Issues we work on

Defense of Territory

Struggles for territory get to fundamental issues of self-determination and survival in the face of older and newer forms of extractivism, from settler colonialism to global land and water grabbing. Social movements are increasingly broadening discussions on land to more holistic conceptions of territory that include diverse aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, and the lives and cultures connected to them.

Impact Overview

From movements for national liberation and Indigenous sovereignty to resistance against the corporate takeover of land and water, struggles for territory have been a central theme of Grassroots International's work since our inception.

Today, social movements are using the lens of territory to unite diverse struggles over land and water. This spans a variety of identities and livelihoods, such as peasants, Indigenous Peoples, fishers, pastoralists, and communities of color on the frontlines of extractive projects. Along the way, there have been some significant wins, like blocking the construction of dams, mines, and other megaprojects – though these struggles are ongoing. Defense of territory is increasingly intersecting with the issue areas of grassroots feminisms and healing and wellbeing, with the increased recognition of the body as a form of territory, and the connections between violence against bodies and violence against Mother Earth.

Work we’re accompanying:

Liberation struggles in contexts of colonization, occupation, and militarization
Mobilization against land and water grabbing in the form of caravans across West Africa
Resistance to proposed free trade zones on ancestral territories
Organizing against extractive industries on communal lands and waterways, from mega-dams in Honduras to oil drilling in Nigeria
Campaigning across borders to expose the investors and enablers of land grabbing and other forms of extractive industry
Convergence of diverse movements of food providers (peasants, pastoralists, fishers, etc.) toward shared conceptions of territory and shared resistance strategies

Struggles in defense of territory take on many forms, but at their essence is a sacred connection between people and place – a connection under threat in many contexts across the globe.

Among the sparks for the founding of Grassroots International were the conditions facing Palestinians expelled from their ancestral territory through settler colonialism, and their struggles for the right of return. Palestinian liberation remains a critical focus of our movement support work, along with struggles against colonization, occupation, and forced displacement elsewhere. Led by our partners, we take a firm stance against the global military-industrial complex and against the militarization that often goes hand-in-hand with assaults on territory.

Our accompaniment of struggles in defense of territory has grown ever more expansive since powerful financial actors set their sights on farmland as a secure form of investment following the burst of the housing bubble in 2008, spurring a global rush on farmland. Social movements stress that land grabbing also signifies grabbing of the water connected to the land, including that which is out of sight below the ground. And they emphasize that this not only impacts the ability of communities to farm, but also to fish, forage, herd animals, and undertake a host of other livelihoods.

Framing struggles around territory is therefore a call for convergence among movements, and for an intersectional approach to the multiple assaults upon the lives and livelihoods of frontline communities.