By Sonkita Conteh, Director, Sierra Leone Program, Namati

Three years ago I wrote about how communities in Sierra Leone were getting the short end of the stick in large-scale land transactions. Many did not understand the provisions of the complex lease agreements they were signing. Not only are these leases legally complicated, they are sometimes signed under pressure and are not always translated into a community’s local language. 

By Monique Villa and Peter Rabley

What would happen if you suddenly lost your home? Beyond bricks and mortar, this is a safe place for you and your family. It’s your sanctuary, a space which is yours. If you were forced from it tomorrow, with no alternative, how would you survive?

By Phyllis Omido, Founder of the Center for Justice Governance and Environmental Action

The announcement of the winners of this year’s Goldman Environmental Prize is an opportunity to celebrate activist leaders. But it is also a moment to recognize just how much courage their efforts (and those of a great many others) can demand.

Scientists present their findings on forest tenure and land use at a major conference in Peru

Peru - Latin American countries have made progress in granting land rights to communities in recent years. Nevertheless, policies often fail to consider the diversity of those communities and the different ways they use their land.

This blog originally appeared on UNDP

16 Jun 2017 by Phemo Kgomotso, Regional Technical Specialist, Ecosystems and Biodiversity, UNDP Regional Service Centre for Africa

Would forced migration end, if people knew that they could survive and thrive in their homeland?

This blog originally appeared on IISD

Farmers in Mali have gained critical new rights to their traditional land—and rural communities have gained much-needed economic stability—as a result of a historic new law.

Farmers in Mali have gained critical new rights to their traditional land—and rural communities have gained much-needed economic stability—as a result of a historic new law.

By Stephanie Burgos, Oxfam America, Government Affairs Associate Director for Latin America, Land Rights and Trade

Colombia has the most unequal distribution of land in Latin America, yet equitable access to land is a decisive factor for consolidating peace in Colombia.

By Madhu Sarin, Fellow of the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI)

Q: What is required to strengthen women’s land and community forest rights in practice in India?

By Mike Powell, Development Information Specialist, facilitator of monitoring and evaluative processes with the Land Portal and volunteer member of its Technical Advisory Group​

By Yuta Masuda and Brian E. Robinson

I’m sitting in a Mongolian yurt, listening to and trying to emulate Bataa’s* songs about love for the grasslands and the wide, treeless plains of the Mongolian Plateau. Our host sings with consuming passion. I might have brushed his enthusiasm off as a show two weeks ago. But after living and working in these grasslands, the feeling of freedom that comes from unobstructed, far-off distant horizon is infectious.