News on Land

“We arrived to La Guajira to defend our sovereignty from the corrupt who call themselves defenders of Mother Earth that only hinder the country’s progress."

A Colombian paramilitary group known as the ‘Aguilas Negras’ (Black Eagles) spread pamphlets in the northern Guajira department threatening human rights defenders and Indigenous organizations working in the region.

The findings, published by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), also show that people in low- and middle-income countries are seven times more likely to die from natural disasters than those in developed nations.

“This puts a big emphasis on the need to…make sure that we curb greenhouse gas emissions,” said Ricardo Mena, UNISDR chief, in charge of implementing the Sendai Framework.

ADOPTED BY THE ILC ASSEMBLY OF MEMBERS ON 27 SEPTEMBER 2018

With a smartphone or tablet, the app can be used to track the status of a community rights claim in India

BANGKOK, Oct 10 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A web-based application that monitors the impact of successful forest-rights claims can help rural communities manage resources better and improve their livelihoods, according to analysts.

Choj Mayan people have been blocking a road in San Mateo Ixtatan, Huehuetenango, against a hydroelectric project they claim is illegal.

Choj Mayan people have been blocking a road in Yich Kisis, San Mateo Ixtatan, Huehuetenango, in protest against a hydroelectric project in their community. On Monday and Tuesday, anti-riot police came to the scene. Six people were reported injured.

"Despite repeated pledges by the authorities, the military has been frustratingly slow to restore land to the rightful owners"

BANGKOK - Sri Lanka has failed to fulfil pledges to return properties to thousands of people forced from their homes during decades of war, many of whom now live in desperate poverty, researchers said on Tuesday.

Thousands of acres of land taken over during the war are still held by government forces who set up security posts and buffer zones, according to a report by Human Rights Watch.

BOGOR, Indonesia (Forests News) — What can 19 reviews assessing 1,200 research articles spanning over 3 billion hectares of land teach us about what works in forest governance interventions to promote sustainability?

Johannesburg – Namibian President Hage Geingob earlier this week indicated his government’s plans to undertake land redistribution in order to address racial injustices in the country.

Namibia joins other countries in the SADC region which have and or are planning to undertake the process, among them Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Geingob called for a change to the country's constitution to allow the government to expropriate land and redistribute it to the majority black population.

NAKURU COUNTY, Kenya — Caroline Chepkoeh looked around her idyllic property, perched on a hilltop surrounded by green maize fields as far as the eye can see. A storm front was approaching from the north and the wind swayed the corn stalks and trees alike. The 34-year-old mother of three was bundled up in her winter coat. It’s colder here, she said, and it’s too far to school. Her two youngest children haven’t started nursery school yet because of the distance. “I still have hope that we will return to our land,” she said.

"Indigenous issues are often put on the (political) agenda without our representation."

RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct 5 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A record number of indigenous candidates are running for federal and state offices in Brazil's elections on Sunday, a trend campaigners hope will shine a spotlight on the lack of land rights for the country's indigenous population.

BUENOS AIRES, Oct 5 2018 (IPS) - Rural women play a key role in food production, but face discrimination when it comes to access to land or are subjected to child marriage, the so-called affinity group on gender parity within the G20 concluded during a meeting in the Argentine capital.

IN SIOMA, Western Province, Lungowe Nyambe has been growing maize on a small piece of land for the past five years. In theory, the land is hers as she is responsible for managing it every year and uses the harvest to earn some income and have food to feed her household.