All contractual information about land deals should be publicly available unless investors or governments can prove that this would harm commercial competitiveness or public interest, according to a new report.
The principle should be “if in doubt, disclose,” states the report, Dealing with Disclosure, published by Global Witness, the International Land Coalition and the Oakland Institute.
The report says “opening up the process around large-scale land deals in developing countries would benefit local communities, governments and business.”
“The rush for land in developing countries has rapidly intensified since 2008, but the sector remains largely unregulated,” according to the authors. “Concerns are growing over the impact of big, secretive deals between governments and investors on communities and the environment. As more and more land is taken away from local communities, growing numbers of people are losing access to the resources they have relied on for generations, and ecosystems are being destroyed.”
Access to information such as contract terms or pre-project impact assessment studies would give local communities and other parties the chance to make informed decisions about the suitability of proposed investments.
Frederic Mousseau, Policy Director at the Oakland Institute, said, “Evidence increasingly points to the significant benefits for governments and business from improved transparency and ongoing public consultation. Whilst investors would benefit from a level playing field as well as reduced risks of corruption and expensive and damaging conflicts with communities, greater transparency would enable governments to make more informed decisions and negotiate better deals when allocating commercial rights to land.”
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