Papua New Guinea (PNG) is the latest known victim in a modern era of land grabs orchestrated by foreign corporations according to an investigative report and a film, On Our Land, released today by the Oakland Institute and the Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG) on behalf of PNG partners Act Now! and Birmarck Ramu Group.

In one of the swiftest and largest land grabs in recent history, close to a third of the country has now been appropriated by foreign companies. Thinly veiled and illegal logging operations are destroying the world’s third largest rainforest and taking away land and heritage from the people of PNG.

On Our Landalso reveals how the current devastating land grab is happening with the de-facto approval of PNG’s government and the failure of the country’s Prime Minister, Peter O'Neill, to act on a government-sponsored inquiry, which revealed a shocking trend of corruption and mismanagement in recent land deals. The tabled report on Special Agriculture and Business Leases (SABLs), utilized to free up customary land for so-called productive use, had in the prime minister’s own words, “failed miserably.”

“After years of looking at large-scale land acquisitions in Africa, we thought we had heard about almost every scenario of deception and collusion. Papua New Guinea was an eye-opener,” said Frederic Mousseau, Policy Director at the Oakland Institute and author of the report. “Despite its findings, the government has taken no action to reverse any of the 70 land deals and return land titles to citizens. From faked signatures to coercion to sheer bullying of communities, unlawful deals that fail to meet minimal guidelines are moving forward.”

The report and documentary give a revealing view of the intricately twisted world of land grabbing and unravel the question of why and how the government of a country like PNG, with the most egalitarian and protected customary land rights would betray its own citizens and the Constitution.

Village members and activists, committed to getting their story to the world, speak powerfully about how land has been taken away and the deceit of politicians and foreign companies promising them “development.”

Government’s strategy of “freeing up land for development” has turned over 5.5 million hectares of customary land over to foreign interests for palm oil plantations in addition to 8.5 million hectares for logging operations.

"John Chitoa from the Bismarck Ramu Group says, for development to be fully recognized in Papua New Guinea it must be initiated and collectively agreed by the landowners themselves.  We are therefore demanding that the PNG government cancel all SABLs and return the titles to their customary owners.  We are also demanding for investors to stop corrupting our leaders in the pretext of investment.

Land for the people in the Pacific is much more than a commodity; it is a source of welfare, livelihood, identity, and a social safety net,” said Serah Aupong of PANG. “As we continue to struggle for essential services for the majority of the people, access to customary land fulfills our basic needs. The complicity of the government of Papua New Guinea to allow this theft of land to continue is a gross injustice that demands immediate attention and correction," she continued.

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The Oakland Institute is an independent policy think tank whose mission is to increase public participation and promote fair debate on critical social, economic and environmental issues (www.oaklandinstitute.org).

PANG is a Pacific regional network promoting economic self determination and justice in the Pacific Islands. (www.pang.org.fj)