This case study shows how the activities of a large foreign-invested mining company on land held by the Awajun community in the northern forests of Peru have led to a characteristic cycle of state permissiveness in granting mining concessions, thus leading to social conflict.

This paper seeks to analyse some of the problems of degradation persisting in the dryland regions with particular reference to Sub-Saharan Africa, and describe the processes that aim to tackle them.It identifies the threat to dryland regions as a complex mixture of degrading soils, continuous exposures to frequent droughts and political and economic marginalisation which is putting poor people living in the drylands at risk.

This paper discusses issues surrounding indigenous land rights, sharing an understanding and information about land tenure and titling within Latin America. The study focuses on examples from the country level, with the aim of influencing policy coherence and legislation.In particular, Chapter four of this document examines the implications of indigenous land tenure for natural resource management, using case studies from Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama and Peru.

This case study, conducted in north Afar pastoral settlements in Ethiopia, explores pastoral natural resource management as well as indigenous conflict management.Main findings of the study include:the pattern of natural resource management has shown dramatic changes in 4-5 decades time, eroding traditional strategies of pastoral resource management; and this is caused mainly by the encroachment of cultivation and human population pressuregrazing reserves once used to sustain pastoral livelihood during drought periods are no longer widely used by community.

Over the last 25 years civil disturbances, drought, population increases and global market pressures have all contributed in direct and indirect ways to a modification of Sub saharan African land cover. 

This perspective document: 1 Provides examples of ‘no regrets’ approaches, applied in small island countries to cope with current climate variability and adapt to future climate change, at different levels ranging from communities, local administrations and national governments. 2 Demonstrates the need for a sound knowledge base and information system, as well as a better understanding of the relation between water resources, water and health, and climatic extremes.

 Large-scale land investment is not a new phenomenon in Africa, but the speed and scale at which it is occurring today makes it one of the most pressing issues on the continent. These land investments are promoted by advocates as “win-win” solutions - benefiting national economies, rural development and ensuring food security at the same time.

This information paper illustrates sustainable dryland management practises in communities vulnerable to climate change with case studies in India and the Sudan.In both cases the adaptation programme is presented, including infrastructural strategy and social involvement, followed by results of the programme, subsequent impact on the community and examples of further achievements and successes in local areas.

Zimbabwe's water reforms that were undertaken in the 1990s were meant to redress the colonially inherited inequalities to agricultural water, increase water security against frequent droughts, improve water management, and realise sustainable financing of the water sector. They were underpinned by the 1998 Water and Zimbabwe National Water Authority Acts, which were based on Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) principles. This article describes how IWRM has been implemented against a backdrop of an ever - ev olving land reform programme and a struggling agriculture sector.

Conflicting interests in land and resource use emerged in postwar Mozambique, giving rise to multiple layers of dispute. This article explores the disputes occurring between 1992 and 1995 in two districts which are notable for the severity of competition over land by virtue of their proximity to Maputo, namely, Matutuíne and Namaacha. Although private sector claims were beginning to be staked with the potential for displacing people occupying the same land, other conflicts still predominated.

The objectives of this study are to analyze and synthesize the experience of the World Bank and other agencies in dryland management, with special emphasis on Africa.Recommendations are provided on "good policies and practices" in drylands management, which can support actions to fulfil obligations arising from the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD) for member countries and for international organizations, such as the World Bank.

This paper is about land tenure relations among the matrilineal and patrilineal cultures in Malawi. Data from the National Agricultural and Livestock Census are used to characterize marriage systems and settlement and landholding patterns for local communities. Marriage systems correspond to customary land tenure patterns of matrilineal or patrilineal land holding. The differences between the two major ways of land holding represent a particular challenge for land reforms intending to unify rules for land tenure and land devolution.