Palm oil is one of the most controversial yet ubiquitous agricultural commodities in the world, used in everyday products ranging from cooking oil and chocolate to toothpaste and soap. Over the past few decades, the palm oil industry has contributed significantly to the economic development of Indonesia and Malaysia, which together produce an estimated 85 to 90 per cent of global supply.

Through collecting data on large-scale land transactions, the Land Matrix increases transparency to foster accountability of investors and other parties involved in large-scale land transactions. The Land Matrix aims to contribute in an innovative and relevant way to the growing movement towards open development - allowing for greater public involvement in critical decisions that affect the lives of land-users around the world.

The LM Africa Focal Point developed a detailed profile of large-scale land acquisitions in Tanzania.

The potential contribution of land based financing to the development of sustainable and equitable cities and properly serviced communities is often underestimated. Land based financing is a collective name given to a range of instruments by which local governments could expand their revenue base and generate funds that will help them to deliver services and infrastructure development and achieve their maintenance goals.

Em 2013, o Centro Terra Viva (CTV) iniciou a monitoria dos processos e procedimentos seguidos pelas instituições do Estado para o licenciamento ambiental e de uso da terra de empreendimentos económicos que recaem sobre as áreas ocupadas pelas comunidades locais. O projecto da fábrica de liquefacção do gás natural, a ser implantado pela Anadarko no distrito de Palma, em Cabo Delgado, marcou o arranque desta actividade. A partir de 2015, a instituição pretende estender este tipo de acções a outros pontos do país.

The NGO Centro Terra Viva (CTV) with funding from the World Resources Institute (WRI) implemented a project seeking to promote gender mainstreaming in the policies and practice of large scale land acquisitions (LSLAs) for economic investments. The study was centered on recognizing opportunities to strengthen the role and involvement of women as actors in decision-making in the resettlement process, particularly given the context of a growing economic and commercial appetite for land acquisition.

This report was prepared by Centre for Land Governance, NRMC, the Secretariat of India Land & Development Conference 2017. This report provides an overview of the proceedings of India Land & Development Conference, organized at India International Centre, New Delhi, India on April 5-6th 2017.

This report consists sharing of experiences, knowledge and practices over eight thematic sessions, two panel discussions and a special session.

Eight Sessions in the Conference are as follows:

Os últimos anos têm sido acompanhados pela implementação de grandes projectos económicos, geradores de um novo dinamismo em cidades como Maputo, Tete ou Nacala. As comunidades camponesas mais próximas destas áreas de implementação enfrentam uma dinâmica dicotómica. Por um lado, a proximidade relativamente a mercados em crescimento e a facilidade de escoamento dos produtos oferece vantajosas condições de produção, potenciando a retenção no campo, o investimento na agricultura e a inserção nos mercados.

Moçambique é hoje um excelente exemplo para ilustrar a relação de reciprocidade entre desenvolvimento económico e o Direito. De facto, as dinâmicas económicas que se têm verificado no país, caracterizadas por sucessivas descobertas de recursos naturais, e que colocam o país numa posição de destaque sob ponto de vista económico, têm estado a contribuir para uma intensa actividade legislativa e normativa para responder aos desafios económicos que o presente e o futuro apresentam para o país.

Landesa (strengthening land rights for the world’s poorest people) and Land Portal co‑facilitated the online dialogue on “Responsible investments in land: perspective from Tanzania and globally” from June 5 -16, 2017.

For details on the dialogue follow this link.

This article was submitted for the UN Economic Commission for Africa “2017 Conference on Land Policy in Africa” Nov. 14-17 2017, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

This article sheds light on a series of events that triggered escalating tensions over land and resources in the coastal communities of Lagos, Nigeria. This article provides an in-depth analysis of Nigeria’s laws on expropriation and the processes of acquiring land and compensating landholders in the Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ) case. Specifically, the analysis addresses the following research questions:

With Second Level Land Certification (SLLC), farmers gain increased security of tenure: this incentivises them to invest more in their land.

To allow for this productive investment to take place, the Land Investment for Transformation (LIFT) programme is working with micro finance institutions (MFIs) to roll out an innovative financial product: the SLLC-linked individual loan.

Accessing longer terms and larger size loans allows farmers to increase the productivity of their land, graduate from subsistence farming, and become more commercially oriented.

Supporting the agriculture sector

The GoE with technical support from the Land Investment for Transformation (LIFT) programme is issuing Second Level Land Certificates (SLLC) to increase the land tenure security of farmers. As a result, farmers are more willing to invest in their land in a productive and sustainable way. However, to allow for increased productive investment, farmers must have access to improved agri-inputs and technologies that are climate smart: this is currently a challenge in most rural areas.