“People of the forest”: Indigenous Indonesians stake claim to land
Recognition of customary forests in Indonesia has been hailed for tackling land-grabbing and deforestation, but Indigenous leaders are demanding greater rights. PETER YEUNG, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports…
Land rights: In Colombia, occupations raise tensions and spook investors
NELSON BOCANEGRA, of Reuters, reports on the ongoing struggle over land in Colombia…
Sierra Leone passes new laws to boost landowners’ rights
Freetown, Sierra LeoneReuters Sierra Leone’s parliament on Monday passed two laws that lawyers say will help boost the rights of rural landowners and women against land grabs by big mining and agribusiness firms. The West African country has a history of sometimes deadly conflict between local communities and foreign companies that have cleared huge tracts […]
Brazil’s Indigenous protest ahead of landmark ruling over ancestral lands
Brasilia, BrazilReuters Hundreds of Indigenous people danced and chanted outside Brazil’s Supreme Court on Wednesday to urge the justices not to rule in favour of a cut-off date of 1988 for their land claims, a proposal backed by the farming sector. The protest has drawn an unprecedented 6,000 Indigenous people from 176 tribes to camp […]
Afghan women’s hard-won land rights seen at risk under Taliban
Thomson Reuters Foundation The Taliban’s return to power threatens Afghan women’s hard-won property rights, with thousands who fled their homes during the militants’ takeover at particular risk of losing their land and houses for good, rights groups and researchers said. The Taliban imposed a strict Islamic law that largely denied women property rights during its […]
Honey-gathering tribe protest against eviction from Indian tiger reserve
Thomson Reuters Foundation A group of Indigenous people – known for gathering honey – are protesting against their eviction from an Indian tiger reserve, a flashpoint in an ongoing legal battle that has pitted wildlife conservationists against land rights groups across the country. The Jenu Kuruba tribe, which traditionally gathers honey and other forest produce, […]
Land conflict: Affordable housing push fuels tensions in Burkina Faso
SAM MEDNICK, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on how a recent government push to develop rural land for housing is inflaming tensions over land in the West African nation…
“It will happen again”: Myanmar ethnic groups fear loss of land after coup
Bangkok, ThailandThomson Reuters Foundation Ethnic groups in Myanmar fear being forced off their land once again following last week’s military coup, which has plunged into doubt hard-won gains by minorities during a decade of democratic transition, rights campaigners said on Thursday. Myanmar’s military toppled the elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi on […]
“Seat at the table”: Women’s land rights seen as key to climate fight
Bangkok, ThailandThomson Reuters Foundation From legislative loopholes to cultural norms, women worldwide still face barriers in accessing land, researchers said on Thursday, despite evidence that tenure rights can protect them from the worsening effects of climate change. Women make up more than half the global population that relies almost exclusively on land and natural resources […]
“We had to get our land back”: Tunisian date farm proves revolutionary bright spot
LAYLI FOROUDI, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on the ongoing battle for land in Tunisia…