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Adamant Will, Unwavering Courage, Resilient in Our Hope – We Stay Our Course!
Dear Friend,
Founding the Oakland Institute in 2004 – a policy think tank that works in partnership with the most marginalized – we knew we would be going up against those who pillage the people and the planet for their own greed. From the start, we have unabashedly challenged the world’s most powerful political and economic elites, both at home and abroad.
What we didn’t know then was that an organization on a shoestring budget would disrupt the schemes of the richest to steal and plunder. It turns out, the only resources David needed against Goliath were courage, tenacity, and unshakable resilience. Our work at the Oakland Institute manifests that.
We have faced threats – both personal and legal. The oligarchs are relentless in the pursuit of profit. But our research, advocacy, and campaigns have not only exposed their injustices but have succeeded in shutting down some of their most corrupt and harmful operations. Even in the face of smear campaigns and misinformation, we remain grounded in the truth. And our unflinching commitment is fired up by the courage of our partners who refuse to give in.
Just two years ago we took on the case of villagers in Tanzania facing extrajudicial killings and horrific abuses – violence tied directly to a World Bank-financed project aimed at expanding a national park for tourism revenue. We not only had the Bank’s financing cancelled but forced it to set up a multi-million-dollar fund to redress the harms it caused.
This victory was inspired by our wins on behalf of communities in Ethiopia, forcibly evicted to make way for land grabs by investors from around the globe. Or in South Sudan, where we shut down one of Africa’s largest land deals – one million hectares – brokered by a former high ranking US State Department official. Or our earlier work in Tanzania, where we exposed and halted Iowa-based investor, Bruce Rastetter’s scheme to displace 160,000 farmers for the largest land theft in the country.
We always build on our successes, but also from humility in learning.
We’ve never measured success by the size of our staff or the number of offices we operate. We deliberately remain a lean organization – without dozens of in-house researchers, lawyers, and development staff in Oakland, or lobbying teams in western capitals. We have redefined what success looks like. Our slingshot is the trust of the impacted communities – the Indigenous, farmers, herders, fisherfolk, and others living on the periphery of the nation state – who come to us because our track record travels by word of mouth. Every dollar not spent building a bloated bureaucracy is invested directly on building a global movement for human rights and dignity for all.
This is how we could partner with the Tamil communities in Sri Lanka and the diaspora for over a decade demanding accountability for war crimes. This is how we exposed the powerful western gold mining corporations who get richer while the Indigenous and the Afro-Descendent communities in Nicaragua face massacres and colonization. Or put forward a different path for “development” in Papua New Guinea. It is also why we are unafraid to say – with the global majority – that Palestine must be free! And why we continue to take on issues that demand international attention, not because they’re in the headlines or fashionable with the powerful, but because justice demands it.
We will ALWAYS STAND with the truth. Our work is grounded in solid research and international law which cannot be challenged.
And we MAKE news. We put struggles on the headlines so action can be taken. So that the offenders are held accountable.
We are audacious and adamant. We are bold and unafraid. And this is why we win.
Wins that are beautiful and hopeful. And the world needs that now more than ever.
In Solidarity,
Anuradha Mittal
Executive Director
The Oakland Institute is an independent policy think tank dedicated to advancing the rights and resources of smallholder farmers, pastoralists, forest dwellers, and Indigenous communities worldwide.
Recognized as a trusted ally and go-to organization, we respond directly to communities seeking support in defense of their human rights and the environment. This grounded, demand-led approach ensures timely and impactful action where it is most needed.
Our work over the past 21 years – combining meticulous research, effective communications strategies, and strong advocacy campaigns – has secured concrete victories: reframing top-down development narratives; ending exploitative projects and land deals; catalyzing policy reforms; restoring stolen lands, safeguarding land rights defenders; winning court battles; pushing divestments, and more.
We Work
Our work elevates the voices of frontline land defenders, upholds human rights and food sovereignty, and protects the planet’s vital ecosystems.
Research
Our investigations are rooted in partnership with impacted communities. Through on-the-ground fieldwork and policy analysis, we expose the financial and political players behind harmful projects – following the money to bring the truth to light.
Advocacy
We confront powerful institutions – governments, corporations, and financiers – with facts and persistence. We mobilize the international public through petition campaigns, testify at the United Nations Human Rights Council, Congressional hearings, and more – until justice is delivered.
Communications Strategy
Working with mainstream global media as well as regional and national outlets, radio, television, and digital influencers, we elevate the struggles of the impacted communities and hold wrongdoers publicly accountable.
