Inequalities are linked with poverty and sustainable development, and have patently hindered development and stalled progress. Acting together, these inequalities further entrench the deprivation suffered by certain groups and individuals and manifest themselves clearly in the way space is used. The fight against inequality requires the establishment of a new governance paradigm which coordinates efforts, strengthens formal coordination mechanisms, establishes joint responsibilities and provides the resources and incentives necessary at every level of government.

This is a policy brief that is derived from a study to understand the dynamics and trends that inform the availability of housing demand and supply in Kenya. It finds that Kenya’s formal housing policy has a strong supply focus that shortchanges rural dwellers whose main challenge to adequate and good housing is based on demand constraints.

Because of changes in some underlying factors, land is increasingly becoming a source of conflicts in Africa. We estimate the determinants of land conflicts and their impacts on input application in Kenya by using a recent survey of 899 rural households. We find that widows are about 13 percent more likely to experience pending land conflicts when their parcels are registered under the names of their deceased husbands than when titles are registered under their names.

China's presence in Africa has gained growing attention at an international level in the last two

decades, especially since the 2007 food crisis, however China's presence in Africa is far from new.

China can not been perceived as a new international actor, still its reemergence as a world's leading

economic power needs to be reconsidered. China's presence in Africa has been generating a

growing misunderstanding at a different level that Debora Brautigam clearly describes in her paper

China's presence in Africa has gained growing attention at an international level in the last two

decades, especially since the 2007 food crisis, however China's presence in Africa is far from new.

China can not been perceived as a new international actor, still its reemergence as a world's leading

economic power needs to be reconsidered. China's presence in Africa has been generating a

growing misunderstanding at a different level that Debora Brautigam clearly describes in her paper

Examines options for strengthening women’s participatory rights in the face of increasing commercial pressures on land in 3 countries: Mozambique, Tanzania, and the Philippines. Focuses on how regulatory reform – reforms in the rules, regulations, guidelines, and procedures that implement national land acquisition and investment laws – can promote gender equity and allow women to realize the rights afforded by national legal frameworks and international standards.

Includes fracking and the global land grab; how does unconventional gas work against a green future?; what are the ecological risks of fracking?; where is the global boom of fracking happening?; who are the main actors involved in fracking today?; where is the resistance to fracking?.

Examines political and social dynamics of foreign agricultural investment in Ethiopia. Concludes that this expansion is part of a government move towards an export-led development strategy, so the micro-benefits come at the cost of increased risks to those living in the vicinity of new investments, particularly politically marginalised pastoralist populations.

Includes summary; global land resources and projections for the future; soils and soil policies; ecosystems’ services; biofuels and impacts on land use; biofuel production and land use in Brazil; land and national self-sufficiency; land use and increasing production; overseas land investments (often called ‘land grabbing’); land rights and ownership – the Rwandan example; international voluntary guidelines for land investment; conclusion.

Includes gender in the existing literature, entrenched gender discrimination, case studies from Ethiopia, Zambia and Rwanda, ways forward, conclusion. Based on a larger study for the International Land Coalition.

Includes land acquisition: trends and drivers; experiences on the ground – South Sudan, Uganda, Indonesia, Honduras, Guatemala; what is failing at the national level?; what is failing at the international level?; growing justice – recommendations. Asserts that 227 million hectares have been sold or leased in developing countries since 2001, mostly over the past two years.

This paper discusses Cambodia’s legal framework relating to Economic Land Concessions (ELCs) and looks at the implementation gaps. It argues that despite Cambodian’s legal framework governing land and ELCs being well-developed, its social benefits, such as protecting the rights of the poor and vulnerable and contributing to transparency and accountability, are almost non-existent.