News on Land

Despite a legal ruling and international attention, Kenya's Ogiek people have continued to face evictions, underlining the inherent difficulties in implementing judgments

The continued dominance of colonial-imposed laws over pre-existing customary legal systems, has been the bane of land rights disputes involving indigenous peoples across the globe for many years.

Post-colonial states have been unable to address such issues since formal law has continued to prevail over ancient customary systems even post-independence.

Some traditional leaders continue with the old ways of regarding women as minors who need to be represented by men, Inyanda National Land Movement says.

Sick and tired of always being allocated the back seat and being represented by men when it comes to land, a group of women are saying “enough is enough” and are taking the fight to traditional leaders, whom they see as stumbling blocks to women’s right of access to land.

Zimbabwe is moving forward with a process to compensate former farm owners whose land was taken from them because they were white during the country’s fast-track land reform program (FTLRP).

“The registration process and the list of farmers should be completed by the end of April 2019, after which the interim advance payments will be paid directly to former farm owners by the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement,” the government said in a statement.

Tribals insist that their land is most important and they will vote for those who will ensure that nobody takes their land

In the heart of Maoist stronghold of Bastar in Chhattisgarh, nationalism is not a vote catcher.

Tribals like Bheema Mandavi (35), claim that their right over land is the main poll issue.

'Urgency of climate crisis' is seen as demanding push for vast reforestation across U.S.

Climate change experts accept that reducing greenhouse gas emissions – even doing so substantially – won’t be sufficient for limiting atmospheric warming to the 2°C (3.6°F) goal of the Paris Climate Agreement. And with carbon capture technologies years away from maturity and widespread commercialization, one option is to take advantage of proven nature-based systems for sequestering carbon.

The protesters said there was widespread frustration among those still waiting to be rehoused more than a decade after war drove them from their homes

TBILISI, April 5 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Dozens of Georgian families occupied a tower block this week in a protest activists said highlighted widespread frustration among people still waiting to be rehoused more than a decade after war drove them from their homes.

On March 11, the Ministry of Environment and Energy in Costa Rica (MINAE) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation in Peru (MINAGRI) presented a program to exchange water harvesting technologies and water resource management. It has funding of up to 600 million colones from the European Union through the Forests, Biodiversity and Ecosystems EUROCLIMA+ program.

When countries revise their land and forest tenure laws, whereby rights are granted to people who depend on forests for their livelihoods, one goal is to reduce disputes over land and resources.

Despite this, conflicts persist, and sometimes new ones arise: why?

In a multi-country study, researchers from the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) sought to find the answer. In it they compared the views of officials responsible for implementing reforms in Peru, Indonesia, Uganda and Nepal, as well as the opinions of those in communities affected.

• Protesters have blocked the Pan-American Highway connecting Colombia to Ecuador. Duque has refused to travel to the department of Cauca to meet with indigenous organizations unless the blockade is first lifted.
• Indigenous protesters face a crackdown by the government and violent attacks from illegal right-wing paramilitary groups.

Having a title, deed or lease is the key that turns informal occupants into citizens, yet 70 percent of the world's people still live without documented property rights

The lack of a strong land record keeping system is partially responsible for the slow recovery from Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. With as many as 700,000 households lacking clear titles to land and homes, aid to rebuild properties has been denied to many.