Legal Support
Since 2015, our Legal Defense Fund has provided critical support to land rights defenders facing threats, dispossession, violence, and criminalization – ensuring access to justice in the face of impunity.
Food and Hunger
- Brought fresh ideas and critical analysis on the causes of hunger and high food price crises, exposed the flaws of international aid, and championed a sustainable, people and planet-centered future.
Land Grabbing
- Unveiled land grabbing as the reality of “land investment” deals in the Global South. The dynamic relationship between research, advocacy, and media coverage sparked national and international mobilization and major rollbacks of exploitative ventures, ending plans to evict communities from their lands.
Agroecology
- Showcased 33 successful case studies of agroecology in Africa; campaigned alongside farmer organizations against the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and other initiatives pushing corporate, agrochemical, agriculture on the continent.
Climate Crisis
- Exposed dangerous false solutions like tree plantations and carbon offsets that worsen the climate crisis and campaigned in favor of effective responses and climate justice.
World Bank
- Held the institution accountable for its financing of land grabbing, fortress conservation, and industrial agriculture projects. Institute-led “Our Land Our Business” campaign helped end the Bank’s Enabling the Business of Agriculture project.
Food and Hunger
- Brought fresh ideas and critical analysis on the causes of hunger and high food price crises, exposed the flaws of international aid, and championed a sustainable, people and planet-centered future.
Land Grabbing
- Unveiled land grabbing as the reality of “land investment” deals in the Global South. The dynamic relationship between research, advocacy, and media coverage sparked national and international mobilization and major rollbacks of exploitative ventures, ending plans to evict communities from their lands.
Agroecology
- Showcased 33 successful case studies of agroecology in Africa; campaigned alongside farmer organizations against the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and other initiatives pushing corporate, agrochemical, agriculture on the continent.
Climate Crisis
- Exposed dangerous false solutions like tree plantations and carbon offsets that worsen the climate crisis and campaigned in favor of effective responses and climate justice.
World Bank
- Held the institution accountable for its financing of land grabbing, fortress conservation, and industrial agriculture projects. Institute-led “Our Land Our Business” campaign helped end the Bank’s Enabling the Business of Agriculture project.
- KPFA Peace Price (2005)
- The Nation Magazine’s Most Valuable Thinker (2008)
- Endow the Future Award, Responsible Endowments Coalition (2012)
- Human Rights & Justice Award, Bay Area Oromo Community (2016)
- Feyerabend Award for supporting the oppressed and exposing land grabbing with meticulous research, tenacious advocacy, and unflinching activism (2022)
- All in for Justice Award from the Institute for Middle East Understanding (2022)
- Seeds of Strength Award from the Council for American Islamic Relations (2024)
2024 Year
in Review
- Investigated
- 37 corporations/ organizations
- 16 governments
- 7 international financial institutions
- Supported struggles of over 10 million people resisting land grabs around the world
- Challenged land grabs threatening nearly 16 million hectares
- Generated millions of media impressions with coverage of our work by mainstream media across the globe
- Image
- The Western model of wildlife parks and reserves – promoted as a means to protect biodiversity and critical habitats – has forcibly removed local communities from their ancestral lands and driven widespread human rights abuses across the world. Known as “Fortress Conservation,” it is heavily funded by Western governments and imposed as the default solution to environmental degradation.
- Image
- We advocate for an alternative: community-led stewardship of biodiverse ecosystems, rooted in Indigenous knowledge and practices that have sustained these landscapes for millennia. Our research and publications document abuses, bring the local perpetrators and international accomplices to light, and serve as tools for the marginalized to push back against forces that intend to dispossess them. From Tanzania to Kenya and DRC, the Oakland Institute has been the trigger to push for real change.
David vs. Goliath Victory! World Bank Brought to its Knees
In a landmark victory for pastoralists and farmers in Southern Tanzania, the World Bank-funded REGROW project – which enabled extra-judicial killings and large-scale land theft to expand Ruaha National Park – was terminated after two years of our unrelenting efforts.
Our determined research, advocacy, and filings on behalf of affected villagers at the Bank’s Inspection Panel, led to this historic decision. As a result, the Bank launched a multi-million-dollar redress fund for communities and announced sweeping changes to its conservation practices worldwide.
“We admire the remarkable dedication and tireless efforts that your organization has demonstrated throughout this case. Your perseverance is truly inspiring.”
