On the opening day of #COP28, we hosted a webinar, “Building Climate Resilience through Inclusive Land Governance,” that delved into the crucial role which inclusive land governance plays in building climate resilience.
Like many countries, Mongolia has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic and its government has been accelerating investments in the mining sector to help the economy. However, this has led to protests by local communities concerned about their land rights, and about their health. Among them is the community of Dalanjargalan, where the WOLTS project has been working with local champions who have been trained in land law, gender issues and participatory decision-making.
The 13th Annual LANDac Annual Conference is taking place in person next week in Utrecht, Netherlands, for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began. All the conference sessions will also be accessible online to registered participants. LANDac brings together land governance stakeholders from around the world who might not otherwise meet, including academic researchers, the private, civil society, and policy makers.
Last week, the International Land Coalition (ILC) hosted its 9th Global Land Forum in Jordan - the first large in-person meeting of the land community for three years.
Blog written by AYJAZ WANI for Observer Research Foundation
Originally posted at https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/kazakhstan-on-the-brink/
Main photo: Getty
Three new case studies show: In the context of large-scale land investments in Africa, human rights violations and social as well as environmental damages are the rule, not the exception. The message of the studies is therefore clear: development banks and their governments must do more for human rights and take responsibility for damages caused.
Indigenous peoples and local communities are included in the final version of the 26th session of the UN Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP26)’s decision text, a definite success compared to previous years. Direct financing for these groups has also been celebrated as a key success at COP26. However, how much progress was actually made, and which groups were kept on the side-lines? Many challenges still remain, and there is more to be done to include farmers’ voices in key discussions and decision-making.
The Maasai community of Musul have lived on the same land in Laikipia county for generations. It is their source of food and water, the heart of their culture and beliefs, and their ancestral home. But until recently, their legal rights to govern it were tenuous.
It was good land. Before the company’s arrival in 2011, the people of Ngovokpahun village had used it to grow cocoa and other cash crops to help them pay for their children’s education. But when Italian Agriculture offered to build them a school, health center, and roads, provide them with employment, and pay rent, leasing out the land seemed like the wiser option. The company drafted the agreement and the landowners signed.
My name is Silas Siakor and I am the Country Manager at IDH, The Sustainable Trade Initiative in Liberia. I have worked on natural resource governance for the past 20 years - with a focus on land and forest. I am deeply honored to speak at this year’s conference to share some reflections based on the Liberian experience and to send a clarion call to civil society, academia, and private sector to step up and do more to strengthen land governance. The future of our planet depends on it.