7 P rivate sector investments in agriculture have been increasing in Asia. This increase in agricultural investments has contributed to intensified competition for agricultural lands. Forest communities have faced even greater threats to their lands and livelihoods due to the intrusion of commercial interests, the expansion of commercial agriculture and forestry, extractive industries such as logging and mining, and the appropriation of lands for development projects and tourism. In Pakistan, Laos, Cambodia, and Indonesia, agreements have been forged between corporations and central governments for diversion of large tracts of land into “production areas” for food and biofuels that are geared for markets abroad. This increase in agricultural investments has contributed to intensified competition for agricultural lands to the extent that reports abound of land grabbing, displacement of occupants, unfair deals and erosion of agricultural resources. Moreover, land has become vulnerable to commercial pressures from other sectors, such as tourism, migration, resettlement and industrialization. A number of Asian governments have brokered the growth of landbased private investments. Having grappled with problems such as food security and poverty, these governments have brokered such deals by easing their investment regulations and have started offering policy and fiscal incentives to eager investors. Thus, people who have worked on and relied on the land for their livelihoods discover that their lands now belong to a much “bigger” power. Feudalism has come to be replaced by corporate landlordism: in lieu of the feudal landlord, the transnational or large corporation, or the government now controls the lands. The alarming rise of land grabbing in Asia pose serious question of incentives. Land grabbing is almost always done to gain more profit for governments and for companies alike – profits. Moreover, data on land Foreword Foreword