– Office of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food
Tanzanian Government’s Plans for Eviction Halted from the Ngorongoro Conservation Area
For over a decade, we have exposed the ongoing campaign to displace Maasai communities living in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area from their ancestral lands to expand hunting and safari tourism. When the government tried to delist villages and strip their voting rights in August 2024, over 40,000 Maasai mobilized in one of the largest protests in Tanzanian history. Our advocacy – through podcasts, press releases and photo essays – put an international spotlight on the struggle to defend their culture and life. The government was forced to reverse its decision.
“Your work on behalf of the Maasai and so many other Indigenous communities around the world is unmatched and your research and advocacy have been a go-to model and trusted resource.”
– Robert A. Williams, Jr., Regents Professor, E. Thomas Sullivan Professor of Law & Founding Faculty Chair, Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program, The University of Arizona Rogers College of Law
US Safari Firm Exposed for Dispossessing Maasai Communities
Despite branding itself as a sustainable tourism operator, Boston-based Thomson Safaris is exploiting the Tanzanian government’s brutal repression of land defenders to legitimize control over Maasai land in Loliondo. Our research laid bare how the American firm is intensifying the daily hardships for pastoralist communities – many of whom, including children, have reportedly faced violence at the hands of Thomson Safaris’ guides – while cutting them off from the land they rely on for survival. Our critical legal support powers the ongoing community struggle to reclaim their territories.
Ending Illicit Extraction from so-called “Protected” Areas in the DRC
“Protected areas” in the DRC are home to horrific abuses of the Indigenous communities and the illicit extraction of “blood” minerals. We unmasked the players profiteering – the World Wildlife Fund, Wildlife Conservation Society, as well as mining interests and Rwanda – and raised the plight of the Batwa in international fora. Our partnership with the Congolese groups has uplifted the urgent need for a radical shift in conservation practices, while our advocacy mounts pressure on complicit governments.
In the news
Canary
The UK, US, and EU are propping up violent human rights violations in the DRC
The African Argument
“Making a mockery”: Ending Fortress Conservation in DRC and beyond
Court Win for Indigenous Communities in Kenya
Since 2019, we have partnered with Indigenous communities in Northern Kenya resisting the takeover of their lands by the Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT) – the conservancy organization that has come to control over 14 percent of the country’s total land area. In early 2025, we celebrated a historic legal victory with partners in Isiolo County after Kenya’s Environment and Land Court ruled that two of NRT’s conservancies were established without consulting local residents and ordered them to shut down operations immediately. The lawsuit drew on our research exposing how NRT’s operations systematically dispossessed pastoralists and fueled violence while falsely claiming to support them. Backed by our legal aid, research, and advocacy, communities are finally regaining control of their territories and lives – while NRT faces an increasingly uncertain future.
In the news
Mongabay
Crisis hits community-led conservation group in Northern Kenya
Challenging Forced Evictions in Northern Kenya
In Baringo County, the Kenyan government demolished and burned down the homes of over 200 Indigenous residents on May 18, 2024. The evictions carried out by the Kenya Wildlife Service in and around Lake Kamnarok National Reserve are part of a plan to displace 15,000 residents from the area under the stated goal of protecting the ecosystem. Our investigation revealed that the key causes of environmental degradation are not human-related and should be addressed through effective measures to prevent the depletion and siltation of the lake’s waters.
Taking Action as Western Mineral Demand Fuels Suffering in the DRC
We spearheaded a coalition of over 70 organizations to condemn Western governments’ financing to Rwanda amidst the renewed M23 offensive in Eastern DRC. Our advocacy contributed to debate at the EU Parliament, action by the UK government, and US sanctions against individuals involved in war crimes. Our work has exposed the devastating toll of mining so-called transition minerals on local communities and revealed the major actors fueling this crisis.
Partnering with Youth Activists Rising up Against Mining in West Africa
Since 2023, we have backed youth organizing against gold mining devastation, and secured legal aid for several activists arrested in Mali and Senegal. In September 2024, movement leaders met with the Malian Prime Minister and officials, prompting the government’s pledge to protect the river. In November 2024, Mali and Senegal announced joint efforts to stop the environmental destruction – commitments that we are monitoring closely.
Powering European Farmers’ Struggle Against Ukrainian Oligarchs and Multinational Agribusinesses
The farmers’ protests that erupted across Europe in 2024 highlighted the significance of our research on the stealth takeover of Ukrainian land by oligarchs and multinational agribusinesses. As farmers challenged unfair competition, including the dumping of cheap Ukrainian imports, we revealed how Ukrainian poultry giant MHP amassed over a billion dollars in financing from European institutions and the World Bank. Our research fueled outrage among European parliamentarians and farmer unions, who mobilized to challenge these corrupt deals.
