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Action Case Cambodia - No to landgrabbing
Say 'no' to landgrabbing - holding German investment fund managers accountable
Crop-land and agricultural infrastructure has become attractive as an investment opportunity both for individuals and institutions. Off-shore farming in the wake of the food crisis and the boom in agrofuels are important drivers behind foreign land investment. A frequent consequence of this activity, known as 'landgrabbing', is the displacement of local communities.
Cambodia is a prime target for landgrabbers. For generations farmers in this largely rural country have maintained a traditional lifestyle growing fruit and rice and gathering resources from forests. In 2006 bulldozers shattered the peace in the Koh Kong Province to make way for sugar cane, depriving the local communities of the land and natural resources essential to meet their right to food.
The Thai firm Khon Kaen Sugar Industry, a manufacturer and distributor of sugar and molasses and a top ethanol producer, is one of the investors. With partners from Cambodia and Taiwan, Khon Kaen had acquired a 90-year 19,100 ha concession in Cambodia to produce sugar destined for the European Union.
In response to the forced eviction of villagers in the district of Sre Ambel FIAN Germany and other civil society organizations revealed connections between Khon Kaen and a German investment bank. DWS Investment, fund manager of Deutsche Bank Group, has invested at least 270 million Euros in companies directly acquiring agricultural land. A minimum of three million hectares of agricultural land is owned by these companies in South America, Africa and Southeast Asia.
When widespread media coverage followed, including a prime time exposè on German television, DWS offloaded its shares in Khon Kaen Sugar Industry.
Read more on landgrabbing in general and on Cambodia in particular in the Right to Food and Nutrition Watch 2010
Read Germany's Human Rights Obligations in Development Cooperation - Access to Land in Cambodia
