Green Rural Subjects: Land concentration and reconfigured rural relations in the green transition (GRUS)
This project explores how rural subjectivities are reconfigured through the confluence of (re)concentration of land ownership and green transition initiatives in Denmark and Colombia.
Climate change mitigation has intensified the struggle for land. Large areas are envisioned for reforestation, carbon dioxide removal and renewable energy projects, and new and old investors see business opportunities in land acquisitions. Increased concentration of land ownership affects local populations’ access and ownership to land, while green transition interventions generate unequal spatial effects.
Bringing together the areas of green grabbing, just transition and state-making, this project explores how rural subjectivities are reconfigured through new land dynamics in the context of increased attention to green transition initiatives and green claims.
Through ethnographic fieldwork and document analysis, the project looks across two geographical sites, Colombia and Denmark, to understand how socio-political histories shape the reconfiguration of rural green subjects. The project will bring new insights to how rural relations are impacted by land dynamics and green claims, and how reconfigured relations may influence public support for climate and biodiversity initiatives.
The project explores how the confluence of green claims and new land dynamics in Denmark and Colombia reconfigures rural relations and subjectivities. This is explored through the research questions:
- What is the role of green claims in the (re)concentration of land in Denmark and Colombia?
- How does the (re)concentration of land ownership impact local populations and their relations to large landowners and statutory institutions?
- How do reconfigured rural relations influence public support for climate and biodiversity initiatives?
The Green Rural Subjects project has an advisory board consisting of:
- Professor Mariel Aguilar-Støen, University of Oslo
- Research professor Esteve Corbera, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona
- Associate professor Diana Ojeda, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá
In preparation
Researchers
| Name | Title | Phone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search in Name | Search in Title | Search in Phone | |
| Inge-Merete Hougaard | Postdoc | +4535322344 |
Funded by:
Green Rural Subjects: Land concentration and reconfigured rural relations in the green transition (GRUS) has received a three year funding from Independent Research Fund Denmark.
Project: Green Rural Subjects: Land concentration and reconfigured rural relations in the green transition (GRUS)
Period: February 2025 – March 2028
Contact
Inge-Merete Hougaard (PI)
Postdoc
Department of Anthropology
E-mail: imh@anthro.ku.dk
Phone: +45 35 32 23 44