Abstract

Over the last decade multinational corporations have made large-scale acquisitions of forests and agricultural areas in Sub-Saharan Africa, South America, Australia and Oceania, often to the detriment of indigenous inhabitants. On May 11 2012, for the first time in history, 124 states have signed a document which encourages fair behaviour of the economic players, thanks to observance of common law, asking them to consult, inform and negotiate with the local communities.