Resources across the globe are increasingly under pressure, due to economic priorities, political challenges and global processes such as climate change. Collective action and cooperation, such as through global and national indigenous and grassroots movements, have led to numerous efforts to secure rights and access to land and natural resources for local citizens. Changes that support both social justice and ecological sustainability require efforts on multiple fronts. This panel, which begins with a keynote address by Dr. Saskia Sassen, will discuss multiple challenges, in law, the economics of land grabs, and in local livelihoods. It includes a look at differentiated challenges through a gendered approach.