The land sector is increasingly being cited as a corruption hub. Many countries across the globe are grappling with land-related corruption that dates to the colonial years and which have metamorphosed into historical injustices and continue to be a source of conflict and violation of basic human rights. Cases of land grabbing, compensation-less expropriation, gender-based discrimination in accessing and ownership of land and related resources, illegal mining deals, bribing to access land administration services among others are not new in the lands sector.

Last week the World Cocoa Foundation, a membership organization of more than 100 cocoa companies, held its annual partnership meeting in Berlin, Germany. The aim of the meeting is for governments, cocoa companies and farmers to identify and tackle the sector’s largest sustainability challenges. A 90-minute session was devoted to the topic of land tenure. The prominence of the session, as well as the seniority of the presenters – the Head of Sustainable Sourcing for Hershey’s and the Deputy Director General of Cote d’Ivoire’s Land Agency among them – is a powerful signaling effect.

On the 2019 International Day of Rural Women, Landesa’s Shipra Deo explores how land rights are an essential element for overturning misperceptions about the role of women in society and on the farm.

In a workshop with a group of agronomists who work in agriculture extension in India, I ask the participants to draw the picture of a farmer with whom they work. All but one of them draw male figures.

Por Jéssica Sousa

Este relatório documenta como, nas últimas duas décadas após a guerra civil, a invasão de criadores comerciais de gado nas pastagens tradicionais da Tunda dos Gambos e Vale do Chimbolela tem erodido a resiliência económica, social e cultural, nomeadamente a segurança alimentar, entre os povos Vanyaneke e Ovaherero em Gambos, Angola.

Na Indonésia e Sudeste Asiático, produção de arroz sofre com a mudança no padrão de chuvas e entidades internacionais temem que uma das bases da alimentação mundial possa passar por problemas, com um impacto social e na violência. IPCC apela para que governos escutem povos tradicionais e indígenas na gestão de terras.

GENEBRA – A América Latina foi a região do mundo que registrou a maior queda de cobertura florestal nos 15 primeiros anos do século 21. Os dados foram apresentados nesta quinta-feira pela FAO e destacam que, no atual ritmo, o planeta não conseguirá atingir seus objetivos de conservação do meio ambiente até 2030.