News on Land

New UN report highlights drastic increase in violence and legal harassment driven by rapid expansion of development projects on indigenous lands

Cameroon’s Code on transparency and good governance is finally here. The law promises to remove the shroud of secrecy that has hovered over contracts and concessions the government has signed with natural resource investors.

After series of failed appeals, communities impacted by the business activities of Wilmar PZ, a multinational company involved in agro palm cultivation in Cross River State have taken Wilmar to the State House of Assembly for alleged pollution and land grabbing.
 

Local Gov’t, Amendment to Constitution, Alien and Nationality Bills Soon?

Following years of open hearings, debates, committee reports, and conference committee work, the Senate at its 54th day sitting last Thursday, unanimously voted to concur with the House of Representatives on passage of the Land Rights Act.

NAIROBI (Landscape News) – Deforestation and land degradation amount to almost a third of Africa’s landmass, which has a devastating effect on the environment and livelihoods.

Growing populations clearing land for farming and rapid development of mining resources have resulted in an estimated 2.7 million hectares of lost forests every year on the continent.

A farmers’ leader shot in the back is one of 18 activists killed this year, targeted for opposing evictions, logging and mining

At 9am on 9 May, Luis Arturo Marroquín walked out of a shop in the main square of the small town of San Luis Jilotepéque in central Guatemala. Eyewitnesses say a black Toyota Hilux pick-up then drove up and, in full view of passersby, two men wearing hoods shot Marroquín repeatedly in the back.

Growing demand for palm oil is depleting forests as the Orang Asli tribe fights for its rights.

Dendi Johari is an Orang Asli fighting for his tribe's rights in Malaysia's eastern state of Kelantan.

As an indigenous activist, Dendi makes trips from his village in the deep forest of Gua Musang to the state's capital to attend court hearings, community meetings and participate in forest road blockades to protest logging in the lands that Orang Asli consider theirs.

In this series, we try to assess the consequences of laws on the people they are intended for. How do laws, framed in Delhi, impact people in the corners of India? Do people understand laws framed for them? What is their impact on the targeted people?

This is the sixth story on the intersection of law and society by Raksha Kumar.

Reclaiming tribal land rights – one stone at a time

The government is set to take about half of the land in the area to build the world's longest electrically heated oil pipeline from northwest Uganda to Tanzania, leaving locals worried

HOIMA, Uganda - Ugandan farmer James Mubona, 73, looked pensive as he sat in a blue plastic chair under a mango tree next to three of his four wives, one breastfeeding a five-month-old baby, contemplating the imminent loss of his 22-acre farm to an oil pipeline.

NELLORE DISTRICT, India, Aug 7 2018 (IPS) - Under the blazing midday sun, a tractor moves slowly along a dirt trail in Nacharwari Pallem, a village of the Yanadi indigenous people located some three hours from Chennai city in South India. Atop the tractor, women of the village – 36 in all – sit expectantly, ignoring the heat. Squeals of excitement fill the air as the tractor slowly halts near a stretch of rice fields.  

Transparency International is seeking a filmmaker to produce a short film of approx. 40 minutes length that tells a story about women, land and corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa.

NAIROBI (Landscape News) – Almost a third of Africa’s land mass is degraded due to human activities – including farming and resource extraction – which damage the environment and put food security and livelihoods at risk.

Landscape restoration can reverse damage and lead to improvements for communities, but how are obstacles overcome and changes implemented?