Water grabbing refers to situations where powerful actors are able to take control of or realloca... more Water grabbing refers to situations where powerful actors are able to take control of or reallocate to their own benefit water resources at the expense of previous (un)registered local users or the ecosystems on which those users' livelihoods are based. It involves the capturing of the decision-making power around water, including the power to decide how and for what purposes water resources are used now and in the future. 4 Water grabbing is not a new phenomenon. Water has to some extent always been a contested resource and water conflicts and water wars have featured throughout human history. While the contemporary wave of water grabbing shares much in common with earlier resource grabs and enclosures of the commons, it is distinct in that the mechanisms for appropriating and converting water resources into private goods are much more advanced and increasingly globalised. Water now features prominently within a global resource grab that is driven by processes of commodification, privatisation and large-scale capital accumulation.
Revue Internationale de Politique de Développement, 2020
Des changements politiques importants ont mene a un developpement sans precedent du marche du can... more Des changements politiques importants ont mene a un developpement sans precedent du marche du cannabis licite tandis qu’un nombre croissant de pays s’orientent vers la legalisation de l’usage recreatif de cette plante pour les adultes. Cette tendance peut presenter de nombreux avantages, meme si l’on peut s’inquieter de la concurrence acharnee que se livrent les nombreuses entreprises des pays du Nord, qui commercialisent le cannabis, pour mettre la main sur ces nouvelles parts de marche qui ne cessent de s’ouvrir dans un marche mondial representant deja plusieurs milliards de dollars. Cela risque d’exclure des marches emergents les petits cultivateurs traditionnels des pays du Sud. De fait, ceux qui tentent de sortir de l'illegalite sont confrontes a d'enormes problemes en raison de l'heritage de la criminalisation et des barrieres juridiques et administratives qui empechent d’entrer sur ce marche emergent. Face a un marche mondial du cannabis en surchauffe et extrememe...
The Transnational Institute was founded in 1974. It is an international network of activist-schol... more The Transnational Institute was founded in 1974. It is an international network of activist-scholars committed to critical analyses of the global problems of today and tomorrow. TNI seeks to provide intellectual support to those movements concerned to steer the world in a democratic, equitable and environmentally sustainable direction. www.tni.org The Hands off the Land project aims to raise awareness about land grabbing amongst the European public, politicians, policy makers, students and professionals. The project presents case documentation, fact sheets and thematic studies of transnational land grabs in Mali,
Significant policy shifts have led to an unprecedented boom in medical cannabis markets, while a ... more Significant policy shifts have led to an unprecedented boom in medical cannabis markets, while a growing number of countries are moving towards the legal regulation of adult non-medical use. This trend is likely to bring a range of benefits. Yet there are growing concerns over the many for-profit cannabis companies from the global North that are aggressively competing to capture the licit spaces now opening in the multibillion-dollar global cannabis market. This threatens to push small-scale traditional farmers from the global South out of the emerging legal markets. Those trying to transition out of illegality face huge difficulties due to a combination of the legacy of criminalisation and administrative barriers to entry. Conquering and protecting spaces for small-scale farmers within the current overheated and corporate-driven market will require affirmative action, regulation of foreign investment, and welldesigned legislative and market strategies. This policy comment explores the unfolding market dynamics from a development perspective and offers a set of guiding principles and policy proposals upon which a more equitable, fair(er) trade cannabis regulation model can be built. 1 This article draws on and develops ideas and arguments contained within Martin Jelsma, Sylvia Kay and David Bewley-Taylor (2019) Fair(er) Trade Options for the Cannabis Market, Cannabis Innovate, Policy Report 1, London/ Swansea, March. Thanks go to the anonymous International Development Policy reviewers for their constructive comments and feedback. As ever, any errors of fact or interpretation remain those of the authors.
Water grabbing refers to situations where powerful actors are able to take control of or realloca... more Water grabbing refers to situations where powerful actors are able to take control of or reallocate to their own benefit water resources at the expense of previous (un)registered local users or the ecosystems on which those users' livelihoods are based. It involves the capturing of the decision-making power around water, including the power to decide how and for what purposes water resources are used now and in the future. 4 Water grabbing is not a new phenomenon. Water has to some extent always been a contested resource and water conflicts and water wars have featured throughout human history. While the contemporary wave of water grabbing shares much in common with earlier resource grabs and enclosures of the commons, it is distinct in that the mechanisms for appropriating and converting water resources into private goods are much more advanced and increasingly globalised. Water now features prominently within a global resource grab that is driven by processes of commodification, privatisation and large-scale capital accumulation.
Revue Internationale de Politique de Développement, 2020
Des changements politiques importants ont mene a un developpement sans precedent du marche du can... more Des changements politiques importants ont mene a un developpement sans precedent du marche du cannabis licite tandis qu’un nombre croissant de pays s’orientent vers la legalisation de l’usage recreatif de cette plante pour les adultes. Cette tendance peut presenter de nombreux avantages, meme si l’on peut s’inquieter de la concurrence acharnee que se livrent les nombreuses entreprises des pays du Nord, qui commercialisent le cannabis, pour mettre la main sur ces nouvelles parts de marche qui ne cessent de s’ouvrir dans un marche mondial representant deja plusieurs milliards de dollars. Cela risque d’exclure des marches emergents les petits cultivateurs traditionnels des pays du Sud. De fait, ceux qui tentent de sortir de l'illegalite sont confrontes a d'enormes problemes en raison de l'heritage de la criminalisation et des barrieres juridiques et administratives qui empechent d’entrer sur ce marche emergent. Face a un marche mondial du cannabis en surchauffe et extrememe...
The Transnational Institute was founded in 1974. It is an international network of activist-schol... more The Transnational Institute was founded in 1974. It is an international network of activist-scholars committed to critical analyses of the global problems of today and tomorrow. TNI seeks to provide intellectual support to those movements concerned to steer the world in a democratic, equitable and environmentally sustainable direction. www.tni.org The Hands off the Land project aims to raise awareness about land grabbing amongst the European public, politicians, policy makers, students and professionals. The project presents case documentation, fact sheets and thematic studies of transnational land grabs in Mali,
Significant policy shifts have led to an unprecedented boom in medical cannabis markets, while a ... more Significant policy shifts have led to an unprecedented boom in medical cannabis markets, while a growing number of countries are moving towards the legal regulation of adult non-medical use. This trend is likely to bring a range of benefits. Yet there are growing concerns over the many for-profit cannabis companies from the global North that are aggressively competing to capture the licit spaces now opening in the multibillion-dollar global cannabis market. This threatens to push small-scale traditional farmers from the global South out of the emerging legal markets. Those trying to transition out of illegality face huge difficulties due to a combination of the legacy of criminalisation and administrative barriers to entry. Conquering and protecting spaces for small-scale farmers within the current overheated and corporate-driven market will require affirmative action, regulation of foreign investment, and welldesigned legislative and market strategies. This policy comment explores the unfolding market dynamics from a development perspective and offers a set of guiding principles and policy proposals upon which a more equitable, fair(er) trade cannabis regulation model can be built. 1 This article draws on and develops ideas and arguments contained within Martin Jelsma, Sylvia Kay and David Bewley-Taylor (2019) Fair(er) Trade Options for the Cannabis Market, Cannabis Innovate, Policy Report 1, London/ Swansea, March. Thanks go to the anonymous International Development Policy reviewers for their constructive comments and feedback. As ever, any errors of fact or interpretation remain those of the authors.
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