Paper short abstract:

An unbalanced deal: Large‐Scale Land Acquisition (LSLA) for forest plantations and gender in Kilolo district, Iringa Region, Tanzania

Paper long abstract:

Tanzania has been prospecting for foreign investments since the mid-1980s when it changed to a neoliberal political and economic system after nearly 20 years of Socialism. Many investors focused on biofuel projects between 2005 and 2008, many of which seem to have failed. The more recent investment undertakings' focus is on food and forestry production and impact the use of former common pool resources on the land, especially common pool resources such as water, pasture and forests for subsistence and cash. This is done in the context of village land that is legally held in common, based on the Village Land Act of 1999.

I have conducted research on LSLA for forest plantations by a British-based investor called the New Forests Company (NFC) in Kilolo district, Iringa region in 2015 and 2016. In this presentation I will focus on the impacts of the commons enclosure created by this land deal that impacts women differently than men; and especially the formers' ability to fulfill their care work as they lose access to land and related common pool resources (e.g, fruit trees) for which mostly only men are compensated. Further, I contrast these impacts to the compensation received as a new commons - which largely is perceived as insufficient because of lacking in transparency in pay-out schemes and power relations within families and villages, scarce jobs available for local people generally and extremely low for women, and development and infrastructure projects are badly adapted to local needs.