News on Land

In Kenya, the Mau forest is the ancestral home of an indigenous community called the Ogiek people. The Ogiek community comprises 20,000 members, about 15,000 of whom inhabit the greater Mau Forest Complex, a land mass of about 400,000 hectares. 

Excessive and erratic rainfall has caused devastating flooding, hitting parts of Bangladesh hard. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said there will be no quick respite for the country.

 Civil society organizations in Madagascar are now deeply concerned about the threat the recently passed foreign investment law poses. Currently undergoing a constitutional review, if approved by the High Constitutional Court, it enables foreign investors and companies to lease land for 99 years and renew such agreements which could effectively granting them ownership of the land.

             

Laos’ forest coverage has reached a record low of 40%, prompting the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to implement conservation measures and rejuvenation plans to protect and revive the country’s forests.

With the financial support of GIZ, the Organization for Rehabilitation and Development in Amhara (ORDA) in collaboration with Welthungerhilfe (WHH) has been implementing the Land for Life Amhara Multi-Actor Partnership (MAP) project. The Land for Life Amhara MAP is a coalition of various stakeholders including government, civil society organizations, universities, research institutions and other actors. It aims to provide policy advocacy for a transparent and fair land use and management system, securing user rights and to ensure responsible agricultural investment.

              

Pinnapa Pruksapan, widow of murdered indigenous land rights activist Porlajee Rakchongcharoen, has requested continued protection for her and her family.

The GIZ Support to Responsible Agricultural Investment (S2RAI) project initiated a 3-years training on land registration and cadastral surveying for over 45 students from Gambella region at the Assosa Agricultural Technical and Vocational Education Training Center (AATVET) of the neighboring region of Benishangul-Gumuz.

"Nos están dando un trato preferencial", admitió Boris Titov, jefe del Comité Empresarial Cubano-Ruso, en la apertura de un foro de empresarios rusos en La Habana

Al Jazeera reports on how Eritrean refugees are caught between crisis at home and conflict in the Sudan where there are 126,000 refugees, 11% of the estimated 1.1 million refugees in the country. For more information on Eritrea see also the Land Portal country profile. Conflict and displacement have major implications for land rights and governance.  

Latest paper from the WOLTS team offers new evidence of a sustainable approach to securing land rights for women and communities