States and civil society : access to land and rural development and capacity building for new forms of governance
Merlet, Michel, Samule Thirion & Vicent Garces
Success in the struggle to reduce hunger and poverty around the world requires an understanding of the actual causes of the current, unacceptable situation; causes which are linked to the competition developing in global agricultural markets between different levels of production. Entire social groups and millions of producers are losing the access to land and natural resources that provide their livelihoods, and rural production systems are being irreversibly destroyed on a large scale. Because these systems have historically proven to be the most appropriate to meet human food requirements and to preserve natural resources, it is imperative to put a stop to this process. This economic, social and ecological crisis is a threat to peace and to the survival of humanity, and finding solutions to this crisis will be a major challenge in years to come. The document identifies the main capacities of States and civil society that need to be strengthened, and that are necessary for sustainable rural development. Currently, neither States nor international organizations have proven capable of introducing effective policies to halt this trend of reduced access to land and natural resources. They have not been effective in encouraging processes to put a stop to growing inequality. Because a general discussion will not facilitate any progress in this debate, the document lists and briefly analyses central issues relevant to forming a precise understanding of the requirements for new capacities. Redistributive agrarian reform processes are more necessary than ever, but for these processes particular policy conditions are necessary. As these policy conditions are often transient, it is important to know how to profit from them when they occur. Meanwhile, however, it is possible to intervene in other ways, by opposing illegal appropriations, regulating land markets, and guaranteeing producerss usage rights rather than only landownerss rights. Nowadays it is necessary to implement policies that facilitate the evolution of agrarian structures with the aim of rendering them more compatible with majority interests. However, civil rights of future generations and alternatives to current dilemmas are built from basics, through the struggles of producerss and rural peoplees organizations, supported by the development of civil society. These organizations have always played an essential role in the establishment of new legal frameworks and new policies. With the acceleration of the historical process, these organizations also need to strengthen their capacities to become more effective.
Event: A vision for the future : International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development
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