The various contributions to this book demonstrate quite clearly how dispossession of land rights and loss of access to, or control over, land are common phenomena affecting large numbers of women and men in the Great Lakes Region. Land alienation is occurring on a daily basis, be it through the denial of rights, by stealth, by means of expropriation or forceful eviction. Moreover, dispossession and land grabbing occur in both urban and rural areas. Each chapter has offered an in-depth perspective on the mechanisms underlying specific examples. The various case studies illustrate how these ongoing dynamics are resulting in greater poverty and disempowerment among already vulnerable populations. Indeed, losing access to land undermines people’s ability to produce and hence to generate an income. This is all the more problematic in densely populated settings where small-scale farming is the main livelihood activity. Moreover, loss of land not only equates to loss of assets, it also affects people’s sense of belonging and identity. The lack of protection of land rights of smallholders and the urban poor, as well as the perceived impunity of ‘land grabbers’, commonly undermine people’s trust in institutions and the State. Moreover, land concentration in the hands of a privileged elite enhance competition over whatever land and natural resources remain to be claimed. Conflicts over land, and instances of land grabbing and eviction, tend to fuel existing grievances and frustrations. This may contribute to structural instability and might constitute a trigger for further violence in the Great Lakes region.

The many faces of dispossession and loss of rights

Proactive responses to denial of rights, dispossession and land grabbing require an understanding of the various processes and mechanisms at play. As the chapters of this book illustrate, denial and dispossession of land rights come in many forms: between families, within and amongst communities, in consequence of violent conflict, elite manipulation or government intervention, or due to a lack of enforcement when it comes to individuals’ rights. Discourses in defence of sustainable land use planning and protection of the public good are often instrumentalized and abused to justify land alienation among less powerful actors. Land grabbing may be encouraged through either action or inaction on the part of government officials, courts of law, traditional authorities, local elites, land speculators, war lords, rival communities and groups, neighbours, family members and so on.