Worsening land inequality widens gender, climate change gaps
Bangkok, ThailandThomson Reuters Foundation Land inequality is growing worldwide, threatening the livelihoods of 2.5 billion people who directly rely on farming and widening disparities in gender, health and climate-change impacts, researchers warned on Tuesday. The widening gap in ownership and access to land especially hurts small and marginal farmers, women, and Indigenous and rural communities, […]
“This is our land”: Thai farmers brave bullets, prison for community land titles
RINA CHANDRAN, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on the struggle for land rights in Thailand…
Postcards: Land hunters – How an app is matching Zimbabwe’s farmers with vacant plots
FARAI SHAWN MATIASHE, writing for Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports…
Fear of more coronavirus-like pandemics as land rights ‘under siege’
Nairobi, KenyaThomson Reuters Foundation Governments’ failure to recognise the land rights of indigenous communities and their role in protecting biodiversity could lead to more coronavirus-like pandemics, researchers said on Tuesday. A study of more than 40 countries found many local people’s land claims were being ignored, amid increasing deforestation and wildlife exploitation, which may be […]
Land rights: In India’s flood-prone Assam, hill settlers hold out hope for titles
RINA CHANDRAN reports for Thomson Reuters Foundation on the battle over land rights for people living in informal settlements…
Indonesian farmers walk 1,800 kilometres to protest against evictions
Jakarta, IndonesiaThomson Reuters Foundation More than 100 Indonesian farmers gathered outside the presidential palace in Jakarta on Monday, having walked about 1,800 kilometres from the island of Sumatra to protest against forced evictions from their lands. About 170 farmers began the trek from Deli Serdang in northern Sumatra on 25th June to raise awareness of […]
Deadly land conflicts seen rising as threat from industry grows
Bangkok, ThailandThomson Reuters Foundation At least 212 people were killed last year while defending their land from being taken over by industry, Global Witness said on Wednesday, the deadliest year since the advocacy group began compiling data in 2012. More than half the killings were in Colombia and the Philippines and Indigenous people made up […]
Flood risk for one million in Phnom Penh as wetlands destroyed
Bangkok, ThailandThomson Reuters Foundation More than one million people in Phnom Penh face the risk of increased flooding and loss of livelihoods as wetlands in the Cambodian capital are destroyed to build apartments and industries, human rights groups warned on Monday. Developments – including the ING City township – will reduce the Tompoun wetlands to […]
Indonesia’s push to cut red tape sparks forest fire concerns
Jakarta, IndonesiaThomson Reuters Foundation Indonesia’s plans to cut red tape to attract investment could lead to an increase in forest clearing and fires, environmentalists warned on Wednesday, as lawmakers continued to debate the measures ahead of a scheduled recess this week. Indonesian President Joko Widodo submitted a draft of the so-called “omnibus laws” to parliament […]
Pandemic upheaval creates ‘perfect storm’ for land rights abuses
Washington DC, USThomson Reuters Foundation From forced displacement to conflict over resources, the coronavirus pandemic has created a “perfect storm” for land rights abuses – and the situation is likely to worsen, researchers and activists warned on Thursday. The migration of men to rural areas due to lockdowns and job losses has increased competition over […]