The Price of Tourism : Land Alienation in Vanuatu

Driven mainly by foreign investment in the areas of tourism, financial services and land development, it is expatriates who are primarily reaping the gains of business development. This lack of inclusive development is becoming an alarming source o...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Stefanova, Milena
Format: Brief
Language:English
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/862021468245413815/The-price-of-tourism-land-alienation-in-Vanuatu
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/30541
Description
Summary:Driven mainly by foreign investment in the areas of tourism, financial services and land development, it is expatriates who are primarily reaping the gains of business development. This lack of inclusive development is becoming an alarming source of growing economic inequalities, dispossession and potentially disruptive social trends. Yet, ni-Vanuatu are not inherently opposed to community-sensitive' development that can generate employment opportunities and income sources for the population. While economic growth is clearly desirable, an urgent policy imperative exists to ensure that Ni-Vanuatu become equal participants in these developments and the subsequent benefits. This briefing note focuses specifically on some of the challenging effects of foreign investment on the dynamics of land use and ownership in Vanuatu. Conflicts about land are potentially explosive and recent historical events in Fiji, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea have shown the urgency of designing effective long-term policy responses to these sensitive issues.