In August 2018, the local government of Accra, Ghana, in West Africa, appropriated 1,800 homes for demolition to make way for, among others, tomato retailers. Officials had already begun plotting the land for its new use when residents of the largely poor neighborhood erupted in protest, to no avail.

The extreme usurpation of land wasn't entirely illegal—nor was it entirely legal. And therein lies a new "idiom of planning" overtaking many African cities as they navigate rapid urbanization under competing land ownership and use laws that date back to British Colonial rule.

Sociological study finds pros and cons in a REDD+ carbon credit scheme in the Brazilian Amazon that rewards small-scale ecosystem service providers in local communities.

• To safeguard the almost 90 percent of its land still covered with forest, the small Brazilian state of Acre implemented a carbon credit scheme that assigns monetary value to stored carbon in the standing trees and rewards local “ecosystem service providers” for their role protecting it.

Indians are facing a crippling water shortage and the government has not adequately responded to the situation. Illegal water mafias have emerged, profiting from the distress of the poor, while offering just enough water at exorbitant prices to get through another day. The solution to better manage water and prevent these local water mafias is to introduce water markets in India in a more systematic way.

Under the theme of “Rights-Led Transformation Toward Climate-Resilient Landscapes”, this iteration of the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF), taking place this coming June 22-23, will explore the essential contributions made by Indigenous Peoples and local communities, rural women and youth to the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the targets laid out in the Paris Agreement on climate change.

The drugs trade is often portrayed as populated by wealthy individuals. The reality is poor communities targeted for repression, criminalisation and even the death penalty.

Amidst media furore over illicit drug use, Tory leadership favourite Boris Johnson dodged questions today over past drug use, whilst the wheels of Michael Gove’s campaign for the premiership are careering to a halt. Eight of the eleven candidates have admitted to some form of drug consumption, from Hunt’s cannabis infused lassi, to Rory Stewart’s opium smoking in Iran.

MONROVIA – One of the decisive moments in social justice advocacies for land rights in the recent history of Liberia came in 2011, when rural communities, wrote a letter of complaint against the Sime Darby Plantation Company to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).

LAGOS, Nigeria, Jun 10 2019 (IPS) - As a wife and mother in Nigeria who wanted to support my family and my community, I began my own farm in 2006. When I began, I never could have dreamed that just cultivating the earth would someday lead to my meeting government leaders, and traveling to meet other women from around the world doing their part to make a difference in their own communities.

Sourcing products from sustainable production areas and offering farmers better loans for environmentally friendly practices are just two ways to support sustainable development – ultimately benefiting millions of farmers and significantly reducing deforestation

European Union (EU)’s Programme Manager for Climate Change and Rural Development, Vera Kellen, says land rights remain the precondition for sustainable development in Africa and the rest of the world.

Madam Kellen made the remarks on Tuesday, June 4, 2019 at the “Sustainable Ownership, Empowering Community and Civil Society Liberia” meeting held at a resort in Monrovia, organized by ForumSYD. The day-long meeting brought together both local and international partners with focus on land rights advocacy and empowerment of CSOs.

A Geographical indication (GI) label is seen as a guarantee of authenticity, which is closely connected to the land itself and can be lucrative for producers

BANGKOK, May 22 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Developing countries are increasingly using geographic labelling to boost the value of products ranging from carpets to rice, raising rural incomes and protecting farm land, according to agriculture experts and lawyers.

MONROVIA –  The government of Liberia and major stakeholders in the forestland sector are developing guidelines for rural communities to accept and reject concessions targeted for their lands, a move advocates are hailing would curb land grab and strengthen the relationship between concessionaires and locals. 

Report by Mae Azango, New Narratives Correspondent

Land redistribution through just and equitable means remains contentious in the South African political and judicial landscape. Under the apartheid rule, the distribution of land was aligned to race, with the minority white population allocated about 90% of arable and habitable land, while the majority black population was allocated the minute remainder, mainly in the homelands. Transitioning from an apartheid to a democratic state brought about the human rights laden Constitution which contains section 25 – the right property.