The objective of the research that this policy brief reports on is to analyse different mechanisms of access to land for the rural poor in an era when redistribution through expropriative land reform is largely inconsistent with the forces of political economy. The roads of access to land which are explored are intra-family transfers, access through community membership, land sales and rental markets, and government programmes including decollectivisation and land-market assisted land reform.

Those who led southern African states to independence promised to redress the inequalities of settler colonialism by returning the land to the people. A generation later the rural poor are still waiting. Many lack access and full rights to agricultural land and, as developments in Zimbabwe and South Africa show, they are getting angry. Where did post-independence land reform policy go wrong?

This report discusses the need and options to balance consumption with sustainable production, as changing trends in both the production and consumption of land-based products put increased pressure on land resources across the globe. It focuses on land-based products (food, fuels and fibre) and describes methods which enable countries to determine whether their consumption levels exceed sustainable supply capacities. Strategies and measures are outlined with the aim of allowing the adjustment of policy framework to balance consumption with these capacities.

This report is a follow up of a study that was carried out in the year 2001/2 commissioned by the FAO and SARPN. The main objective of the initial study was an assessment of the negative impacts of HIV/AIDS on livelihoods of the affected and infected communities through lowering their agricultural productivity.

Written by ODI's Anna Locke and Giles Henley, the guide provides a summary of the latest thinking around contemporary global land issues in developing countries. It also gives guidance on and evidence for how this thinking can be used in practice; provides signposting to reliable sources that can inform development professionals on issues not covered in the Topic Guide; and highlights where there are gaps in knowledge and evidence.

The paper begins with a literature review of the basic theories which underpin range science. Two major approaches for determining carrying capacity (CC) are described, animal or plant oriented. The inherent problems with each approach are discussed in the light of a recent, wider debate, questioning the validity of CC as a range management tool.Methodological approaches for determination of CC, with inherent problems, are discussed.

Reports on and on-farm evaluation of hedgerow intercropping by the IRA/ ICRAF Programme in the lowlands of Cameroon, which has been in progress since 1988. Throughout the years the biophysical performance of the system was found to be inferior under farmer management on farm to that achieved on station. At the same time, farmers' interest in the technology was far below the expectations.

This paper uses a human rights approach to look at the livelihoods of the Batwa of Rwanda and the Hadzabe of Tanzania. It looks at the problems related to the denial of their rights in areas of land, water, education and health care, and makes recommendations to NCA for further support.Findings include: Landlessness is a main problem Gaining education is critical for adults and children. Mobile education is needed for the ‘mobile people’ of Hadzabe Income generation is essential. Tourist related work is a possibility for Hadzabe.

FAO-Sida report providing evidence and lessons learned from a climate adaptation pilot project in Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia.

The most recent ‘land rush’ precipitated by the convergent ‘crises’ of fuel, feed and food in 2007–2008 has heightened the debate on the consequences of land investments, with widespread media coverage, policy commentary and civil society engagement. This ‘land rush’ has been accompanied by a ‘literature rush’, with a fast-growing body of reports, articles, tables and books with varied purposes, metrics and methods. Land grabbing, as it is popularly called, is now a hot political topic around the world, discussed amongst the highest circles.

The main objectives of this research report are to outline the various policies that have been implemented through statutes in the past, and to introduce the legislation regarding rural development and land reform. This report will document each economic turning point and each stage of development since Korea was liberated from Japanese colonial rule in 1945, to the present. This is all included in the “The Necessities and Objectives of Research” to provide substantial rationale for developing countries by linking policies with relevant Laws.

Over ten million people have been displaced from protected areas by conservation projects. Forced displacement in developing countries is a major obstacle to reducing poverty. It should no longer be considered a mainstream strategy for conservation and only applied in extreme cases following international standards.