News on Land

Date: February 10th 2016
Source: AllAfrica.com / New Era

Windhoek — Namibia's intention to restore its valuable rangelands at a whopping cost of some N$30 billion over the next 20 years is regarded by many observers as a groundbreaking project, which has earned the respect of role players at international podiums.

It is also viewed as an example of a government committed to the rehabilitation of degraded land and water bodies - to be at declining rates of degradation by 2030.

The rationale for this post is that food, energy and climate crises hit the poor hardest. Growing demands for food, energy and construction materials also puts added pressure on forests. It is therefore essential to research and spread models of locally controlled tree-based enterprise that deliver more integrated and intensified production of food, energy and construction materials in ways that are climate-smart.

Key Responsibilities

By: Sandra Cuffe

Date: February 17th 2016

Source: Mongabay

During the pope's recent five-day visit to Mexico, indigenous and community groups from throughout Latin America gathered to discuss land rights issues.

An interesting article published on July 13th 2012 in the Times of India about the land acquisition bill. It seems that the indian government can not get beyond money and compensation when it comes to land-acquisition. This leaves out the fact that land provides dignity, identity, and status to the people. It provides sustenance security not just for the person from whom they acquire land but for several generations. How do they plan to put a monetary value on identity, status, culture and security ?

By: Admin

Date: March 4th 2016

Source: News Ghana

A two-week programme on gender and land rights to enhance the analytical skills of young academicians is underway at the University of Cape Coast.

Thousands of low-income South Africans are forced to spend nearly half their monthly income to meet transport needs, which minister in the presidency for national planning, Trevor Manuel, says is testament that post-1994 housing programmes have unwittingly reinforced apartheid geography. Manuel hopes that the National Planning Commission's new spatial development plan, launched in August, will encourage the creation of more compact cities to help reduce travel time and costs between home and work.

By: Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Date: March 14th 2016

Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation

(...) "When time to sell produce came, he would pocket all the money alone. When I  asked for my share, he would tell me it was his land and I must just continue working. He would say, “you are my property, I own you like a piece of furniture in my house.”
Theresa Marwei shared this story during the Gender Equality Conference organised by the Swedish Co-operative Centre (SCC) under the theme 50/50 is Just Right. The conference was held at Lusaka’s Crest Golfview Hotel recently and drew participants from Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Zambia. (...)

By: MacDonald Dzirutwe

Date: March 22nd 2016

Source: Euronews

HARARE (Reuters) – Zimbabwe’s plan to win back international funding by paying compensation to white farmers forced off their land faces a major snag: the black farmers expected to stump up the cash say they don’t have it.

THE deteriorating creditworthiness and affordability among South Africans has affected the appetite for advance loans for affordable houses, according to Nedbank’s affordable-housing head Jeff Lawrence. Among the worst affected were those earning between R3,501 and R15,000; they have been falling through the cracks when it comes to qualifying for mortgage finance.

http://www.bdlive.co.za/business/property/2013/02/06/squeeze-on-financing-for-affordable-housing