News on Land

SPICE farmers in Ulugulu Mountains are earning windfall profits thanks to a project which has
introduced them to modern agriculture practices and use of hybrid seeds

A recent report by Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania said over 1,500 farmers from the Uluguru Mountains catchment area and 172 model farmers from other regions backed by 31 agriculture extension officers are benefited directly from the Uluguru Spice Project.

The process of land acquisition for the laying of the 824-km Lokichar-Lamu Oil Pipeline, also known as the Kenya Crude Oil Pipeline, is expected to be completed in December.

Petroleum and Mining CS John Munyes has said through the Lapsset and the National Land Commission, the government is engaging communities in six counties to give up their land.

“That is the condition. Until we get the land and then the private sector comes in and the government puts money to lay the pipeline. We will have to wait,” said the CS.

On April 26, 2021, the Decree amending several provisions of Mexico’s General Law of Sustainable Forestry Development was published in the Federal Official Gazette (DOF). The Decree is effective as of April 27.

In relevant part, the Decree’s amendments include the following:

• Changes to land use of forest land will be subject to analysis of carbon storage capacity, in addition to the existing requirements set forth in the current law.

(New York) – Thai authorities should immediately investigate the killing of Somsak Onchuenjit, a lawyer and land rights activist, in Trang province in southern Thailand, Human Rights Watch said today. Successive Thai governments have failed to prevent or adequately respond to attacks against human rights defenders who represent landless farmers.

The Ministry of Lands and Planning is set to embark on mass verification of title deeds in Nairobi's Thome area following reports of fraudulent land transactions.

In a notice, the Lands CS stated that the validation exercise of the title deeds in Nairobi Block 110 would commence from May 24 to June 2021.

The exercise, she noted, would apply to all plot owners in the area to establish the validity of the records showing ownership.

The High Court in Kampala has ruled that National Environmental Authority was right to allow sugarcane growing on Bugoma Forest land.

Conservationists including Water and Environment Media Network Uganda Limited (WEMNET-U), National Association of Professional Environmentalists(NAPE) and the African Institute for Energy Governance went to court challenging the Environment and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) report approved by NEMA that allowed Hoima Sugar Limited to conduct sugarcane growing in the disputed Bugoma Central Forest Reserve.

Cabinet has started considering fresh amendments to the different laws relating to land management. The State Minister for Urban Development, Dr. Chris Baryomunsi, says there are plans to amend the Land Act to allow for compulsory land acquisition to eliminate one of the main bottlenecks to kickstarting large infrastructure projects. Baryomunsi was speaking during a presentation of the ministry's achievements in line with NRM's manifesto.

PESHAWAR: Terror incidents reduced significantly in erstwhile Fata after merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The credit for improvement goes to the security forces and other institutions.

However, increasing land disputes are now troubling the peaceful environment of merged districts and dozens of people have lost their lives in clashes over such disputes. Peaceful resolution of these disputes by bringing all parties to disputes to negotiating table is a huge challenge for the administration.

The Catholic Professionals Society PNG in association with the Individual & Community Rights Advocacy Forum support the opposition to the proposed sand mining in Madang and PNG.
This was highlighted in a press conference that was held in Port Moresby today.

A statement from the press conference authorized by the President of the Catholic Professional Society, Paul Harricknen expressed several concerns in support of the opposition to sand mining by the landowners.

Last week’s violence was some of the worst the border has seen, with more than 40 killed. 

• Botum Sakor National Park in southern Cambodia has lost at least 30,000 hectares of forest over the past three decades.
• Decades of environmental degradation go back to the late 1990s when the Cambodian government began handing out economic land concessions for the development of commercial plantations and tourist infrastructure.
• NGOs in Cambodia are said to be unwilling to speak out against the destruction of Botum Sakor because they are afraid they will not be allowed to operate in the country if they do.