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Mokoro is pleased to host the ’Land Rights in Africa’ site as a contribution to the land rights dialogue and related debates. This website was created in January 2000 by Robin Palmer, and was originally housed by Oxfam GB, where Robin worked as a Land Rights Adviser. A library of resources on land rights in Africa – with a particular focus on women’s land rights and on the impact of land grabbing in Africa – the portal has been well received by practitioners, researchers and policy makers, and has grown considerably over the years. Since 2012, Mokoro has been hosting and maintaining the site.
The views expressed on the Land Rights in Africa site as well as the publications hosted there, are those of the authors and do not represent those of Mokoro. Wherever possible, we link to the source website of publications.
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Resources
Displaying 296 - 300 of 1120Land Grabbing from within: Learning from Grazing Disputes in Western Kavango, Namibia
Describes a long-standing grazing dispute in northern Namibia that provides critical lessons on the challenges that people living in communal areas face to secure their land rights. Several large livestock owners illegally enclosed community rangelands to secure grazing for their own commercial cattle herds. The communities used legislation to defend their land rights: they mobilised relevant government and traditional authorities to intervene, resulting in a court order for the removal of most of the illegal cattle owners.
Zimbabwe’s new land crisis: Large-scale land investments at Chisumbanje
Report based on fieldwork in Chisumbanje seeks to understand: 1) the interest and role of the Zimbabwe Government and its contribution to the first large-scale private investments undertaken by GreenFuel in Chisumbanje; 2) the impact of the project on local communities’ land rights and livelihoods; 3) the role of the local institutions in facilitating and mediating investment, particularly on land; 4) the capacity of local and national institutions to structure a land agreement palatable to the local communities; and 5) the role of GreenFuel as the land user.
Land Governance in Malawi: Lessons from Large-Scale Acquisitions
Includes key policy areas; the legal framework governing land in Malawi; the Green Belt initiative and the New Alliance: threats or development opportunities?; case studies of large-scale acquisitions in Malawi – out-grower schemes in Nkhotakota and Chikwawa districts; recommendations. Brief illustrates the further accelerate land concentration among local elites and the exposure of many to landlessness and food insecurity.
Commercialisation of land and ‘Land Grabbing’: Implications for Land Rights and Livelihoods in Malawi
Investigates the processes and impact of commercialisation of land in Malawi – specifically the acquisition of huge tracts of communal lands by foreign companies and local elites for sugarcane production in Nkhotakota and Chikwawa districts. The main finding was that ‘land grabbing’ for large-scale commercial agriculture in these two districts negatively affected the livelihoods of the poor communal farmers. The costs to the affected communities outweighed the benefits
Land rights and investment treaties: Exploring the interface
The spread and deepening of economic globalisation has highlighted the ever closer connections between the international legal arrangements for the governance of the global economy on the one hand, and claims to land and natural resources on the other. In a globalised world, land governance is shaped by international as well as national regulation. As pressures on valuable lands intensify and land relations become more trans-national, increasing recourse to international investment treaties is redesigning spaces for land claims at local and national levels.