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The land and its people

Nature Geoscience volume 7, pages 324–325 (2014)Cite this article

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Large tracts of agricultural land are being bought up by external investors. Turning the land into a commodity can have detrimental effects, for generations to come, on the local communities that sell or lease the land.

Land is the ultimate foundation of a society's livelihood, identity and way of life. Many cultures and religions recognize soil as a source of life and prosperity, and have traditions tied to the land, its products and geographic location.

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Figure 1: Nauru's legacy.

© PHILIP GAME/ALAMY

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Author information

Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Sciences, Paolo D'Odorico is at the University of Virginia, 291 McCormick Road, PO Box 400123, Charlottesville, Virginia 22904, USA

    Paolo D'Odorico

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engeenering, Maria Cristina Rulli is at the Politechnic of Milano, Piazza L. Da Vinci, 32, I-20133, Milano, Italy

    Maria Cristina Rulli

Authors
  1. Paolo D'Odorico
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  2. Maria Cristina Rulli
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Paolo D'Odorico or Maria Cristina Rulli.

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D'Odorico, P., Rulli, M. The land and its people. Nature Geosci 7, 324–325 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2153

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