Accompanying Communities’ Long March to Justice in Sri Lanka
At the 57th session of the UN Human Rights Council, we presented evidence that – more than 15 years after the brutal end of Sri Lanka’s civil war – the colonization of Tamil and Muslim territories has intensified under the guise of “development” projects and temple construction, particularly in the Trincomalee District of the North-East. This built on our decade-long work exposing the Sri Lankan government’s efforts to create an ethnocratic Sinhalese state and wage a silent war against the minorities in the country. This work has informed UN reports, contributed to US and Canadian sanctions against two former presidents and senior military officials, and shaped immigration policies that offer greater protection to Tamil refugees.
Laying Bare Exploitive Plans of US Agribusiness in West Africa
As local communities resist the theft of their land and water, we exposed the plans of a US agribusiness, African Agriculture, to seize and exploit three million hectares across West Africa for export crops and carbon credits. After we raised the alarm about the predatory plans and amplified local resistance in Senegal, African Agriculture’s stock price cratered. When the leading players behind the company pivoted to a new venture – targeting massive amounts of land in other African countries – we exposed their failed past as a cautionary tale for policy makers across the continent.
World Bank Out of Land!
On the opening day of the World Bank’s 2024 Land Conference, we joined hundreds of organizations representing small-scale food producers, Indigenous Peoples, workers, grassroots communities, and civil society to denounce the Bank as a driving force behind land grabs and ecological destruction. A decade since its launch, the Our Land Our Business campaign – led by the Institute – continues to maintain pressure on the institution to call for effective measures to realize the right to land and territories, including through agrarian reform.
Organizational Overview
- Team
- Andy Currier, Policy Analyst
- Anuradha Mittal, Executive Director
- Doug Crissman, Technology Director
- Eve Devillers, Researcher
- Frédéric Mousseau, Policy Director
- Heather Harris, Accountant
- Kimberly Schwede, Designer
- Nellie Skiba, Executive Assistant
- Board of Directors
- Anuradha Mittal
- Atul Sharan
- Carol Johnson
- Elsadig Elsheikh, Chair
- Jeff Furman, Treasurer
- Sonja Swift, Vice-Chair & Secretary
- Intern Scholars
- Eric Heilmann
- Isabella Lake
- Lindsey Wolin
- Maya Tsingos
- Shaan Sood
- Soleil-Chandni Mousseau
For security reasons, we do not disclose the names of researchers based in the countries we work but we acknowledge their courageous work!
Our Supporters
- Individual Donors
- Allen Kanner
- Amanda Williams
- Amiee Peri
- Anne-Marie Mayer
- Anthony Nahas
- Atul Sharan
- Barbara & James Kalbach
- Brian R. Hicks
- Camille Tischler & William Kellner
- Carol Black
- Carol Johnson & Mark Bichsel
- Catherine Sparks
- Claire Lichtenfels
- Clark & Carol Mitchel
- Daisy Deomampo & Michael Heimbinder
- Daniel Drake & Lee Steinbeck-Drake
- Daniel Roemer
- David Anthony
- David Bacon
- Debbie Tenenbaum
- Diane Waddell
- Dip Kapoor
- Edward Allard
- Edward Munyak
- Eileen Wampole
- Elias Jeyarajah
- Elizabeth Terrill
- Enrique Verdugo
- Frederick Eisenbud
- Gary Jones
- Gerald Rape
- Howard Patlis
- Hugh Espey
- Hugh Lee
- J Megeary
- Jane & Gerald Baldwin
- Jean Norris & Brad Hestir
- Jeanne Koopman
- Jennifer Henderson
- Jennifer Kirby
- Jerry Greenfield
- Jesse & Judith Currier
- Joan Gussow
- Jodie Ruland & Brian Linde
- John Grimanis
- John Rodgers
- Jonathan Fox
- Josephine Borgeson
- Judith Lane
- Junko Nakai
- Kai Vaara
- Kimberly Mims
- Laura Condominas
- Lee & Peggy Zeigler
- Linda Stockstill & Robert Eisenman
- Louis Hellwig
- Marilyn Borchardt
- Mark Friedman
- Markus Zimmer
- Marlene Halverson
- Mary Jane Moutsanas
- Mary-Ann Decatur
- Melakou Tegegn
- Michael Gasser
- Michael Pimbert
- Mirjam Ates
- Naomi Wilds
- Nate Hall
- Nathan Kapoor
- Neeta Dhawan & Rich Maiers
- Nicholas van Brunt
- Nicola Pardini
- Nikhil Aziz
- Patricia & Vernon Philipps
- Paul & Pam Wise
- Paul Moss
- Peter Sigsgaard
- Pierre Jacquemot
- Preeti Sethi
- Preston Zimmerman
- Ramonia Hall
- Randolphe Palmer
- Richard Beaumont
- Robert Johnston
- Robert Peeks
- Robert Townley
- Rosemary Glick
- Sara Hess & Jeff Furman
- Sara Pines
- Sharon Bylenga
- Stephanie Koenig
- Sushil Raj
- Terry Oxford
- Thomas Korczowski
- Tim Naor Hilton
- Toby Jones
- Wes Ingram
- William & Judy Harrington
- William Derman
- Foundation and Partner Grants
- Ariel Phillips Gwyndaf Jones Fund
- Clif Bar Family Foundation
- Environmental Defender Collaborative, Global Greengrants Fund
- 11th Hour Project, Schmidt Family Foundation
- Sigrid Rausing Trust
- Tikva Grassroots Empowerment Fund
- Wei Zhang & Peter Rasmussen of the Don & Lore Rasmussen Fund, Tides Foundation
- William & Elizabeth Patterson Family Fund
- Windrose Fund of the Common Counsel Foundation
Our gratitude to Sheppard Mullin for ongoing pro bono legal support.
