News on Land

Over the past decade, international investments in land have come to the forefront of public debate. Some argue that investments in land, including by foreign entities, is a critical component of achieving food security. Others argue that large scale land acquisitions, or what some refer to as ‘land grabbing,’ on the contrary, undermines efforts to overcome poverty and hunger by further marginalizing already vulnerable groups, including indigenous peoples and smallholder farmers.

First, they were removed from their lands, then, recent years, the enormous deforestation of the area they live in practically destroyed the wild fauna and flora that are the basic means of traditional subsistence. Marilin Rehnfeldt

The national conversation about land, always simmering in South Africa, has come to the boil again. What’s often missing is a voice for the unrepresented party – the land. I’d like to be that voice.

Thousands of Native Americans and allies took their fight against the Dakota Access pipeline to the White House last week. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and Native nations hosted the Native Nations Rise march to highlight “the necessity to respect Indigenous Nations and their right to protect their homelands, environment and future generations.”

A major task of Zimbabwe’s new Land Commission will be to undertake periodic audits of land and its use nationwide. This is a tricky technical and political challenge.

A major task of Zimbabwe’s new Land Commission will be to undertake periodic audits of land and its use nationwide. This is a tricky technical and political challenge.

Global Forest Watch (GFW) is thrilled to announce the 2017 call for proposals for our Small Grants Fund. Now in its fourth year, the Small Grants Fund supports non-governmental organizations by providing financial and technical support to optimize their use of GFW tools and data for better forest monitoring and management.

Community groups in South Sumatra are protesting against Asia Pulp & Paper's planned choice of timber supplier for its massive new pulp and tissue mill, which they say used the army and police to intimidate them during a public consultation over land use.

Community groups have launched a protest against one of the suppliers to Asia Pulp and Paper’s (APP) new mill in South Sumatra, Indonesia, accusing the company of using intimidation tactics during a public consultation over land rights. 

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The search for Momentum for Change’s 2017 Lighthouse Activities is on! Applications are being accepted from 30 January to 9 April. Spearheaded by the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat, Momentum for Change shines a light on the most innovative, scalable and replicable examples of what people around the world are doing to tackle climate change.

If you’re leading a results-driven project that is successfully addressing climate change, we want to hear from you!

The issue of women’s land rights is one of the human rights issues that is not given enough attention; however, about 50% to 60% of rural women in Ghana constitutes the labour force within the agricultural sector, yet only 10% earn income and only 8% own land.

The limited land ownership and rights has led to limited access to productive resources.