News on Land

Five Phnom Srok district officials were called before the Banteay Meanchey Provincial Administration to explain accusations that they were attempting to sell state land in the protected Ang Trapaing Thmar area that included land belonging to security offices and three armed forces units, a court spokesman said.

Deputy provincial governor Ly Sary identified the officials as Phnom Srok district deputy governor Sao Len, chief of land management office Phnom Srok district Tang Phan, and Poy Char commune chief Khouth Khoun. The other two officials are Sok Rithy and Thoun Lamhinh.

Fourteen people have been identified for inciting more than 70 villagers to burn down two ranger stations in Taveng commune, Taveng district, Ratanakkiri province. District officials will bring the case to court, said Ministry of Environment secretary of state and spokesman Neth Pheaktra.

Speaking to The Post on Monday, Pheaktra said some villagers grabbed land at a protected area and after the rangers intervened they set the stations on fire. “This is unacceptable, and the ringleaders must be held responsible for their action according to the law for destroying state property.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) and AgriNurture Inc. (ANI) will develop 20,000 hectares of land in Mindanao owned by indigenous peoples (IP) into corn farms for the commercialization of ANI’s rice-corn blend project.

In a recent news briefing, the DA said it will undertake the development of IP lands in partnership with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) for ANI’s bigas-mais (rice-corn), or BigMa project.

The DA added that it will also shoulder the initial corn seed requirements to cover the target area.

The Kampong Chhnang Provincial Court will summon officials from the provincial Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and Cholkiri district officials to clarify why three villagers were released on April 19 after they were arrested the same day for allegedly clearing flooded forest land in Peam Chhkork commune’s Kbal Anlong village in the district.

Provincial court spokesperson Chhuon Sivin told The Post on Monday that the arrest was made by deputy prosecutor Long Sitha and district police forces.

A Twenty-hectare plot of land in Erap has been allocated by the Division of Agriculture and Livestock to address Covid-19 food security through partnerships with other stakeholders.

The project is in response to a call by the provincial emergency centre supported by the Australian High Commission Consulate, Lae Chamber of Commerce and Lae City Authority to provide planting materials to farmers in the province. 

The government authorities seem content that people are obeying the lockdown regulations which keep on changing at the local level. The authorities believe that there is a positive correlation between the lockdown on the streets and public safety from the spread of the virus: the stricter the lockdown, the safer the population.

Some 37 members of the “Nagkahiusang Mag-Uuma sa Pindasan og Pangibiran” (NAGMAPPA) from the Davao de Oro town of Mabini withdrew their support from the leftist “Kilusan ng Mambubukid sa Pilipinas” (KMP), the Army's 71st Infantry Battalion (71IB) said Thursday.

In a statement on the same day, members of the NAGMAPPA expressed their dismay towards the failed promises of the KMP such as tracts of land.

JAKARTA — Two people have died in a series of land disputes between major companies and rural communities in Indonesia.

Activists have denounced the escalation in the conflicts, saying businesses shouldn’t be taking advantage of the country’s focus on dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic to further their own — often illegal — interests.

GLTN’s Social Tenure Domain Model (STDM) has acquired a surprising application in the identification of vulnerable households. A case in point is in Nepal where the GLTN in collaboration with UN-Habitat Nepal Country Office, and its local partner Community Self Reliance Centre (CSRC) have been implementing the “Support to Land Reform Initiatives in Nepal” project.

Environment rangers and community members patrolled the Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary 511 times within the first four months of the year and prevented 399 forest crimes in four provinces.

Ministry of Environment secretary of state and spokesman Neth Pheaktra said on Thursday that a report on the management and protection at Prey Lang showed that 32 cases of logging and land clearing had been sent to the courts for legal action.

In 42 cases involving nearly 100 people, cease and desist contracts had been signed.

Fear of the virus and job loss in cities are pushing many back to the countryside, reversing a decades-long trend of urban migration and raising alarm about a public health crisis in rural areas.

Moments after President Muhammadu Buhari’s latest address to the nation on the cumulative lockdown order of Lagos and Ogun states as well as the Federal Capital Territory,  the media went into a frenzy, with discussions centered on how farmers and agricultural extension professionals can jointly and collaboratively ensure that the nation’s food supply chain is not altered as the nation continues to battle the Covid-19 pandemic.