Agribusiness Large-Scale Land Acquisitions and Human Rights in Southeast Asia

The series of studies of which this is the overview are a contribution to the third year of this process. The aim of the studies has been to pull together in a simple form, updated information about large-scale land acquisitions in the region, with the aim of identifying trends, common threats, divergences and possible solutions. As well as summarising trends in investment, trade, crop development and land tenure arrangements, the studies focus on the land and forest tenure and human rights challenges. As shown on the map, seven national updates have been compiled based on the available literature for Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Timor- Leste and the Philippines, each following a similar format. The studies seek to summarise what laws and policies already exist in national human rights frameworks that could ensure respect for rights in large-scale land development and, on the basis of this analysis, recommend possible solutions to the problems identified. In this overview we bring out some of the key findings from these updates.

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