The approval of the new law has cemented an important step in the fight for women claiming rights to communal lands.

ez – “Although it is too late for me to get back some of my lands, when I see all these women finally getting justice, I feel like the struggle has been worth it. I feel that their joy is my joy,” said Rkia Bellot, a soulalya woman and activist, to Morocco World News. 

“Whether they like it or not, it is our right. The law is on our side now.” 

The 12-day long 14th Conference of Parties (COP14) to United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) concluded with thought-provoking discussions on land management, restoration of degraded land, drought, climate change, renewable energy, women empowerment, gender equality, water scarcity and various other issues. India was the proud host of UNCCD COP14,which witnessed widespread participation from over 9000 participants from all across the globe at India Expo Centre & Mart, Greater Noida from 2nd to 13th September 2019.

An online project aims to map all of the world's indigenous lands to secure legal rights and alert communities to the threats of illegal logging and mining

BANGKOK - An online project mapping all of the world's indigenous lands will help secure legal rights, and alert communities to the potential threats of illegal logging and mining, land and indigenous rights groups said on Friday.

The state’s high cost of living and tourism-focused development is making it difficult for some Native Hawaiians to keep their homes.

Joddy ʻIwalani Manuwai and her family will lose their ancestral home in Kailua, on the island of O’ahu in Hawaiʻi, if they don’t raise $1 million to buy back land that has been theirs for five generations ― and they only have until Thursday to do it. Otherwise, their only hope is convincing a judge to give them more time.

With many in Asia still dependent on farming and fishing, there is a real risk that large-scale renewable energy projects will change land use and hurt communities, say experts

BANGKOK, Sept 10 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Huge renewable energy projects planned in Asia, such as solar parks and hydropower dams, risk accelerating the conversion of farmland, uprooting communities and destroying livelihoods, energy experts and human rights activists warned on Tuesday.

At his speech at the UNCCD summit in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised South-South cooperation and technology solutions, but issues of land ownership dog the ongoing negotiations

As the second week of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Conference of Parties (COP) kicked off in Delhi, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted South-South cooperation and issues of land degradation.

New technologies used to map areas in developing nations for granting titles and aiding development could be misused to further marginalize vulnerable people, analysts and land experts warned on Friday.

From Kenya to the Philippines, authorities are using satellite imagery, drones, GPS navigation systems and artificial intelligence to map customary lands, fix boundaries, and modernize land records to verify ownership and issue titles.

 Palm oil plantations in Indonesia and commercial fruit orchards in the Philippines have uprooted indigenous people and rural communities from their land, despite laws put in place to protect them, human rights groups said.

Powerful businesses, corrupt officials and paramilitary groups are fuelling violence against rural communities in the Philippines, Britain-based Global Witness said on Tuesday.

Community rights activist Eakachai Itsaratha recalls his brush with death after being abducted in southern Thailand.

Bangkok, Thailand - As an outspoken community rights activist in a country with one of the worst records of enforced disappearances in the region, Eakachai Itsaratha long understood that one day he too would become a target.