During the reporting period, the consolidation of authoritarian rule in Azerbaijan continued. Snap parliamentary elections in February 2020 did not meet international standards for free and fair competition. However, some notorious high-ranking state officials were fired, and corrupt local level administrators detained on corruption charges. These developments, in addition to the appointment of some young professionals to ministerial posts, raised hopes for a possible opening of the country to real reforms and changes.

Históricamente América Central es una región con importantes niveles de inequidad en la distribución y uso de los recursos naturales. Estos niveles de inequidades, partes de procesos económico socios y políticos (concentración de las cadenas de valores, agricultura de escala industrial apoyada por políticas publicas hacia los mercados de exportación), han generado algunas problemáticas relacionadas a la gobernanza de los recursos y su tenencia, tanto para la población como para los ecosistemas que sustentan en gran medida el crecimiento económico de los países de la región.

Este documento es el quinto de seis informes detallados que acompañan la Evaluación Comparativa de los Proyectos de Regularización y Administración de Tierras llevada a cabo por la Oficina de Evaluación y Supervisión (OVE). Este quinto informe evalúa cinco operaciones aprobadas entre 1996 y 2007 enPanamá, en lo relativo a actividades de regularización y administración de tierras. Estas operaciones son: "Proyecto de Administración y Regularización de Tierras, PRONAT" (PN0148); "Programa de catastro de la región metropolitana y modernización de la administración de tierras" (PN-L1018);

Azerbaijan has set the course for the economy to reduce its dependence on oil by promoting new drivers of growth. This publication emphasizes the need for diversification, particularly in the agriculture, tourism, and manufacturing sectors. By 2025, under the Strategic Roads Maps of the Government of Azerbaijan, a more diversified economy should take shape led by these three sectors. Bold reforms need to strengthen areas of the economy that could otherwise impede this transition, and policy makers must resolutely stay on the reform path.

Land rights are ascendant across the development sector. Movements addressing women’s empowerment, poverty, social justice, food security and climate change are all increasingly turning to land rights to strengthen their cause. In 2022, renowned philanthropist MacKenzie Scott joined these efforts by making an unprecedented $20 million investment in our work. Ms. Scott’s generous gift represents a profound endorsement of the power of land rights to improve the lives of women, men, and communities around the world.

Across the globe, the legal land rights and tenure of many Indigenous peoples are yet to be recognized. A growing body of research demonstrates that tenure of Indigenous lands improves livelihoods and protects forests in addition to inherently recognizing human rights. However, the effect of tenure on environmental outcomes has scarcely been tested in regions with high development pressure, such as those with persisting forest–agriculture conflicts.

This publication serves as an introduction to a collection of articles published in the African Studies Review. It discusses the implications of as well as the question through what actors, processes, and relationships land deals become stalled or partially implemented. The reviewed articles draw on long-term, in-depth ethnographic research of land deals in Senegal, Tanzania, and Zambia. 

After more than ten years of hectic debates on international ‘land grabs’, academic interest in collapsed land deals or projects with unexpected results is growing. According to the Land Matrix, Tanzania is one of the target countries for such deals, with a number ‘abandoned’ or delayed and projects whose status is unknown. Labelling land deals as ‘failed’ poses conceptual and methodological challenges as long as the criteria for ‘failure’ are undefined.

War and Theft: The Takeover of Ukraine’s Agricultural Land, exposes the financial interests and the dynamics at play leading to further concentration of land and finance.

Laos plans to graduate from least developed country status by 2024. To spur economic growth,
the Lao government builds on a resource-based export economy, major mining projects, the
constructions of dams, and the expansion of plantation agriculture. A key focus is the promotion
of foreign direct investment in agriculture and forestry, to promote technology transfer for

ສປປ ລາວ ມີແຜນຈະຫ ຼຸດພ ົ້ນອອກຈາກການເປັນປະເທດດ້ອຍພັດທະນາໃນປີ2024.ເພ ື່ອກະຕ ້ນການເຕີບໂຕທາງດ້ານເສດຖະກິດ, ລັດຖະບານລາວໄດ້ເລັົ່ງໃສ່ເສດຖະກິດ ສ ົ່ງອອກທີື່ອີງໃສ່ຊັບພະຍາກອນທໍາມະຊາດ, ເຊັົ່ນ: ໂຄງການບ ໍ່ແຮ່ຂະຫນາດໃຫຍ່, ການ ກ ໍ່ສ້າງເຂ ື່ອນໄຟຟ້າພະລັງນໍ້າ ແລະ ການຂະຫຍາຍການປູກພ ດກະສິກໍາ. ຈ ດສ ມຫ ັກ
ແມ່ນສ ົ່ງເສີມການລ ງທຶນໂດຍກ ງຈາກຕ່າງປະເທດ ເຂ ົ້າໃນຂະແຫນງກະສິກໍາ ແລະ ປ່າໄມ້, ເພ ື່ອສ ົ່ງເສີມການຖ່າຍທອດທາງດ້ານເຕັກໂນໂລຢີສໍາລັບຂະແຫນງກະສິກໍາທີື່ມີ ການຂະຫຍາຍຕ ວຢ່າງກວ້າງຂວາງໃນປັດຈ ບັນ, ຊຶື່ງເກີດມີການຈ້າງງານ ແລະ ສ້າງ

Un rapport de RFUK révèle l'étendue et l'impact croissants du développement des infrastructures de transport et d'énergie dans le bassin du Congo - qui est en passe de devenir un moteur majeur de la déforestation dans la deuxième plus grande forêt tropicale du monde.