Act now to stop land grabs

Thank you!

We have now submitted this petition, along with other Oxfam affiliates worldwide, to the World Bank so the petition is no longer available to be signed. The text of the petition is provided below.

Big land deals are tearing whole communities apart, leaving people hungry and homeless. It’s big business at a big cost. But the World Bank has the power to be a force for good.

• Factors like rising food prices and a demand for new fuels have caused a huge rush of big land deals
• Already, an area of land the size of Auckland is being sold to foreign investors every four days in poor countries
• Poor families are losing the land they rely on to grow food – often evicted without fair treatment or compensation

The World Bank funds many big land deals. It also influences how land is bought and sold. So this means it has the power to help get the situation back under control.

Big land deals are forcing poor people from their homes, jobs and food. This injustice must stop now before any more lives are ruined.

I call on the World Bank to help protect poor people’s rights and freeze its investment in land for six months while it sets better standards for others to follow.