The Biggest Struggle of Our Time

Dear Friend,

At the Oakland Institute, land rights is the lens through which we work, because it is at the nexus of all issues – social, economic, political, and environmental.

But often corporations and governments view land solely as a means to profit, and not as the basis of life, livelihoods, water, culture, and so much more. In doing so, they silence the Indigenous and local communities – stewards of these lands. That is when we take action.

This year, we campaigned against the World Bank’s latest attack on land rights with its attempt to transfer public and customary lands – home to billions of rural poor – to private corporations. We worked with Congolese organizations to challenge land theft from local villagers for agro-industrial parks in DRC. We exposed the forced eviction of Ugandan villagers to make way for a carbon-trading tree plantation. And we continue our work with the Indigenous communities in Ethiopia whose livelihoods have been destroyed by the construction of a dam and sugarcane plantations.

The longer governments and corporations are left unaccountable, the more irreversible damage is done both to Indigenous communities and to the lands on which they thrive. Standing together with local communities, we are taking on some of the most powerful institutions in the world. And we are winning these fights.

But this is not an easy struggle. It requires a vision for hope and change. And it requires courage. As a peoples’ think tank, we never accept money from corporations or governments — we rely on charitable contributions from people like you.

 

Thank you for giving as generously as possible for this important work.

In solidarity,