The Tapajós River Basin lies at the heart of the Amazon, and at the heart of an exploding controversy: whether to build 40+ large dams, a railway, and highways, turning the Basin into a vast industrialized commodities export corridor; or to curb this development impulse and conserve one of the most biologically and culturally rich regions on the planet.
Shortly after a visit from an EU delegation last week, Kenya Forest Service (KFS) guards based at Tangul, Kipsitono and Maron KFS camps carried out intensive evictions according to Sengwer witnesses, with KFS allegedly having since burnt down over 90 Sengwer homes and destroyed their property.
Nimba County – Mariame Kamara had travelled from across the border in Djeke to Saclepea upon hearing that Liberian opposition Liberty Party was holding a political gathering in that town.
Her hope was dashed as nothing was mentioned concerning the reason she travelled to this place. She could not even speak to politicians she had hoped to meet.
The event was all about naming Harrison Karnwea as vice running mate to Cllr. Charles Brumskine. It was not about the Nimba land dispute.
Community groups have launched a protest against one of the suppliers to Asia Pulp and Paper’s (APP) new mill in South Sumatra, Indonesia, accusing the company of using intimidation tactics during a public consultation over land rights.
By: By Alisa Tang and Prak Chan Thul
Date: 24 February 2017
Source: Reuters
Even before a Cambodian judge sentenced land rights activist Tep Vanny to jail, her fellow campaigners said her fate had already been sealed.
Date: 23 February 2017
Source: Gulf Times
Some 350 farmers from Myanmar's Mandalay region are facing court cases related to land-grabbing, most of them brought since Aung San Suu Kyi's government took power a year ago, lawyers and activists said Thursday.
Date: 23 February 2017
Source: The Irish Times
Honduras is the deadliest country on Earth to be a defender of environmental rights with conflict over mining, hydropower and agribusiness leading to the deaths of many people from indigenous groups and rural communities, the Global Witness charity has said.
By: Andrew Mambondiyani
Date: 21 February 2017
Source: Reuters
From the mountaintop at Skyline in the Chimanimani district of eastern Zimbabwe, a mosaic of scorched trees and timber can be seen stretching for miles on end.
Lit by a wave of illegal settlers, the fires regularly rage through the pine and eucalyptus plantations of Manicaland province, destroying vast swathes of timber at enormous cost.
By:KHUON NARIM AND ZSOMBOR PETER
Date: 20 February 2017
Source: The Cambodia Daily
The government has indefinitely put off plans for a hydropower dam in Koh Kong province’s Areng valley in favor of expanding an existing coal-fired power plant, though conservationists worry that a planned transmission line through the ecologically sensitive valley could still inflict heavy damage.
Date: 19 February 2017
Source: The Guardian
Peace has proved more dangerous than war for activists and local leaders. Can the state stop the killings?
The pacific island of Papua New Guinea is one of the world's most resource rich countries, hosting nearly 7 percent of global biodiversity and important reserves of gold, copper and hydrocarbons.
