News on Land

Despite centuries of persecution, indigenous groups still manage or have tenure rights over at least a quarter of the world’s land surface. Often inhabiting these lands as far back as memory extends, they share a deep and unique connection to their environment.

he Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) launched two new publications, ‘Forest Futures, Sustainable pathway for forests, landscapes and people in Asia Pacific Region’ and ‘Forestry Sector Review: Pakistan’. The reports were launched by the Advisor to the Prime Minister on Climate Change, Malik Amin Aslam and FAO Representative in Pakistan, Minà Dowlatchahi in Islamabad.

Government should consider upgrading the city’s Karail slum community instead of summarily evicting its 200,000 people for a software park

magine a community of 200,000. Convivial, walkable, six times the density of Manhattan but with a smaller ecological footprint. It provides low-cost services and affordable housing mixed with productive uses such as recycling, farming and trading. It’s a city within a city.

It is estimated that 104 environmental activists have been killed in the Philippines since 2016.

A report from the international watchdog organization, Global Witness, has called the Philippines the “deadliest country in the world” for land and environmental defenders.

The Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture released its final report recently which expresses support for expropriation without compensation in certain circumstances.

Chairperson Vuyokazi Mahlati highlighted the need to come up with a solution to the issue of land in SA as soon as possible.

“The urgency and constitutional imperative of land reform in SA can neither be taken lightly nor postponed,” Mahlati said.

In a growing global movement, environmentalists are trying a new legal route to protect the planet - vesting rivers and reefs with "rights of nature"

WASHINGTON - For some, human rights are not enough - it's nature's turn, now.

In a growing global movement, environmentalists are trying a new legal route to protect the planet - vesting rivers, reefs and threatened habitats with "rights of nature" that override the long-held human right to harm.

Fauna & Flora International (FFI) believes in partnership—we always have and we always will. In 2018, we partnered with almost 400 organisations, businesses or governmental agencies. We favour this partnership approach because—put simply—it works better for everyone. Each partner brings something unique to the table and contributes in their own way to a common goal.

A NORTH Queensland court has recognised the Widi people’s ancestral connection to a quarter-of-a-million hectares in the Isaac region.

At a special hearing on-country at Nebo today the Federal Court formally recognised the Widi people’s native title and interests over 249,766 hectares of land and waters, west of Mackay.

Assistant Minister for State Development Julieanne Gilbert said the determination recognised the Widi people’s ancestral connection to their country and further strengthened the Widi people’s culture and language for the next generation.

Indigenous communities in Kenya made history last week by marching to the nation’s capital to demand official registration for their communal lands

Indigenous, pastoralist communities in Kenya made history last week by marching to the nation’s capital to demand official registration for their communal lands.

This was unprecedented and the culmination of years of effort to empower communities to understand and claim their land rights. 

Cape Town - An expert advisory panel on land reform and agriculture appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa last year has released a final report with recommendations. It also gave the go-ahead for a constitutional amendment for expropriation of land without compensation, but with strict conditions.

With an ambitious target of planting 200 million trees a day, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's Green Legacy Project, if successful, will not only break the world record but go a long way in the country's fight against climate change.

Deforestation is the immediate cause of loss of biodiversity but the underlying causes are wrong development policies and plundering by local and multi-national companies over the years.