On the opening day of the World Bank’s 2024 Land Conference, organizations of small-scale food producers, Indigenous Peoples, workers, grassroots communities, and civil society denounce the World Bank as a major actor of land grabbing and ecosystem destruction. They call for effective measures to realize the right to land and territories, including agrarian reform.

Elles représentent plus de 20% de la superficie du Maroc et sont estimées à environ 1.180 milliards de dirhams. Loués ou cédés, les 15 millions d’hectares de terres disponibles pourraient fortement contribuer au développement du pays.

Much arable land in developing countries is inefficiently managed or lies fallow: Since this became the accepted, World Bank-endorsed narrative in 2008, it has shaped the agricultural policies of many developing countries. At the same time, it has opened the doors to private investors seeking to acquire land for the long term. A country that has relied heavily on this model is Lao PDR. The Southeast Asian country has managed to generate an economic boom, reducing poverty and creating a significant number of jobs in rural areas. A Lao researcher examined the data as part of his doctoral studies at CDE, University of Bern, – and the results are sobering.  

Lao villagers worry that compensation for Pak Beng Dam will be too low

Supreme Court observed urgent need for legislation to resolve land acquisition disputes for public projects.

Authorities have apparently confiscated vast swathes of land from the unpopular brother of Kazakhstan’s first president, with the ruling Amanat party keen to take the credit as parliamentary elections loom.

Attempts to re-expropriate assets of Sri Lanka’s privatized commercial plantations on the pretext of being under-utilized will undermine property rights and discourage investors, officials and analysts said.

No fewer than 55 communities in four local government areas of Edo State yesterday protested the acquisition of the communities’ rainforest reserve and farmland by the state Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, in spite of pending court cases on the matter.

 

Some of the impacted communities which protested include Odighi, Odiguetue, Uhiere, Owan, Agbanikaka, Orhua, Oke-Irhue, Ekhen-Irhue, Ago Oshodin, Ekpan, Ofumwegbe, Umokpe, Agudezi, Ozalla, and Igbira Camp.

 

A moins que vous ne soyez bibliophiles, démarcheurs passez votre chemin. « Parcelle à vendre » n’a rien d’une petite annonce immobilière et se veut le titre du second roman d’Arian Samba, avec pour toile de fond notre cher Congo Brazzaville.

Le Maroc a décidé de renforcer sa souveraineté foncière. Dans ce sens, de nouvelles restrictions sont imposées aux étrangers désireux d’acquérir des terres agricoles situées en dehors des périmètres urbains.

International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)  and the Land Portal are launching a new blog series on the governance of land-based investments in the Global South. The series will explore practical strategies and approaches adopted by rights defenders and others to address common challenges surrounding these investments.