Land Grabbing: : At What Price?

Abstract: From a historical point of view land has constantly been a resource connected to survival and power. The increased demand for land is explained by several forces such as an growing population, which leads to a higher consumption, an increased market demand for food, biofuels and natural resources. Rising oil prices and climate change have increased the demand for biofuels, which in turn leads towards an increased large-scale mono cropping in the agricultural business. The Critical Discourse Analsysis contributes to an understanding that land grabbing is connected with the market, politics and climate change, which have severe effects on local people’s livilehood and on the environment in terms of water use, ecosystems and biodiversity. The norms and values at the international level stimulates the discourse of land grabbing, where profit and economic growth is considered to create opportunities and development. The problems that surround land grabbing could be explained through that land and natural resources are treated as commondities instead of collective assests for survival and livelihood.