Webinar Recap: Showcasing transformative approaches for women’s land rights

OVERVIEW 

Empowering women to occupy leadership roles and to take an active part in decision making processes in land governance has demonstrated that strides can be made towards gender justice.

The Land Portal and Both Ends are co-hosting a webinar, “Showcasing transformative approaches for women’s land rights,” that explores new approaches for women’s land rights. 

By Laura Meggiolaro and Charl-Thom Bayer

An important precondition for good land governance is to have good land data that can be used to make informed decisions, formulate policies, and develop plans and strategies for the public good. Without solid data, modern governments are limited in their ability to carry out their functions and deliver public services – including land administration services.

WASHINGTON DC (14 September, 2022)—Of the $270 million in conservation funding invested annually in the tenure and forest management initiatives of Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPs and LCs)—which is only a small fraction of the total funding dedicated to addressing climate change—only 17 percent went to activities that specifically named an IP or LC organization, according to “Funding with Purpose,” a new research report released today by Rainforest Foundation Norway and Rights and R

This blog post is part of the series What to Read.

Senegal has the particularity of being the westernmost point of the African continent, which is located at the tip of Almadies in Dakar, the country's capital. With an area of 196,722 km2 , Senegal is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Mauritania to the north and Guinea and Guinea-Bissau to the south. The Gambia, a country located on either side of the river bearing the same name, forms an enclave within Senegal. The relief of Senegal is generally flat and low, with an average altitude of less than 50 metres over three quarters of the territory.    

Scaling is at the heart of both the name as well as the strategy of LAND-at-scale (LAS). Scaling and scaling potential are key in the way the program was designed and is reflected in the three pillars chosen to realize the aim of the program. The first pillar is about scaling successful initiatives and projects; the second pillar focuses on land governance innovations with scaling potential; and the third pillar covers knowledge management, with a focus on gaining a deeper understanding on the conditions required to make scaling successful.

Land acquisition without consent or compensation. Loss of cultural identity and traditions. Threats and violence against human rights defenders. These are just some of the human rights impacts Indigenous Peoples and other local communities face, among over 200 allegations against the renewable energy industry over the last decade as recorded by the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre. The unlikely source of nearly half of these? Wind and solar projects.

The European Union is moving towards regulation that will require companies to respect the rights of Indigenous peoples in their value chains, helping curb tropical forest loss

The European Union’s environment committee 

Global warming is one of the greatest challenges humanity has ever faced. The reduction of the emission of greenhouse gas by cutting back consumption, particularly in high-income countries, and the transition from fossil fuels as energy sources to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power are essential to the survival of billions of people. However, this requires the cooperation of billions of businesses and people who, for example, drive cars that run on petrol or heat their buildings with gas or oil.

In Mozambique, community land rights are recognised under the country’s progressive land laws. Yet many private-sector companies also hold long-term leases on wide swathes of land that once belonged to communities. Here, Sarah Lowery of USAID’s Land and Resource Governance Division  discusses how USAID partnered with agroforestry firm Green Resources to help it responsibly divest its land-use rights back to local communities. 

How private-sector leaseholds affect community land rights