Conventional notion of ownership reflects a worldview that has prioritized objectification of and dominion and control over land and natural resources. This perspective facilitates the separation of land from its integral social and community relationships and values, treating it as an isolated asset rather than part of a communal and ecological system.
Land acquisitions by foreign investors increasingly involve not only transforming land from a communal resource into a private, marketable commodity but also commodifying the ecosystem services it provides, such as carbon sequestration. In the pursuit of 'global' environmental protection, such as carbon credit trading, local communities are frequently dispossessed of their land, denied their historical use rights, and stripped of decision-making power, undermining their connection to and stewardship of these lands.
The pursuit of short-term financial gains over long-term stewardship and sustainability, characterizes the extractive nature of modern large-scale land acquisitions, driving the degradation and exploitation of ecological systems and local communities.
Property ideas provided the basis for genocide and enslavement of human beings and vast exploitation and degradation of ecological systems – harms which have enduring traumatic legacies. Large-scale Land Acquisitions have been referred to as a "neocolonial" practice that results in dispossession of lands inhabited by local communities. This dynamic exemplifies asymmetric rights between (foreign) investors (property owners) and local communities where investors enjoy profits and control without bearing responsibilities towards the wider community or being accountable for the social and environmental impacts of their actions.
Local communities are excluded from lands they previously inhabited or utilized, losing access to essential resources, food, and economic opportunities. This exclusion around the interests of property owners — highlights a systemic prioritization of investor benefits over the needs and rights of the communities, creating cascading risks and deepening socio-economic divides.
