Legal Land Theft

In most countries with tropical forests, governments uphold the colonial legacy that declared the State to be the owner of forest lands. This has enabled governments to legally grant land to private investors, often violating communities' customary ownership of the land. As a result, corporate activities that destroy forests continue to expand.

Bulletin articles 23 April 2025

Solidaritas Declaration Merauke, an emergency call from Papua: stop the Merauke National Strategic Project

The "Deklarasi Solidaritas Merauke" (Merauke Solidarity Declaration, see below) has been collectively written by participants of the "Konsolidasi Solidaritas Merauke" (Merauke Solidarity Consolidation Meeting), a people's gathering that took place in the town of Merauke, South Papua Province in March, 2025. The declaration calls for an immediate halt of the National Strategic Project (PSN) Merauke.

Bulletin articles 8 December 2016

Trade deals threaten peasant farmer's stewardship of seed biodiversity

Bulletin articles 9 May 2016

Racism: A Legacy of Colonial Power

Bulletin articles 21 March 2016

Environmental regulation in the Green Economy: Changed to facilitate destruction

Bulletin articles 9 November 2015

Why the RSPO facilitates land grabs for palm oil

**This article is based on a conversation between Winnie Overbeek, the international coordinator of the World Rainforest Movement, and GRAIN on September 2014, which was published by GRAIN at “Planet palm oil”. The information has been updated for this article.