ABSTRACT
For mining, oil, gas, logging, and plantation-type agri-businesses, one of the first interactions with communities occurs when a company needs land. Companies want to get land acquisition right. They want to compensate local people fairly and follow legal requirements. A company's approach to acquiring land becomes one of the earliest major issues that strains company–community relations. When companies and communities sit down to negotiate land compensation, they often are not addressing the same issues. For communities, some of these issues go far beyond things that can be bought and sold. Companies assume that when they reach a compensation agreement this is the end of their responsibility. Companies know that they cannot make everyone happy in every community. As they decide on their compensation policies and who deserves payment, they always encounter some people who are dissatisfied. Communities always contain sub-groups who define themselves according to special identities or interests.
