With the pandemic striking higher in Uganda;poor families continue to be forced off their land by their government and investors despite several directives halting evictions during the COVID period. Cites a number of examples. In the latest looming evictions;the Uganda government is evicting more than 35,000 artisanal miners in the Kisita mines in Kassanda district.

For many decades communities in West and Central Africa have been facing industrial oil palm plantations encroaching onto their community land. With the false promise of bringing ‘developmentand jobs;corporations;backed up by the support of the governments;have been granted millions of hectares of land under concessions for industrial oil palm plantations. The results of this expansion have been disastrous for communities living in and around these industrial plantations and in particular for women.

These messages were developed based on the field experience in fragile and crisis affected contexts of UN-Habitat and the partners of the Global Land Tool Network and the HLP Area of Responsibility of the Global Protection Cluster. They are a quick reference on how to empower
women and protect their housing, land and property rights in fragile and crisis affected contexts and why this is an essential element to sustain peace and stability.

An 11 minute film illustrating how rural villagers in Sierra Leone are seeking to ensure justice. When a Chinese rubber company seized their forest and land they came together;used the law and won. Since then they have taken part in a fight to transform Sierra Leone’s systems for land and environmental governance.

Offers a short history since thousands of Ugandans fled their homes back in 2011. A grim history with evictions continuing;a company becoming more powerful and continuing arrest of land defenders on trumped-up charges.

Secure land tenure is key to eradicating poverty;increasing agricultural investment and ensuring food security;and is an essential element of climate action and climate resilience. Yet women have far weaker rights to land than men. These disadvantages exist broadly and with few exceptions globally and are especially limiting to the well-being of women and their families in rural areas;where land is the basis for livelihood;identity;social standing and social security.

Includes an interview with Amanda Massaquoi;member of the Informal Alliance Against Industrial Oil Palm Plantations in West and Central Africa;who is supporting women in Sierra Leone who are opposing the oil palm plantations model. In practice women are not included in decision-making on land and there is a prevalent violence towards women from within communities. Attempts to synchronize all land laws have not been successful.

In Uganda land remains the most sought–after natural resource;but legal and structural mechanisms have not been effective in addressing illegal land evictions faced by vulnerable communities. Most local investors have taken advantage of the structural gaps in land administration which have exacerbated the issuance of multiple titles. This has been compounded by Uganda’s weak justice system and excesses perpetrated by some police officers and the military. In recent times Uganda has witnessed catastrophic forced evictions across the country.

Presents a framework for tackling urban-rural land challenges. Designed to help a range of stakeholders in developing countries understand how to adopt an inclusive approach to land management and administration initiatives to produce a balance in urban and rural development. Provides structured guidance for addressing land-specific problems within the intersection of urban and rural development. Presents action-oriented steps and recommendations that should be pursued in urban-rural interdependent development.

A recent study of two Senegalese villages showed how training women on land access is helping them claim their land rights. But disparities in results between locations and the use of customary practices as the preferred way of accessing land highlighted that civil society organisationsstrategies and approaches need to reflect local realities and ensure women from different groups and geographies also benefit.

Describes the efforts of Zambian traditional leaders to promote gender equality in the management of land and natural resources at the national level. Developed a tool to address knowledge gaps and provide practical guidance on promoting gender equality in the chiefdoms in the areas of land;forestry;wildlife;water;fisheries;and minerals.

The Ninth of March 2021 will go down in history for the residents of Mambasa Territory in Ituri Province as the day the government laid the foundation stone for the Mambasa Land Administration building.