News on Land

SARAWAK'S last nomadic tribe, the Penan, have again pressed the state government to recognise their customary rights to land and a forest sanctuary they want called Baram Heritage Forest, by presenting to the government a “detailed community map” 15 years in the making.

A group of nine Penan chiefs, led by Ajeng Kiew, a penghulu of Baram Sungai Patah, flew from the remotest parts of Baram to present the set of 23 maps to Deputy Chief Minister Douglas Uggah Embas last Friday at the state legislative assembly building.

In June 2005, demolition crews destroyed hundreds of homes in an impoverished suburb of Mutare, under ‘Operation Murambatsvina’ (Move the Rubbish), the government of Zimbabwe’s campaign to forcibly clear ‘slums’ across the country. Many of those made homeless joined housing cooperatives to collectively purchase land, on which to rebuild their lives, only to have that land taken by Zanu-PF supporters with backing from government ministers.

Activists debunk land bank claims

Special Correspondent of The Telegraph

Ranchi: Two civil rights groups have questioned the state government's claim of having created a land bank of around 20.56 lakh acre, their doubts based on findings of a sample survey their members conducted at a block in Khunti district near Ranchi.

A recently tabled audit report from CAG of India on the government of Odisha reveals the performance of implementation of Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006 during the period 2011-16 in the state. The rules for carrying out the provisions of FRA were notified in 2008 and were subsequently amended in 2012.

A serious man dressed in gákti, a traditional Sami (also Sámi or Saami) costume, speaks on a video on Facebook.

Traditional farming strategies could protect humanity against global warming and prevent deadly wildfires. Yet scientists seem determined to ignore them

Prejudice against indigenous people is visible and ingrained in cultures everywhere, from US football team names (the Washington Redskins for example) to Hindu folk tales where the forest peoples are rakshasas, or demons.

Some commercial farmers in Zambia's have acquired thousands of hectares while ignoring laws meant to prevent forced evictions, writes Juliana Nnoko-Mewanu from Human Rights Watch

Can better weather information help Ethiopians better deal with unpredictable weather?

ARGOBA, Ethiopia, Nov 13 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Armed with a spear and undeterred by the intense sunlight, Tarekegn Kareto meticulously plucks weeds in his maize field in Argoba village, in southern Ethiopia.

"With both dry weather and unusually heavy rains hitting us in the past year, I've lost over half of my harvest of maize and sorghum," he said, pausing to wipe sweat off his forehead.

• Indonesian President Joko Widodo last month gave several indigenous communities back the land rights to the forests they have called home for generations.
• The total amount of customary forests relinquished to local groups under this initiative remains far short of what the government has promised, and looks unlikely to be fulfilled before the next presidential election in 2019.

SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples for the United Nations (UN) Victoria Tauli-Corpuz discussed indigenous peoples’ (IPs) rights in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on October 25 at Leong Hall.

Tauli-Corpuz’s talk emphasized upholding the rights of indigenous peoples (IPs) to achieve SDG 1, which aims to end poverty; SDG 2, which aims to end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture; and SDG 10, which focuses on reducing inequality.

More than 100 families in Takeo province have been given back their land after a dispute with the Sun Hour company and an individual landholder.

The move follows protests and in front of the Ministry of Land Management as families asked the government to resolve their problems.

The 137 families were told officially on Saturday that 915 hectares in Tram Kak district’s Trapaing Kranhoung commune would be restored to them.