PRIndex stands for the Global Property Rights Index, an indicator of citizens' perception of the security of property rights. PRIndex is an initiative of Omidyar Network and UK DfID, being implemented by Land Alliance in association with Gallup, Inc. An initial phase of development of the index and testing its application is being carried out in ten countries during 2016 and 2017. After […]
DISCUSSION: Debate on Land Valuation and Fair Compensation
Land tenure changes are on the rise throughout the world as a result of increased migration from rural to urban areas, expansion of infrastructure, commercial pressures on agricultural land, extractive activities, and climate change. Shifts in land tenure arrangements are proceeding through compulsory acquisitions (i.e. expropriations) and voluntary market transactions, such large-scale land leases and […]
NEWS: New Initiative To Promote Women’s Land And Water Rights In Southern Africa
What can be done to secure poor rural people’s rights to land and water they depend on for their livelihoods, and what must be done to ensure that women’s access and tenure is secured? These questions are at the centre of a new multi-country action research project on Land and Water Rights in Southern Africa: […]
POLICY ISSUE: IUCN Map Combines Indigenous Peoples Areas and Forest Cover
The map is the most comprehensive ever produced of the area that is home to 80 different Indigenous Peoples in the seven nations of Central America–occupying almost 40 percent of the land and water area of the isthmus.To produce the map, the cartographers engaged with approximately 3,500 Indigenous people, who participated in more than 130 […]
CONSULTATION: Sustainable Forestry for Food Security and Nutrition
In October 2014, the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS) requested the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE) to conduct a study on Sustainable Forestry for Food Security and Nutrition. The findings of this study will feed into CFS 44 Plenary session (October 2017). As part of its report […]
POLICY ISSUE: Land Rights in Burkina Faso Elections
Rural women in Burkina Faso, grouped under the CULTIVONS BURKINA campaign (in French), are working to establish strong and effective agricultural policies that will ensure food security and nutrition for farming families. With their effort, during the presidential election campaign at the end of 2015, they achieved a commitment from six political parties to accomplish "Ten steps to build Burkina without […]
POLICY ISSUE: Tanzanian Land Policy Reform and Civil Society Participation
Tanzania’s Ministry of Land Housing and Human Settlement (MLHHSD) has initiated a consultative process to review the Land Policy of 1995. A recent PLAAS blog post by Emmanuelle Sulle titled Citizen participation is key to inclusive land policy covers civil society consultations held in Dar es Salaam as part of the review process.
Policy Issues: Enhancing Women’s Role in Land Management Decisions
Recent wave of large-scale land acquisitions in commercial agriculture has increased pressures on land, impacting on communities' rights and their livelihoods, particularly in Africa. These large-scale agricultural investments impact upon men and women in different ways, yet women's voices and interests are not always heard in decisions about land. This blog from IIED focuses on Tanzania, […]
Policy Issue: Land Injustice at the Heart of Indonesia’s Deforestation Dilemma
Following the discussions at the Global Landscapes Forum in Paris, Fred Pearce discusses forest rights recognition in Indonesia and the linkages to forest fires. Read the blog here
Policy Issue:PLAAS Blog on Accountability of Land Deals in Africa
In the latest PLAAS blog, Sofia Monsalve Suarez and Ruth Hall discuss the results from action research conducted in 10 African countries on how to hold governments and investors accountable for land deals in Africa. The research projects highlighted the shortcomings of laws and implementation of policies, but also the power of international agreements, building more […]