Land Formalization Turned Land Rush: The Case of the Palm Oil Industry in Papua New Guinea
Caroline Hambloch
This paper uses the case study of Papua New Guinea (PNG) to engage with the debate on customary land formalization processes, derived from Hernando de Soto’s ‘Mystery of Capital’ (2000). The case of the oil palm industry in PNG demonstrates that customary land registration processes may be captured by powerful ‘big men’ and companies, within an environment of weak and changing governance. Weak or non-existent state capacity for the regulation and enforcement of the palm oil industry have been exploited by logging/oil palm companies surpassing various government agencies at different levels. Instead of increasing agricultural activity and national income, the case shows that customary land formalization has led to worsening poverty and wealth inequality due to biased land lease agreements between customary landowners and developers, loss of tax revenues due to tax exemptions, and a lack of service provision such as roads, schools, and health centers.
Event: Land Governance in an Interconnected World_Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty_2018
Only personal, non-commercial use of this document is allowed.