Commons and Land Grabbing

This paper is concerned with land and water grabbing, that substantially impacts on the commons. In fact, grabbing often results in multinational companies acquiring, for agricultural or industrial uses, lands that belong to indigenous people under customary rules in undeveloped countries. Pros and cons of land and water grabbing are examined. As for the pros, grabbing sometimes brings about new investments in target-countries. As to the cons, many dangers for the commons have occurred, such as deforestation and displacement of local communities from their lands. Finally, the paper suggests some legal remedies to reduce the negative outcomes of land grabbing and to enhance the protection of the commons.