News on Land

In the world's second most populous country, there is an estimated shortage of about 20 million homes in urban areas

CHENNAI, India, Oct 9 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Sustainable, low-cost homes must become the default option for builders and buyers amid increasing pressure on land and the environment, according to a leading architect in India, which has among the most densely populated cities on the planet.

• A new $100 million initiative will help indigenous peoples and local communities in rural areas secure rights to their traditional lands.
• The International Land and Forest Tenure Facility, formally launched launched week, was conceived by the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI)
• The Tenure Facility is a mechanism for scaling up recognition of rights to collective lands and forests.

STOCKHOLM (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Indigenous people under threat from companies seeking to develop their land for agriculture, mining and energy projects will be supported with money and practical help through a major global partnership backed by philanthropic and government funding.

The International Land and Forest Tenure Facility is the first initiative to provide grants to advance the rights of indigenous people to help them protect their forest land and resources.

How can food companies stop contributing to deforestation? A panel of experts discussed solutions at a roundtable in New York

The Ministry of Interior yesterday ordered the temporary suspension of land rights NGO Equitable Cambodia for allegedly violating its own by-laws and the controversial law regulating NGOs passed in 2015.

In a letter signed yesterday, Interior Minister Sar Kheng ordered NGO Director Eang Vuthy to “temporarily suspend Equitable Cambodia’s activities for thirty working days”.

According to the letter, the organisation violated Article 5 of its own by-laws, as well as Articles 10 and 25 of the Law on Associations and NGOs.

Corporations globally have made hundreds of commitments on deforestation. But what do these pledges really mean and why do scandals keep happening?

[JURIST] Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment John Knox [official profile] called [press release] on Mongolia Wednesday to protect the environment.

The app will provide weekly satellite deforestation data in 17 tropical countries including Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept 26 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A mobile app launched on Tuesday will allow indigenous people, forest managers and law enforcement officials in remote areas to monitor deforestation and fires regardless of connectivity, according to developers.

Land rights activists gathered in protest outside Government House on Monday, demanding a solution to land conflicts that have arisen as a result of government policies.

The People’s Movement for a Just Society (P-Move) led the demonstration to demand government action, saying they had been campaigning on this issue for four years but there had been no improvement. Many people who have been involved in land conflicts across the country joined in the protest.

Kajal (24) is in no hurry to cook dinner for her children who are running around as she sits with her husband, talking and complaining about their ‘neighbours’.

Her husband Santosh, in turn, is in no mood to react to what his wife tells him.

“I have bigger things to worry about. I want the government to make houses for us here,” he says, pointing to the pavement and the adjoining piece of land on the Bathinda-Goniana road.

Land rights defenders from 29 countries call for greater vigilance in ensuring governments comply with laws

MUMBAI, Sept 22 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Dozens of land rights defenders from 29 countries have written to the United Nations to draw attention to the increasing violence they face from states and corporations, and calling for greater vigilance in ensuring governments comply with laws.