“Land matters” – more than ever! Can land be dealt with like other resources or – in terms of an economic perspective– forms of capital. Or does it attract particular meanings, sentiments, interests, acquisition strategies or social relations?
What is particular to the production and dissemination of knowledge and capacity building about “land”? Is the influence of donor agencies, cooperation partners, NGOs and of science on decision-making meanwhile stronger on land than in other policy fields of development cooperation as it is embedded in numerous value judgments on justice, fairness, equity and inclusion of the poor and other disadvantaged groups like indigenous people and women?Through the looking-glass of the dominant economic system, which has emerged over the last centuries, land acquisition and use of land are largely about economic values, land valuation and demarcation of diverse production areas – for food, energy, shelter, mineral commodities, border and buffer areas, etc.

As the global competition on land is undoubtedly growing and the key question of how land might be managed best – with a side-view on land as a common, non-replaceable, nonproducible, indispensable good – the attention being given to knowledge transfer, “information brokerage” and capacity development on local to global land issues,and capacity development on local to global land issues, is increasing.
Concerns about the economic, social and environmental impacts of land grabbing, in particular for the poor, are at the forefront of these efforts. Hence, certain uses and “products” of land are being increasingly recognized as a public good, as its properties generate benefits in favor of a vast majority of people beyond mere private profits.
From a development cooperation perspective, as through the scientific lens, land cannot and should not be reduced to a phenomenon such as land grabbing, although this trend is a burning issue.