News on Land

Land is life in Papua New Guinea. Handed down over generations from father to son, or mother to daughter. To own land is to have a lifeline, our bloodlines, our inheritance, our identity is dened, strengthened and made complete by it.For centuries the world over, blood, sweat and tears have been spilled, empires built and crumbled, heroes have risen and fell in itsdefense or acquisition, whether rightfully or not.

Fishermen say a development on two islands could destroy their livelihoods

KARACHI, Nov 3 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - In the quarrel over building a gleaming "new Dubai" on two small islands off Pakistan's Arabian Sea coast, the voices of the fishermen who have plied these waters for centuries often go unheard.

Steering his boat out of the Jamote jetty in the village of Ebrahim Haideri, 25-year-old fisherman Shakil said the islands around which he catches fish, crab and shrimp are now patrolled by armed guards.

The Commission on Human Rights  highlighted issues faced by indigenous people as it observed the 23rd anniversary of the passage of the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act and the National Indigenous Peoples Month this October.

Based on the experiences faced by CHR employees on the ground, most of the human rights violations perpetrated against indigenous peoples are land-related harassments, attacks, and killings.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has assured the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs that he will set up a committee to take a comprehensive look into the issue of the compulsory acquisition of lands by the government in the region.

The committee, which would be established to start work next year, would look at the possibility of restoring lands to their allodial owners, he said.

President Akufo-Addo gave the assurance when he addressed the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs in Dodowa yesterday as part of his working tour of the region.

Landowners of the Porgera gold mine in Enga Province, are seeking relief orders from the Supreme Court to declare unconstitutional recent amendments to the Mining Act that will enable the State to cease negotiations with landowners over royalties.

For years, Christiana Akwabea admired the vast fields she visited in neighboring districts to buy maize for reselling and dreamed of one day owning a plot of land where she could grow the staple crop.

But there wasn’t much land for commercial farming in Seikwa in Ghana’s Bono Region, and the local soil is more suitable for cultivating cashew and yam.

A licence to restart work at an iron ore opencast mine has been issued despite complaints of poor working conditions and dust and water pollution affecting the surrounding areas.

The second-biggest mountain in eSwatini, located in the north-east near the main border gate, is called Ngwenya because, at first glance, it looks like a crocodile. On its crown is a massive man-made crater, and on its side is a small hollow big enough to shelter a pride of lions, called the Lion Cavern.

Communities being able to participate on an equal basis in land governance is key to food security and inclusive development. How can securing land rights pave the way for responsible investments and what can we learn from experiences with the palm oil industry? To answer these questions we turn to West Africa where two activists are fighting for their communities’ right to land. ‘If we want to move forward, we need to share the wealth that the land brings.’

The government recently requested a change in administrative boundaries between Phnom Penh and Kandal province by re-allocating 302ha from Kandal’s Takhmao town to the capital’s Dangkor district.

A letter signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen and sent to acting head of state Say Chhum on October 19 said the move will help the development of the new satellite cities of Boeung Tompun and Boeung Choeung Ek. It will also make the management of the district more efficient and improve public services.

The first ever global dataset that quantifies tenure insecurity puts Botswana in a category of countries with the highest land and property insecurity.In terms of the Prindex, a methodology for measuring tenure security for land and property around the globe, more than 30 percent of Botswana’s adults (18+ years of age) feel insecure about their land or property rights. In terms of the Prindex, which was developed by a London think tank, more than 30 percent represents extremely high levels of insecurity.