The UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) warned in a new study Monday that corruption in land sales in the developing world was hampering food security and economic growth. The study, conducted with anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International, found that weak governance has increased the likelihood of corruption in land tenure and administration, and is intensifying pressures on land use.
"Unprecedented pressures on land have been created as new areas are cultivated, taken over by expanding urban centres or abandoned due to degradation, climate change and conflict," the report said. FAO assistant director general Alexander Mueller said secure access to land "is one of the keys to ensuring food security, social stability, investment, broad-based economic growth and sustainable development."
The report also found that corruption in land correlated "strongly" with low gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. In the 69 countries surveyed for the study, more than one in every 10 people who contacted a land authority reported paying a bribe. It also found that the rush to invest in biofuels as a way to mitigate climate change was one of the pressures affecting land use in many countries.