UK pensions funds and asset management
companies potentially have up to £37 billion invested in ‘land
grabs’ worldwide, according to a report published by Friends of the
Earth. As well as raising ethical concerns, land grabbing could also
pose additional risk to investments.
The report – What’s your pensions
funding? How UK institutional investors finance the global land grab
– links UK pension funds and asset management companies to global
firms that are either known or alleged to be involved in cases of
land grabbing from communities in Africa, Asia and Latin America
through their investments.
Land grabbing involves businesses
purchasing large pieces of ‘unused’ land, often to grow crops for
fuel and for other industries, and infringing on the rights of local
communities. In some cases, local people are forcibly kicked off the
land they are using to grow food.
The report identifies a number of
household names, including British Airways Pension Fund, Legal &
General, Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, Blackrock and Aviva
Investors. However, as some companies are only alleged to have been
involved in land grabbing, it does not necessarily mean the pension
funds and asset management firms are funding land grabbing. However,
it does highlight the need for transparency and an area that requires
further investigation.
Investments associated with land
grabbing have increased risk, the report adds. The main risks are a
reversal of land purchase, disrupted organisation and damaged
reputation and ‘stranded assets’ in agriculture and land.
Friends of the Earth land grab
campaigner Samuel Lowe said, “UK pension funds should not be
investing our money in any company that puts potential profits above
the livelihoods of people who live in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
“Our future retirement funds are often being secured at the expense
of the poor and powerless through widespread land grabbing – in
some cases our pensions are actually under threat of being wiped-out
due to the risky nature of large-scale land acquisition deals.” The
charity urges institutional investors to stop investing in companies
linked to, or associated with, large-scale land acquisition until
there are UK laws that rule out the wide range of social and
environmental impacts of land grabs. The organisation also calls on
governments to bring UN guidelines on responsible governance of
tenure of land, fisheries and forests into legislation.
No comments:
Post a Comment