Land, Life and Society

Urgent attention is needed to the challenges of land and agrarian reform in the contemporary world. Today, intersecting crises, the rise of authoritarian populism and far-reaching processes of financialisation are affecting rural worlds globally. Land, water and rare earth minerals present new opportunities for accumulation of wealth, often in the name of carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation and the decoupling of economic growth from resource-intensive industries. All combine to further escalate competition for land and other natural resources.

For the most marginalised communities in rural and urban spaces, the results of these interventions are predictable and familiar: land dispossession, jobless de-agrarianisation and political alienation.

For the last three decades, PLAAS has worked in research, policy engagement, teaching, and training.

Through this work, we have contributed vital data to enhance marginalised livelihoods, evidence-based policy inputs to protect resource insecure people, and skills for land professionals to excel in their agrarian-related fields across the continent. This work would not have been possible without our meaningful partnerships. This conference pays tribute to our networks, celebrates our wins, and sets the steps in motion to create broader change as a collective.

Conference discussions will be closed, but all our plenary sessions will be live streamed. Join below.