News on Land

Last month, the South African Independent Electoral Commission announced in frustration that it needs USD 22.9 million to collect addresses ahead of a court-mandated deadline, a problem compounded by the fact that most townships don’t have well-marked street names.

(Ecofin Agency) - During a press conference held at the end of a mission in Sierra Leone, UN expert, Baskut Tuncak, denounced fragile protection of land rights of indigenous populations against multinationals. Amongst the latter, Luxembourg firm Socfin, which has palm oil plantations.

Whilst rural areas are dynamic and vibrant communities, they are chronically under-invested in. Poverty rates tend to be at least double than that of urban centres. Subsistence farming and small-scale farming is key to achieving sustainable development and a key source of livelihood for most of rural communities in South Africa. By MTHANDAZO NDLOVU

Post-colonial land reforms in Uganda leave many issues unresolved, while evictions, land conflicts and dispossession remain common 

Land is an essential asset to the people of Uganda. With a rural population constituting over 83% of the total population and an economy dominated by smallholder farming, Uganda must prioritize responsible land governance to achieve sustainable development.

ROME, Aug 28 2017 (IPS) - Indigenous Maasai people in Loliondo region,Tanzania have been facing new cases of forced evictions and human rights violations, a major international organisation supporting indigenous peoples’ struggle for human rights and self-determination warned.

"Forced disappearance is a crime that only the State commits," the family statement continued.

The relatives of the young Argentine activist Santiago Maldonado have said in a statement that he was forcibly disappeared by agents of the state and demand his immediate return.

Wednesday, 23rd August, 2017, Kampala, Uganda - The Government of Uganda and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have today signed a financing agreement for the Green Climate Fund (GCF) project to restore degraded wetlands, improve ecosystems, strengthen climate information and early warning systems.

Colombia's leftist FARC rebels seek political rebirth on Sunday as they move to transform into a party to seek elected office after disarming to end a half-century war.

About 1,000 delegates from the freshly demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia will launch a founding congress to choose their political representatives.

They will choose a name for the party and candidates to run in next year's general elections.

Residents of low cost housing can design their communities better than an architect, says legendary planner and designer Balkrishna Doshi

LONDON, Aug 23 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Balkrishna Doshi began his illustrious career as India was born, and many of the architect's most influential projects in the intervening 70 years have involved building almost nothing.