Monday, 12 December 2011
Posted by Serath
PHNOM PENH, (Cambodia Herald) - The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the global anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International released Monday a joint paper which finds that corruption is undermining access to land and development.
"Unprecedented pressures on land have been created as new areas are cultivated, taken over by expanding urban centres or abandoned due to degradation, climate change and conflict," an FAO statement said.
"These developments have strained the rules, processes and institutions that determine which land resources are used, by whom, for how long, and under what conditions."
Weak governance in more than 61 countries, has "increased the likelihood of corruption in land tenure and administration, and is intensifying the impact of pressures on land use." .
Alexander Mueller, FAO's assistant director-general for natural resources, said the findings "reflect what we have been hearing for years from farmers, herders, investors, governments and NGOs in many developing countries — that where land governance is deficient, a high risk of corruption exists.
"Secure access to land and protection of natural resources from unbridled use is one of the keys to ensuring food security, social stability, investment, broad-based economic growth and sustainable development," Mueller added.
Rueben Lifuka, a member of the Transparency International board said transparency and accountability "contribute to a positive cycle of governance, ensuring that land resources benefit everyone and not only the powerful.
"However, when transparency and accountability are absent, the risk of corruption rises and threatens to turn land into a tool of alienation of ordinary people. As a result of corruption, people lose the cultural and economic benefits of their own land resources," Lifuka said.
The working paper found corruption in the land sector varied from small-scale bribes and fraud to high-level abuses of government power and political positions. The rush to invest in biofuels as a way to mitigate climate change is one of the pressures affecting land use in many countries, especially since "many countries with governance and corruption challenges are considered the most attractive destinations for biofuel investment," the paper says.
The FAO said the challenge of improving land governance was being addressed by Voluntary Guidelines for the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security which are currently under discussion by the Committee on World Food Security.
PHNOM PENH, (Cambodia Herald) - The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the global anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International released Monday a joint paper which finds that corruption is undermining access to land and development.
"Unprecedented pressures on land have been created as new areas are cultivated, taken over by expanding urban centres or abandoned due to degradation, climate change and conflict," an FAO statement said.
"These developments have strained the rules, processes and institutions that determine which land resources are used, by whom, for how long, and under what conditions."
Weak governance in more than 61 countries, has "increased the likelihood of corruption in land tenure and administration, and is intensifying the impact of pressures on land use." .
Alexander Mueller, FAO's assistant director-general for natural resources, said the findings "reflect what we have been hearing for years from farmers, herders, investors, governments and NGOs in many developing countries — that where land governance is deficient, a high risk of corruption exists.
"Secure access to land and protection of natural resources from unbridled use is one of the keys to ensuring food security, social stability, investment, broad-based economic growth and sustainable development," Mueller added.
Rueben Lifuka, a member of the Transparency International board said transparency and accountability "contribute to a positive cycle of governance, ensuring that land resources benefit everyone and not only the powerful.
"However, when transparency and accountability are absent, the risk of corruption rises and threatens to turn land into a tool of alienation of ordinary people. As a result of corruption, people lose the cultural and economic benefits of their own land resources," Lifuka said.
The working paper found corruption in the land sector varied from small-scale bribes and fraud to high-level abuses of government power and political positions. The rush to invest in biofuels as a way to mitigate climate change is one of the pressures affecting land use in many countries, especially since "many countries with governance and corruption challenges are considered the most attractive destinations for biofuel investment," the paper says.
The FAO said the challenge of improving land governance was being addressed by Voluntary Guidelines for the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security which are currently under discussion by the Committee on World Food Security.
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