News on Land

Sri Lanka’s civil war ended nearly a decade ago, but Maithili Thamil Chilwen’s barren plot of land still resembles a battlefield.

There is only a mound of dirt where her home once stood in Keppapilavu village in the country’s northeast; the rest is just dirt, gravel, and broken shards of doors and windows from her demolished home.

After the court victory, the community said they will remain vigilant and continue "fighting until we have legal title over our entire ancestral homeland."

The Indigenous Cofan people of Sinangoe in the Ecuadorean Amazon, have achieved a significant judicial victory after the provincial court of Sucumbios ordered a halt to all mining activities in their territories, and recognized their right to prior and informed consent to activities related to nature, water, and the environment in their territory.

Efforts to Improve Oversight of Mining Need to Benefit Affected Communities

Earlier this month, looking out over the vast swathes of barren red land that make up a fast-growing bauxite mine, I witnessed first-hand the rapid growth of Guinea’s bauxite mining boom. Bauxite from Guinea is used to produce aluminum used around the world in automobile and airplane parts and consumer products like beverage cans and tin foil.

Communities made up of fugitive slave descendants have been forced from their lands and denied their rights, a situation that may only get worse under newly elected president Jair Bolsonaro.

The elders gather in the entrance room of the matriarch's home and search in the recesses of their memory for the traditional songs they and their forebears used to sing. A woman rocks her grandson on her lap. Her husband stands silent in the doorway, as an energetic granddaughter races about his calves.

As energy-hungry India seeks to fuel its continued economic growth, millions of people are being pushed out of their homes by companies, villagers say

By Megha Bahree

PIDARWAH, India - Siyaram Saket refuses to give up his one-and-a-half acres of farmland in central India - no matter how much the coal mining company offers him.

Whatever the amount, said the 55-year-old, it will not be enough to replace the value of the fertile land feeding his family of six in Pidarwah village, Singrauli district.

KAMPALA. Former presidential candidate Dr Kizza Beisgye has vowed to continue the fight against land grabbers in the country until he wins the battle.

Dr Besigye was addressing residents of Lusanja in Wakiso District who were evicted by a tycoon known as Kiconco Medard on October 12.

“Land grabbing is a sign that people are powerless since they have no power over their wealth because land is part of someone’s wealth,” Dr Kizza said.

Under agreement, 3,000 Taungurung people will have access to crown land for hunting, fishing, camping and gathering resources

Victoria has signed the largest native title claim in the state’s history, recognising the Taungurung as traditional owners in central Victoria and awarding a settlement of more than $33m.

A Constitutional Court ruling on Thursday has fundamentally changed the power balance between mining companies and communities. The court upheld the Lesethleng community’s land tenure rights, meaning companies will no longer simply be able to evict occupants of the land they want to mine. 

Representatives of mining communities believe Thursday’s unanimous Constitutional Court ruling on mining in Lesethleng, North West will fundamentally shift the power dynamics between mining-affected communities and companies.

Reasons range from fear of property seizure by governments, owners turning tenants out and lack of money among others

A new study has revealed that 41 million people in 15 countries of four different world regions are living in constant fear of losing their property rights in the next five years.

They live in constant fear that either their owner/renter would ask them to leave or the government would seize their property or disagreement with family and lack of resources would potentially end their rights on the property.

Scotland's parliament set land reform as one of its key priorities when it was established in 1997

EDINBURGH, Oct 25 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - When the residents of Garbh Allt in the Scottish Highlands were offered the chance to buy their land from the wealthy family behind the brutal eviction of their ancestors, many were initially hesitant.

Dick Jenkins is a fourth-generation rancher living in Oregon’s most remote county. I wanted to know why he continues living in a rural community, even though life elsewhere might be easier.

“Taking care of [the land] is worth more than all the money in the world,” he told me. “Taking care of the animals, taking care of the environment, it all goes together and we’re very proud of it.”

While Dick’s answer was more evocative than I could’ve hoped for, I can’t say I was surprised by it.

As Brazil lives through the last feverish week prior to this Sunday’s second round presidential election, reports have come in indicating an alarming increase in violent threats and attacks since the campaign’s start – occurring in both urban and rural areas.