A Complex Relationship: Large-Scale Land Acquisitions and Land Tenure Security

Abstract This chapter highlights the increase in large-scale land acquisitions across the globe and how it is intertwined with land tenure security. Land tenure security, or the lack thereof, plays a key role in the locational choice of investors. Land tenure security may mitigate the outcomes but is also affected by the acquisition of land. These effects are reflected in de facto displacements, the perception of weakened land tenure security, and changes in the land governance system. We shed light on these relationships between land acquisitions and land tenure security by first providing a global overview, and then delving deeper into the Zambian context. We find that for land acquisitions to be implemented economically, socially, and in an environmentally sustainable manner, strong land tenure security is crucial.