The great green land grab

“It is estimated that some 1m sq km of forests, savannah, pasture and farmland in Africa have been redefined since 1970 as protected or conservation areas, yet in the great majority of these areas, the rights of indigenous peoples to own, control and manage these areas have been denied,” says Colchester. “No one knows how many people have been displaced by these protected areas.”

Now that there is an explosion of individuals, charities, trusts and conservation groups buying up farms, fields, hills and forests, many are worried that a new wave of eco-colonialism is being unleashed.
Down in Patagonia, which stretches across southern Chile and Argentina, an estimated 300 wealthy north Americans have bought – mostly for little more than