# Conclusion

In this free course, ‘Land grab’: an environmental issue?, you have seen how global economic forces impact on local people’s lives and livelihoods. You have examined changes of land ownership and use in East Anglia and Senegal. You have considered the tensions between customary land rights, the property rights of the state and private property rights where traditional and modern systems are in competition. You have also seen how people can mobilise in the face of uneven economic and power relationships. Finally, you carried out a piece of independent resource-led research to arrive at your own viewpoint on the land acquisition/land grab issue.

Contemporary land acquisition/land grab involves a range of actors, processes and commodities across spatial boundaries. By considering the complex dynamics of land acquisition/land grab using the analytical concepts of time and space, risk and uncertainty, and values, power and agency, you have seen how a complex problem can be divided up into more readily understood aspects. You can now go on to think about how these three sets of concepts can be applied to understanding other environmental issues. By using these concepts flexibly, you will be able to move from environmental issues you are familiar with into new fields of environmental contention.

This OpenLearn course is an adapted extract from the Open University course DST206 Environment: sharing a dynamic planet.

OpenLearn - ‘Land grab’: an environmental issue?
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