrastructure development, and urban sprawl. This trend leads to a silent loss of land access for smallholders, Indigenous peoples, and rural communities. Africa has seen more transnational land deals than any other region. Around 27% of transnational land grabs concluded since 2019 have taken place in Africa—up from 21% between 2016 and 2019—and the biggest and most contentious land grabs of recent years have targeted African countries. While action on the climate and biodiversity crises is critically needed, governments and businesses are appropriating huge swathes of land for top-down environmental schemes. These so-called “green grabs” now represent about 20% of total land grabs. According to UNCCD projections, up to 3.3 million hectares of the world’s farmland will have been swallowed by expanding megacities between 2000 and 2030, with 80% of this land loss occurring in Asia and Africa