India’s civil courts are reportedly clogged with property related litigation. Two estimates in this regard mention a figure of two thirds of all cases and eighty percent of all cases! It is believed that a large proportion of these are caused by lack of transparency in transactions and the absence of good title records. 

Mozambique’s 1997 land law recognises land rights acquired through customary practice and good faith occupancy, even without a formal title. However, the lack of transparent public confirmation or documentation can lead to conflict. Sr. Land and Resource Governance Advisor Karol Boudreaux discusses how a partnership between USAID and agribusiness Grupo Madal has helped the company and local communities address long-standing land-access issues and improve livelihoods.

Like many countries, Mongolia has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic and its government has been accelerating investments in the mining sector to help the economy. However, this has led to protests by local communities concerned about their land rights, and about their health. Among them is the community of Dalanjargalan, where the WOLTS project has been working with local champions who have been trained in land law, gender issues and participatory decision-making.

Land acquisition without consent or compensation. Loss of cultural identity and traditions. Threats and violence against human rights defenders. These are just some of the human rights impacts Indigenous Peoples and other local communities face, among over 200 allegations against the renewable energy industry over the last decade as recorded by the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre. The unlikely source of nearly half of these? Wind and solar projects.

In Mozambique, community land rights are recognised under the country’s progressive land laws. Yet many private-sector companies also hold long-term leases on wide swathes of land that once belonged to communities. Here, Sarah Lowery of USAID’s Land and Resource Governance Division  discusses how USAID partnered with agroforestry firm Green Resources to help it responsibly divest its land-use rights back to local communities. 

How private-sector leaseholds affect community land rights

In Cameroon, many rural communities are unaware of their rights, in a context where they are increasingly challenged by large-scale land-based investments. Sandrine Kouba from RELUFA explains how setting up a radio programme has helped to inform indigenous communities about their rights and enable them to feel better prepared to face investors. 

The 13th Annual LANDac Annual Conference is taking place in person next week in Utrecht, Netherlands, for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began. All the conference sessions will also be accessible online to registered participants. LANDac brings together land governance stakeholders from around the world who might not otherwise meet, including academic researchers, the private, civil society, and policy makers.

Cambodia’s new investment law could open the way for more inclusive, sustainable investment. In a series of virtual meetings, stakeholders from across Cambodia came together to assess the challenges and opportunities arising from that law and investment governance generally.

Maize is a key global cash crop, produced in every continent except Antarctica. As a flex crop, it has multiple uses including for direct human consumption, as an ingredient for animal feed, as a key component in processed foods, or in ethanol production. According to figures from FAOSTAT, global production increased from 0.2 to 1.2 billion tons between 1961 and 2020.

Colonial and apartheid land dispossession in South Africa was the most extensive of any country in sub-saharan Africa. Despite a land reform programme initiated after the transition to democracy in 1994, equitable access to land remains an unresolved question in both urban and rural areas.