On the opening day of the World Bank’s 2024 Land Conference, organizations of small-scale food producers, Indigenous Peoples, workers, grassroots communities, and civil society denounce the World Bank as a major actor of land grabbing and ecosystem destruction. They call for effective measures to realize the right to land and territories, including agrarian reform.

(Agence Ecofin) - Le Maroc est l’un des principaux fournisseurs africains de l’Europe en produits horticoles. Dans le pays, la dynamique de l’industrie locale attire de plus en plus d’investissements étrangers.

Elles représentent plus de 20% de la superficie du Maroc et sont estimées à environ 1.180 milliards de dirhams. Loués ou cédés, les 15 millions d’hectares de terres disponibles pourraient fortement contribuer au développement du pays.

Much arable land in developing countries is inefficiently managed or lies fallow: Since this became the accepted, World Bank-endorsed narrative in 2008, it has shaped the agricultural policies of many developing countries. At the same time, it has opened the doors to private investors seeking to acquire land for the long term. A country that has relied heavily on this model is Lao PDR. The Southeast Asian country has managed to generate an economic boom, reducing poverty and creating a significant number of jobs in rural areas. A Lao researcher examined the data as part of his doctoral studies at CDE, University of Bern, – and the results are sobering.  

Carbon and nature offsetting perpetuates business as usual in a broken system, and will not fix the climate crisis

The Land Portal Foundation has launched a new Land & Investments Portfolio that unpacks the key concepts, terms, international frameworks and policies, and many other aspects critical to understanding how land investments affect society.

The Land Portal Foundation reported another successful year in 2022, making significant progress toward their organizational strategy and monitoring and evaluation framework. According to their annual survey, 87% of users reported a positive impact on their work, while the website continued to receive high traffic, averaging 74,000 visits per month.

Malaysian states that offer land in strategic locations for free or at a nominal premium rate will be given priority by the government in the construction of people’s housing projects

Lao villagers worry that compensation for Pak Beng Dam will be too low

India discovered an enormous deposit of lithium in Jammu and Kashmir regions

There will be no new land clearing or deforestation for oil palm plantations, says Malaysia Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.

Minister pledges to "beat up" land mafia in Indonesia