Thank you to Boyle MacDonald Wines for supporting land rights struggles around the world.
Tony Clarke
As the idea for the Oakland Institute came to fruition in 2004, Tony Clarke, a renowned Canadian activist and author, joined the Board where he served till 2017. A tireless crusader for human rights, Tony founded the Polaris Institute to confront corporate power dominating public policy in 1997. He played a key role in opposition to the free-trade agenda of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). Awarded the Right Livelihood Award – also known as the Alternative Nobel Prize – together with Maude Barlow in 2005, this larger-than-life human being passed away on December 4, 2024.
Tony was a cherished friend, a mentor, and a co-conspirator in our work to support struggles for land and water rights around the world. Tony’s eyes twinkled when he spoke of his wife Carol, his daughter Tanya, and his son Chris.
To celebrate Tony’s legacy, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has created an annual speakers’ series to honor those who are instrumental in fighting the corporate monolith. Rest in Power Tony. Your legacy continues in your honor.
Anil bhai
Anil Chaudhary (Anil bhai), a lifelong organizer, dissenter, and political educator whose activism spanned over four decades, passed away on April 14, 2025.
In 1995, Anil bhai founded the Popular Education and Action Centre (PEACE) – a capacity-building organization in India committed to popular education as a transformative tool – especially for the oppressed and marginalized. In 2013, with Anil bhai’s support, the Institute partnered with several Indian organizations, including Social Action Forum (INSAF), Kalpavriksh, and PEACE, to convene a civil society summit that brought together activists resisting land grabs across India and Ethiopia.
A tribute to Anil bhai said: “He never sought the spotlight. He chose, instead, the long, hard road of process-building, capacity-strengthening, and nurturing leadership from the grassroots.” Anil bhai insisted that organizations should never replace or co-opt people’s struggles. “The issue belongs to the people. So must the leadership.” Anil bhai your words will inspire our work every day.
Our Work
Since 2004, the Oakland Institute has supported the struggles of communities around the world for their land and livelihoods. In the face of repression, corruption, and injustice, we amplify the voices of those most impacted, reframe the debate, and mobilize for change.
Power our work by making a tax-deductible donation!
We ensure our independence by not accepting any government or corporate funding. With your support, we will continue to win major victories on behalf of pastoralists and fisherfolk, the Indigenous, and smallholder farmers.
Impact Report Photo Credits
Top: Nabi Saleh Protest, Palestine. Source: Fred Jennings. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0, image cropped and resized from original.
Featured Investigations:
- TANAPA rangers being trained in Tanzania by U.S. Marines in 2015. Source: U.S. Marine Corps, Lance Cpl. Lucas J. Hopkins
- Mobilization of Maasai protesting in the NCA, Tanzania, August 2024. Source: The Maasai Elders, NCA
Additional Highlights:
- Internally displaced persons in the camp in Roe, DRC © UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
- Members of the Collectif pour la Défense du Ndiaël, Senegal, 2019. Source: Grain
Power Our Work: An Indigenous Mbuti family prepares dinner together in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve, DRC © FAO/Thomas Nicolon
In Memoriam: Tony Clarke. Source: Right Livelihood
All other photos are from the Oakland Institute or partners.