This document compiles four short reports and reflection pieces produced by Natural Habitats Group (NHG) during their involvement in a LEGEND project in Sierra Leone implemented by Solidaridad, which aimed to ensure that an NHG land based investment, undertaken by group member company Natural Habitats Sierra Leone Ltd (NHSL) to develop a large oil palm plantation respected existing community members and land holding families’ land rights.

This brief is intended to inform government decision makers, agencies and specialist groups involved in rural development and revenue generation activities for communities and women

We, leaders of groups of women affected by the expansion of industrial monoculture plantations, particularly oil palm plantations, coming from all regions in Sierra Leone and different countries from West and Central Africa;

We, national and international organizations involved in the struggle for the rights of women and local communities in Africa, Latin America and Asia, signatories of this declaration, met from 14 to 15 August 2017 in Port Loko, Sierra Leone.

ABSTRACTED FROM EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The aim of this report is to improve understanding of how to mainstream gender sensitivity into actions that seek to support communities to address land confiscations. It presents the synthesis of two two-day workshops with a group of 12 men and 12 women affected by land confiscations from Taungoo and Htantabin townships in eastern Bago Region and Thandaunggyi Township in Kayin State. Therefore, it is important to note that the small sample may not necessarily be representative of gendered experiences of land confiscation elsewhere in Myanmar.

Since Vietnam shifted to a market-economy in the 1980s, Hanoi has seen rapid urban expansion similar to that of other South East Asian cities - involving megaprojects, luxury developments, rural-to-urban migration, informal housing construction, and escalating speculation. Researchers have considered how unemployment and the disruption of community life followed the urbanization of rural areas. However, little has been said about how people adjusted their everyday life to cope with the changes.

ABSTRACTED FROM WEBSITE: What is happening with the land and natural wealth around the world, and to the people who depend on them? How are people responding to these trends, threats, and challenges?

ABSTRACTED FROM EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: This research analyses the ways in which current changes in land tenure, agrarian and socio-economic systems are reshaping resource allocations and transfers within households in indigenous communities in Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia. While other gendered aspects of the transformations occurring in indigenous societies have received more attention in recent years, the changes occurring in the customary laws that determine land access, ownership and inheritance alongside gender, as well as generational lines, have not been explored.

WEBSITE INTRODUCTION: This report presents a synthesis of the main findings from case studies carried out in six countries in Africa (Ghana, Sierra Leone, United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia) and Asia (Laos and Philippines). The findings were disseminated and discussed in multistakeholder initiatives at regional and country level. The report illustrates how poor rural women and men are affected differently by agricultural investments, and demonstrates that they may not benefit equally from emerging opportunities.

Cambodian human rights organizations estimate that more than half a million people have been affected by land rights issues. Land conflict in Cambodia is a clear manifestation of structural violence affecting communities which are almost exclusively low income and home to indigenous and ethnic minorities. This article explores the complex interplay of actors, particularly women and youth, in land rights social mobilization (LRSM) in Cambodia, focusing on urban Boeung Kak Lake and rural Areng Valley.

ABSTRACTED FROM INTRODUCTION: Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) in Thailand make a vital contribution to the advancement of human rights and are in urgent need of recognition and protection. Since the May 2014 coup, they have increasingly become at risk of violence, discrimination, and other violations of their human rights. Women have been systematically excluded from public consultations and decision-making processes, particularly on issues related to land and natural resources.

Women's empowerment is considered a ‘prerequisite’ to achieving global food security. Gender systems, however, are diverse and complex. The nature and extent of gender inequity and the conditions necessary to empower women vary across countries, communities and regions. The study of different gender systems is thus fundamental to capture cross-cultural variations in gender specific needs and constraints to effectively address gender gaps.

Namati offers this brief in the hope that Myanmar’s national reforms and the implementation of the country’s new National Land Use Policy can grow from the lived experience of ordinary Myanmar citizens. Namati and our partners assist farmers in Myanmar to claim their land rights through a community paralegal approach. Community paralegals are trained in relevant laws, community education, negotiation, and mediation skills to work with farmers to resolve a variety of land rights issues.