Read the excerpt about land use in the Amazon rain forest.The reason corporations and large ranches have a major advantage over poor individuals in the rush for land: they have the capital to build their own access roads into the forest. This advantage enables them to lay claim on land much farther from major highways than can poor settlers. Small farmers have difficulties in finding land for squatting. They can typically claim land only a few kilometers from public roads, as they can neither market products nor have access to health or education facilities if they venture further. Often, their alternative is to invade land that already is clearly privately claimed, leading to land disputes.–United Nations Research Institute for Social Development