News on Land

Hundreds of people gathered on Samoa's biggest island on Saturday to protest the abuse of customary land rights.

A spokesperson for the Samoa Solidarity International Group said 700 people came from across Savai'i to push for a repeal of the Lands and Titles Registration Act 2008.

According to Unasa Iuni Sapolu, the act allows communally held customary lands to be leased to third parties without the consent of all landowners.

She said this alienated some of the owners from their land and the opportunities it offered.

Environment Liaison Center International (ELCI) is hiring for the Regional Coordination Unit of the International Land Coalition in Africa, ILC Africa a Monitoring, Evaluations and Learning (MEL) Officer.

Deadline: 

31/05/2018

*Accepting applications on a rolling basis* 

The ILC Secretariat is now accepting applications from member organisations to host interns for the ILC internship programme. The internship programme aims at giving the opportunity to Master’s students and young researchers from within the ILC network to be placed for an internship in another ILC member organisation.

 

Why should you apply?

The increasing demand for land and natural resources brings diverse users into competition. There is a clear need to secure legitimate rights and develop effective processes to resolve disputes without conflicts. Natural resources degradation, which is an increasing challenge in many Feed the Future regions, can be addressed by integrating environmental management practices that boost agricultural productivity, increase incomes and enhance resilience to drought and other environmental shocks.

The Environment Liaison Center International (ELCI) is hiring for the Regional Coordination Unit of the International Land Coalition in Africa, ILC Africa a Programme Development Officer (PDO).

Protecting the land and resource rights of indigenous peoples will not only provide security for historically exploited groups but also help the global fights against climate change and biodiversity loss, said speakers on Monday at the annual United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

ONDON/BOSTON, April 16 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Activists are urging Commonwealth leaders meeting in Britain this week to throw their weight behind a campaign to preserve a centuries-old communal land ownership system on the Caribbean island of Barbuda.

After Britain abolished slavery in its colonies in 1834, Barbudans developed a system of communal land ownership, now threatened by government plans to introduce private land ownership to boost development and tourism.

The government has decided to reallocate more than 520 hectares of land in Sihanoukville’s Koh Rong and Koh Rong Sanloem communes from state land to private ownership for nearly 300 families living there.

According to a sub-decree issued on Wednesday, the government decided to provide 528.37 hectares of land in the two communes to 298 families living in the area, while also allocating some plots of land for schools, administration offices, commune halls, village headquarters, military units and pagodas.

Commercial Farmers Abusing Rural People’s Rights

As activists and policymakers from across the globe gather in Washington D.C. for the World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty, it’s a good time to reflect on how commercial agriculture leaves peasants landless in Zambia.

Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) is a regional organization founded in 1992 as a platform for solidarity and cooperation among indigenous peoples in Asia. AAIP is currently looking for an experienced Programme Officer in HUmand Rights Campaigning and Advocacy. 

Deadline: 15.04.2018

Farmers from Cambodia have filed a lawsuit in a Thai civil court against Asia’s largest sugar producer, accusing it of rights abuses after it allegedly kicked farmers off their land, a rights group said on Monday.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of 3,000 people, is the first class-action lawsuit filed in a Thai court by plaintiffs from another country against a Thai company operating outside Thailand, the group, Inclusive Development International, said in a statement.

Brazilian police have arrested a priest in the Amazon who championed the rights of smallholders against powerful agricultural interests.

Father Amaro Lopes is the best-known follower of the American-born nun, Dorothy Stang, who was murdered in 2005 in a killing orchestrated by landowners during a dispute that continues today.