Poor governance has been linked to corruption in the land sector through both small scale bribes and high-level uses of power in a large number of countries, according to a FAO and Transparency International working paper.
14 December 2011: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and Transparency International have produced a working paper highlighting the link between weak governance and the likelihood of corruption in land occupancy and administration in more than 60 countries.
The paper is based on the assumption that secure access to land is central to ensuring food security, social stability, investment, broad economic growth and sustainable development. It finds that corruption in the land sector ranges from small-scale bribes to high-level abuses of power. In particular, the paper notes that the rapid expansion of the biofuel industry has provided the opportunity for corruption in the land use sector in a number of countries.
The FAO and its partners are working together to improve land governance through the process to establish Voluntary Guidelines for the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security, which are currently under consideration by the Committee on World Food Security (CFS). [Publication: Corruption in the Land Sector] [UN Press Release] [FAO Press Release]