A guest post by Dr. Steven Lawry, Global Lead, Land Tenure & Property Rights at DAI, a USAID partner and global development company committed to shaping a more livable world. Follow them @DAIGlobal

Given the recent trend of granting vast areas of African land to foreign investors, the urgency of placing real ownership in the hands of the people living and making their livelihood upon lands held according to custom cannot be overstated. This study provides guidance on how best to recognize and protect the land rights of the rural poor.

The effect of prime-age adult death and its consequences on access to land for the survivors has not been fully explored nor incorporated into policy regardless the fact that high adult mortality is now

the lived reality in countries affected by HIV/AIDS, particularly in Africa. This paper explores the

gendered relationships between adult death due to HIV/AIDS and changes in land rights for the

survivors particularly widows. In many African societies, women have traditionally accessed land

Everyone has a relationship to land. It is an asset that, with its associated resources, allows its owner access to loans, to build their houses and to set up small businesses in cities. In rural areas, land is essential for livelihoods, subsistence and food security. However, land is a scarce resource governed by a wide range of rights and responsibilities. And not everyone’s right to land is secure. Mounting pressure and competition mean that improving land governance - the rules, processes and organizations through which decisions are made about land - is more urgent than ever.

This report summarizes a case study of the Mexican ejidocommunity tenure system. Mexico was selected for this case study because of the rich history and extensive scale of the country’s community land tenure and registration systems. This community system covers 52% of the area of Mexico, roughly equivalent to the size of Egypt, and comprises over 30 000 communities. The ejido system emanated from the Mexican revolution (1910-1917) and represents a case where the customary system of land has been largely integrated into the statutory system.

This publication is part of the Indigenous Peoples Human Rights Defenders Network (IPHRD Net) efforts to inform actors and stakeholders of the efforts of indigenous women and their communities to address violations of their rights, particularly their collective rights as indigenous peoples. The IPHRD Net is supported by the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR).

Two-thirds of the approximate 370 million self-identified indigenous peoples are found in Asia, enriching the region’s enormous cultural and linguistic diversity. They have strong cultural attachment to the land, forests and waters and their livelihood depends on the natural resources therein. They have their own distinct languages, cultures, customary laws and social and political institutions that are very different from those of the dominant ethno-linguistic groups in their countries.

In the Mekong region, conflicts between local communities and large scale land concessions are widespread. They are often difficult to solve. In Cambodia, an innovative approach to conflict resolution was tested in a case involving a private company, Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL), and several indigenous communities who lost some of their customary lands and forests when the company obtained a concession to grow rubber in the Province of Ratanakiri. The approach was developed by CSOs Equitable Cambodia (EC) and Inclusive Development International (IDI) with the support of QDF funding from MRLG.

Issue poster about Indigenous Peoples in Asia and their common experiences and issues.

This issue brief highlights the challenges indigenous peoples experience in securing their customary land rights in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Philippines; hence, this publication specifies recommendations for the government and CSOs in strengthening the recognition to indigenous peoples' rights.

Enhancing Tenure Security for Customary Lands and Natural Resources in Karamoja Region through Participatory Community Mapping

Enhancing Tenure Security for Customary Lands and Natural Resources in Karamoja Region through Participatory Community Mapping