The Ministry of Environment on December 28 issued a report detailing crackdowns on illegal activities in protected natural areas and biodiversity conservation corridors.

According to the report, forest rangers responded to 8,917 cases of natural resource crimes over the past 12 months, an increase of 3,442 cases, or 63 per cent, over last year’s 5,475 reported incidents.

Rangers had logged 27,588 patrols for the year, up from 24,048 the previous year, but the number of cases sent to courts for prosecution had declined from 631 to 605.

Five civil society organisations urged the government to take action against Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL), a Vietnamese agribusiness firm, for alleged land clearing activities on areas allocated to indigenous communities in Ratanakkiri province’s Andong Meas district.

However, provincial authorities denied the accusation, saying the local community welcomed the money that had poured into the area due to the presence of HAGL.

The Public Enterprises Holding and Administration Agency (PEHAA) accused the Benishangul-Gumz and Gambela regions of illegal land distribution.

According to the Agency, the land distributed by the regions was the property of the Development Bank of Ethiopia (DBE) which took it from agricultural investors who failed to repay their credit and have since been unaccounted for.

The Agency’s finance director, Sewagegn Chane, told The Reporter that more than 158 rain-fed agriculture projects have been returned to the bank.

According to police sources, the IGP's wife, using one Ijeoma Emeribe to front, encroached on the said land in June 2020.

It was learnt that three persons died in a welding gas explosion while clearing the land with the police authorities covering it up on the order of Adamu.

Not satisfied, Ayuba petitioned the police who invited Ijeoma to submit her documents for investigation in Abuja AGIS.

The Preah Vihear Provincial Court has set tentative dates in December this year to announce the verdicts for three separate wildlife sanctuary land grab cases, which happened last year.

Provincial court spokeswoman Chum Kaniya said on December 10 that the court’s investigating judge had heard the three cases of forest logging and land encroachment on December 8.

On December 10, deputy head of the provincial Department of Environment Meas Nhem said he attended the hearings for all three cases.

The (online) course runs between 15 Feb and 05 March 2021 in close collaboration with Freiburg Academy of Continuing Education (FRAUW), UNIQUE Forestry and Land Use & other renowned forest carbon experts (Solidaridad etc.).

IMPORTANT TO KNOW: The course will be held online this year (due to the pandemic restrictions) and there will be reduced fee opportunities for participants without institutional support or with low income.

About half of Ghana's fish landing sites across the coast are under threat, Friends of the Nation (FoN), a non-governmental organisation has said.

According to them, most of the fishing communities were losing their source of livelihoods to the increasing takeover of the shorelines for residential and commercial facilities to the detriment of fishing.

Mondulkiri officials issued a six-day ultimatum on constructions encroaching on the Doh Kramom Mountain Cultural Centre in Sen Monorom town’s Sokdum commune.

The centre belongs to the Bunong indigenous people and the builders must remove the constructions immediately or face legal penalties.

Mondulkiri Culture and Fine Arts Department director Sey Touch said on December 2 the decision was made on the guidance of a working group set up by Mondulkiri provincial governor Svay Sam Eang and led by Chum Nary, the deputy head of the administration.

MORE than 100 lease holders have registered with the newly established Morobe Alluvial Mining Limited (MAML) to participate in the alluvial mining project in the areas of Wau and Bulolo in the Morobe province.

Morobe Governor Gibson Saonu said it has been three years of hard work.

He said they started feasibility work in late 2017 covering three districts in Morobe, Nawae, Markham and Wau Bulolo to determine available resources on their land and how the provincial government could assist.

“Based on ndings, alluvial can generate millions if managed well.

FG has secured $2m each for the 36 states of the federation through a World Bank-funded programme to develop their land information system.

The Nigerian government has announced that it has secured the sum of $72 million from the World Bank for the 36 states of the federation to develop a land information system.

Measures put in place to control the spread of the COVID-19 virus could lead to a massive disruption to food supplies. Following a Call to Action for World Leaders, the FOLU community is working to protect food supplies, farmers, others involved in the production of food and vulnerable communities, as well as support a sustainable recovery to grow back better.

This week from Geneva, the United Nations is hosting its annual Forum on Business and Human Rights. Thousands of participants from government, business and civil society groups from around the world will gather online to discuss current issues regarding the implementation of the UN’s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights – which outline the global authoritative standards on the business responsibility to respect human rights.