Tenure-related disputes increase financial risks for companies in land-dependent sectors. The “land tenure risks” that companies confront, either through direct acquisition of land or through their supply chains, are thus of great relevance for informed voting and investment decisions. Given the importance of understanding these risks, the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI) has sent a submission to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to provide input into how land tenure risks could be addressed through disclosure requirements for public companies.

Employment creation is often seen as a key benefit of investment in natural resources. However, this benefit sometimes falls short: job estimates may be inflated, governmental policies may fail to maximize employment generation, and, in some cases, investments may lead to net livelihood losses.

By: Magdalena Mis

Date: 19 July 2016

Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation

Agriculture is the biggest driver of deforestation globally fuelled by a growing demand for food, yet it is possible to feed the world without cutting forests, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Monday.

By: Doris Atwijukire

Date: 18 July 2016

Source: newvision

The many land wrangles in Bunyoro further led to the issuing of a ban on processing land titles in the Oil region by the President in 2009.

Currently, the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development is undertaking certification of customary land exercise in Kasese district.

Date: 13 July 2016

Source: iied

New report urges structural reforms to end extreme poverty and tackle climate change and the loss of environmental assets during the next 15 years

 

Just published in the Mokoro newsletter online, some initial reflections from Mokoro's WOLTS project research in Mongolia from Mokoro Research Officer and WOLTS team member Zoe Driscoll. WOLTS is a long-term multi-country strategic action research project which is initially investigating threats to women's land tenure security in pastoral communities affected by mining investments in Mongolia and Tanzania.

By: Stephen Kalin

Date: 18 July 2016

Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation

A wetland in southeast Iraq, thought to be the biblical Garden of Eden and almost completely drained during Saddam Hussein's rule, has become a UNESCO world heritage site, Iraqi authorities said on Sunday.

By: Athar Parvaiz

Date: 15 July 2016

Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation 

Mismanagement of a flagship land ownership scheme in India's northern Jammu and Kashmir state, banked on by the regional government to generate cash to build its own power plants, is holding back local ambitions for energy independence.

By: Rina Chandran,

Date: 14 July 2016

Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation 

India's ambitious plans to develop infrastructure, mining and renewable energy threaten to force more of the most marginalised groups from their homes, widening inequality and fanning tensions, a global research group warned on Thursday.