Who gets left out: A marginalized group has little say when land is shared out. Their needs are often ignored in land-use decisions.
The points to remember
- Indigenous peoples: the first peoples of a place, who often hold land by custom, not by title.
- Members of a low caste, such as Dalits in India.
- Women farmers, who do much of the farm work but own little of the land.
- People in low-income countries, where large companies or governments take land.
- What they share: low socio-economic status, so less power over land.
Example (SL): Dalits in rural India. Dalits are the group at the bottom of the old caste system. Most Dalit families in the countryside own little or no farmland, so they work as labourers on fields owned by higher castes.
Free preview
This is the free notes preview
You're reading the free notes. Aimnova Pro unlocks the full study experience — and you can try it with your first topic free to keep:
- FlashcardsLock in vocabulary and key terms with spaced repetition.
- Practice questionsAnswer exam-style questions and get instant AI marking.
- Mock exams & past-paper vaultSit full mocks and see exactly how examiners award marks.
- Personalised study planA daily plan built around your exam date and weak areas.
When a government, a company or a conservation project decides what land will be used for, the people with least power usually lose most.
The points to remember
- No written title: land held by custom can be taken without payment.
- Not consulted: decisions are made far away, without asking them.
- Little money or law: they cannot pay lawyers or go to court.
- Pushed onto marginal land: steep, dry or poor land that is easily degraded.
- They lose food, income, homes and culture tied to the land.
- So they become poorer and more vulnerable to drought or hunger.
Remember it as: No title, no voice, no land.
Example (SL): the Anuak of Gambela, Ethiopia. Around 2010 the government leased large areas of Gambela to foreign companies for big commercial farms. Many Anuak families, who farmed and fished there by custom, were moved into new villages with less land and water.
Practice with exam-style questions
Answer exam-style questions and get AI feedback that shows you exactly what examiners want to see in a full-marks response.
Named case: the Batwa of south-west Uganda. The Batwa lived for centuries as hunter-gatherers in the mountain forests of Bwindi and Mgahinga.
Their land
- The Batwa hunted, gathered honey and plants, and lived in the forest, with no written title to it.
The decision
- In 1991 the forests became national parks to protect mountain gorillas. The Batwa were not asked.
Eviction
- They were moved out, and most were given no land and no payment.
Today
- Many live as landless labourers or squatters on others' farms, among the poorest people in Uganda, while gorilla tourism earns millions.
The points to remember
- The Batwa were deprived of land rights: no title, no consent, no payment.
- The park met conservation and tourism needs, not theirs.
- They lost food, homes and a forest culture.
- Use this case whenever a question asks for a named example.
Marginalized groups are less vulnerable when land-use decisions take their needs into account.
The points to remember
- Secure land titles: write customary land down so it cannot be taken without payment.
- Free, prior and informed consent: ask the people first, and let them say no.
- Equal rights for women to own and inherit land.
- Courts and laws that protect land rights, e.g. the UN Declaration on indigenous rights (2007).
- Indigenous-managed land often has less deforestation, so this helps sustainability too.
Remember it as: Write it down, ask first, share it fairly.
Examples (SL): Rwanda and Kenya. Rwanda's 1999 inheritance law gave daughters the same right to inherit land as sons, and its national land register now lists many women as owners. Kenya's Community Land Act of 2016 lets communities register the land they hold by custom.
Feeling unprepared for exams?
Get a clear study plan, practice with real questions, and know exactly where you stand before exam day. No more guessing.
How this comes up: Paper 2 Section B (a) can ask you to outline effects on marginalized groups with a named example [4]; Paper 1 can give a fact file on a group and ask you to explain [2-3].
When forests become national parks, the people who lived in them are sometimes moved out.
With reference to a named example, outline four ways marginalized groups may be affected when their needs are not taken into account in land-use decisions.
Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.