The theft of land and nature: land-grabs, bio-piracy and the inversion of justice

• In Event: The Theft of Nature: Perspectives from Green Criminology

Abstract

This paper considers the concept of biopiracy in two ways: first, in terms of the take-over or theft of land and the imposition of enforced changes to farming methods and practices; and, second, in terms of the theft of traditional knowledge and products. In Colombia, peasant farmers have protested against the capitalist prioritization of the market over traditional ways of life that has subjected communities to the imperatives of the economy. They also accuse this system of allowing transnational biopiracy activities to exploit Colombian natural resources, destroying communities’ cultural practices. Such biopiracy activities are wrapped up in processes that impose and legitimate ‘inverted’ systems of justice in which corporations and governments refuse to respect long-established rights; public police are supplemented or replaced by private police who do not protect the public but private companies; and traditional knowledge is taken from its original owners and copyrighted, patented, and trademarked by international corporations through intellectual copyright laws. The paper will explore the implications of all this in terms of the persistence of colonialism and its modern form of globalized neo-colonialism and debates around environmental justice, species justice and security.

Authors

• David Rodriguez Goyes, Universidad Antonio Nariño

• Nigel South, University of Essex