Farmers in Mali have gained critical new rights to their traditional land—and rural communities have gained much-needed economic stability—as a result of a historic new law.

This blog originally appeared on IISD

Farmers in Mali have gained critical new rights to their traditional land—and rural communities have gained much-needed economic stability—as a result of a historic new law.

Scientists present their findings on forest tenure and land use at a major conference in Peru

Peru - Latin American countries have made progress in granting land rights to communities in recent years. Nevertheless, policies often fail to consider the diversity of those communities and the different ways they use their land.

Autor: Amélio Dall’Agnol

Autora: Tatiana Mendonça

By Chris Jochnick, President and CEO of Landesa

The development community has experienced various “revolutions” over the years – from microfinance to women’s rights, from the green revolution to sustainable development.  Each of these awakenings has improved our understanding of the challenges we face; each has transformed the development landscape, mostly for the better.

Since 2013, groups have been using TIMBY to document issues such as land tenure, environmental conservation and corruption. We are excited that TIMBY is helping elevate the voices of communities in decision-making about their land; it’s a first step in creating equitable land rights discussions both locally and globally. But we’ve noticed that TIMBY isn’t always being used in an equal and fair way with respect to gender: the reporters in early TIMBY projects were almost all men.

Today Land Portal is launching a new qualitative dataset and infographic which shows how national laws measure up against the international standards on expropriation, compensation, and resettlement as established in Section 16 of the UN Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGTs).

In Ghana, land is an indispensable asset. It’s a source of livelihood and social identity, and men and women should have equal opportunities to benefit from it. But when entrenched patriarchy tips the power scales, and corruption reinforces cultural norms, the impact on women can be devastating.

A recent survey reveals that one in three Ghanaians have been asked to pay a bribe for land-related services in recent years. The study was done by the Ghana Integrity Initiative, the local chapter of Transparency International in Ghana.

It was December and the school grounds were empty. Students and staff of Langata Road Primary School in Nairobi were home for the holidays, enjoying the break from lessons during the hot, sticky days.

At first no one noticed when builders moved onto the property with bricks and cement. Within two days they had built an impenetrable wall around the playground, cutting off the school buildings from the large grassy spot where students once played on the swings.

Fifteen bright young minds from Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe came together recently to brainstorm innovative solutions to combat land corruption affecting their communities.

Participants were brought to South Africa for an intensive three-day workshop, where they were mentored by leading social entrepreneurs and encouraged to develop solutions to boost integrity in the land sector, with an emphasis on cross-border collaboration. The four best projects to come out of this initiative will win seed grants to so they can be developed further.