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Issues customary land rights related News
There are 842 content items of different types and languages related to customary land rights on the Land Portal.
Displaying 13 - 24 of 128

Indonesian government lagging independent effort to recognize Indigenous lands

05 May 2022
  • A total of 17.6 million hectares (43.5 million acres) of Indigenous territories in Indonesia, an area half the size of Germany, have been demarcated under an independent initiative that began in 2010.
  • The mapping is seen as the first step for Indigenous communities in the long and complicated process of applying for official government recognition of their land rights.
  • But government efforts continue to lag behind this initiative, with the state to date only recognizing 15% of the territories demarcated by the latter.
  • At the loc

Rights activists want changes in land laws to benefit Malawians

08 March 2022

 grouping called Land Justice Consortium has vowed to ensure that land law amendments favor the marginalized, saying there is need to liberate the country from land colonization since most of the arable and prime land is “in the wrong hands”.

The grouping comprises organizations such as Land Governance Alliance (LAGA), Economic Freedom Fighters Movement, Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI), MOVE, Peoples Federation for National Peace and Development (PEFENAP) and Mzuzu Youth Caucus.

The last stand? Community in Gabon calls on government to halt logging of their sacred forest, a unique and historic initiative

01 March 2022
In northeast Gabon, the Kota community of Massaha has sustained their customary lands and sacred forest for generations. They are now seeking formal government recognition and protection against the imminent threat of logging.
 
The Massaha community has reiterated their long-standing request to the Gabonese government to stop logging in their customary lands and sacred forest and protect it under existing legislation.

Scaling up Community-based Land Registration and Land Use Planning on Customary Land in Uganda” project launched

22 December 2021

Much of the land in Uganda is subject to customary tenure. Because it is not officially registered, land users fear that they may be forced off their land. Registering land has many benefits: it gives the users more security and means they can invest in the land and pass it on to their children.

Uganda issues first ever Certificates of Customary Ownership in urban areas

06 December 2021

On 2 December 2021 the mayor of Mbale City, Cassim Namugali, issued 511 Certificates of Customary Ownership in a colourful ceremony. The event took place at Wanale Division Hall in Mbale City. These are the first ever such certificates to be issued in an urban area in Uganda. Several hundred Mbale residents took part in the ceremony.

The Angry Communities

18 November 2021

ONE year ago, on July 27, 2020, three tribes who live around the border between Indonesia’s Kampung Naga area in Boven Digoel, Papua, and Kampung Kuem in Papua New Guinea, sent a claim letter to Tunas Timber Lestari. Representatives of the Kuranop, Ekogi, and Gembenop tribes protested against operations carried out by the subsidiary of the Korindo Group, as it infringed their customary land.

Deforestation by Design in Papua

17 November 2021

President Joko Widodo claimed that deforestation in Indonesia is at its lowest point in the past 20 years. Indonesia’s Nationally Determined Contribution emissions reduction report to the United Nations said that there were only 39,285 hectares of deforested areas in 2013 to 2020. A Tempo investigation in Papua found otherwise: The area of deforestation from 2019 to 2020 alone covered 19,807 hectares. Timber companies have violated some regulations about forest conservation management and have illegally produced wood.

Namibia: Communal Land in Kavango Most Vulnerable to 'Landgrabbing'

12 November 2021

In 2014, the Kavango region was divided into two regions – East and West. At the time, the Namibian government, during president Hifikepunye Pohamba's tenure, justified the move saying the region was too large and dividing it would enhance service delivery. This remains to be seen: Kavango West remains the most rural and one of the poorest regions in Namibia.

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