Although The National Land Policy Formulation Process is concentrated on addressing land issues, the reform agenda requires inter- alia that there are policy directions for establishing an equitable framework for economic growth and access to natural resources. The natural resources in question include water, forests, minerals, mineral oils, wildlife, marine resources, fisheries, pastures, and wetlands.

The report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Illegal/Irregular Allocation of Public Land is finally out! Popularly known as the ‘Ndung’u’ Report, the publication of this three-volume document is important to the Kenya Land Alliance for two major reasons. Firstly, the appointment of the Coordinator of the Kenya Land Alliance to the Commission marked a threshold in the relations between KLA and the Government of Kenya.

This report, which focuses on Kenya, constitutes one of four country-wide assessments produced under the overall project. It draws on a literature review conducted by the Kenya Land Alliance (KLA) with additional inputs from IIED, as well as on primary field research conducted by KLA in April 2016 (see Section 1.2 for further information about the research methodology).

The illegal and irregular allocations of public land as chronicled in the Ndungu Report amount to a rip-off that dwarfs the Goldenberg and Anglo-Leasing scandals. Our analysis in this first issue in the series covers Karura, Ngong Road and Kiptagich forests and suggests a loss of public resources in excess of Ksh.18.4 billion. The Ndungu Report covers ten other forests as well as other public land, ranging from road reserves to cemeteries to public toilets and even State House land. As we cover these in future issues of the series, the cumulative loss will certainly be astounding.

In recent history, Indonesian forest policies have been dominated by deforestation in the name of economic progress. Many actors have expressed concerns about this trend and have tried to reverse it in favour of a more sustainable pathway. From 2004–2017, non-governmental environmental organisations fought for the case of the coastal Tripa peat swamp rainforest in the province of Aceh, Sumatra. Unique in Indonesian history, they managed halting and reversing the deforestation of an area.

With the promulgation of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 (CoK 2010), land was classified into public, private and community lands, occasioning the need for clear guidelines on acquisition of public land acquisition within the community land while appreciating the provision of the Community Land Act, 2016.

A myriad of Non-Governmental Institutions that form the land Sector Non-State Actors (LSNSA) have collaboratively developed an advocacy strategy to guide various engagements initiatives in the advocacy of the implementation of the Community Land Act,2016.

This Strategy highlights the roles of key actors: The Government, the Communities and Civil Society Organizations.

In the wake of the coronavirus crisis, governments across the world, including that ofKenya, have adopted a raft of far-reaching measures to curtail the spread of the virus.In Kenya, measures put in place include closure of learning institutions, mandatory selfquarantine for all who have entered the country in the recent past, pay cuts for a number of top civil servants, limited movement of prisoners and cessation of prison visits. The Judiciary and other government institutions have scaled down operations,among other actions.

Land is the most vital resource on earth from which humankind derives almost all its basic needs. Land plays significant role through economic, social, political and cultural dimensions. Administration of this vital resource (Land) is a major issue underlying social, economic and cultural development. Its protection will be sustainable if there is proper land administration system. Land administration and management in urban Ethiopia during the last decade was in transition and has faced many interrelated challenges simultaneously.