News on Land

One of the biggest challenges we face as a land community is the way in which we share information about our respective work and projects.  We currently lack one key virtual and accessible online space to document land related projects worldwide, so that we may get an overview of what is happening and build on, instead of duplicate initiatives.  The goal is complementarity and collaboration, instead of competition. It is with this in mind that the Land Portal Foundation is launching an all new database of land and property rights projects.

Ethiopia's Mursi tribe says they were imprisoned and tortured to protect Chinese sugar plantations.

OMO VALLEY, Ethiopia — One night, in his village of 20 grass huts in Ethiopia’s Omo Valley, Golonkiwo had a nightmare. As a komoru, or mystic of the Mursi tribe, Golonkiwo’s duty is to receive and interpret dream prophecies. It is a vital role, passed down from father to son in one of the world’s oldest surviving cultures.

“In my dream, I saw the government soldiers coming for us,” Golonkiwo stated. “They killed a lot of people.”

Uncovering South Africa's land information ecosystem

Land issues are at the heart of South Africa's struggles to overcome the legacy of over 300 years of white minority rule and apartheid. In spite of extensive land reforms to change the historic patterns and achieve justice in South Africa, land access, use, ownership and governance continue to mirror historic patterns of racial inequality.

IMPROVING agricultural processes and supporting small holder growers is only part of the puzzle as buyers and private sector support are critical, the World Bank says.
The World Bank said in a statement that the International Finance Corporation (IFC), as the largest global development organisation working with private sector in developing countries, had been working with wholesaler and retailer, Tininga, in Mt Hagen, Western Highlands, to improve farmers’ productivity and get produce more quickly to shelves in Port Moresby.

The preservation of indigenous peoples’ territories in Paraguay has a vital role in maintaining spiritual, cultural, and communal well­being. Despite this important reality, many indigenous communities’ bonds with their land have been shattered.

The nature  and scale of investments in land in developing countries has divided opinion  many contexts, especially where local people depend on access to land for agriculture.

The Institute of Development Studies is gathering short stories that capture the diverse experiences of those who have interacted with the Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition Programme (GODAN) and GODAN Action.

If you’ve engaged with GODAN over the last few years – as a network member, a participant on one of their courses or events, or by engaging with their publications, tools and applications – this is your last chance to tell them your story.

It has been more than a decade since 64-year old Khorn Khorn lost three hectares of land to a close ally of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

PHNOM PENH — 

It has been more than a decade since 64-year old Khorn Khorn lost three hectares of land to a close ally of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. The controversial senator Ly Yong Phat wanted the holding to expand a sugarcane plantation in Kampong Speu province.

As all eyes, hearts and minds focus on the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) garnered attention on Tuesday when a new UN report revealed that only ten countries in the European region have levels of air pollution below the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended limit. 

One of the many recommendations made by President Hage Geingob’s High-Level Panel on the Namibian Economy (HLPE) is that Namibia implements its comprehensive national policy on climate change released in 2011. 

The goal of the national policy on climate change is to contribute to the attainment of sustainable development in line with Namibia’s Vision 2030, through strengthening national capacities to reduce climate change risk and build resilience for any climate change shocks.

A study by the Global Mechanism of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has examined how SDG target 15.3 on achieving a land degradation neutral world contributes to the strategic objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The study identifies several layers of convergence between the two Conventions.

• Indigenous communities and human rights NGOs contend that Pluspetrol violated a set of business standards issued by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
• The complaint, delivered March 11 in the Netherlands, says the company has avoided paying taxes and has failed to address damage to the environment in the Peruvian Amazon caused by its oil-drilling activities through 2015.