This LEGEND bulletin takes stock of some of the recent experience in legal empowerment. The result is a kaleidoscope of approaches operating at different levels, but pursuing broadly converging agendas.

O presente documento apresenta um resumo dos principais resultados do Programa de Apoio aos Atores Não Estatais (UE-PAANE) “Nô Pintcha Pa Dizinvolvimentu” financiado integramente pela União Europeia e implementado na República da Guiné Bissau, entre 2011 e 2016, pelo consórcio do qual faz parte a Organização Não Governamental (ONG) portuguesa Instituto Marquês de Valle Flôr (IMVF) e a empresa portuguesa CESO CI Internacional SA (CESO CI).

Com a edição da Medida Provisória 759, o Governo Federal propõe ao Congresso Nacional um modelo de reforma agrária mais transparente, eficaz e ágil para corrigir irregularidades do passado e garantir ao trabalhador rural assentado o direito de acesso às políticas públicas do setor. 

A MP 759 também prevê mudanças na titulação urbana, além dos ajustes ao Programa de Reforma Agrária. No que se refere ao meio rural, a medida corrige contradições que, em última instância, inviabilizam a promoção do bem-estar de agricultores familiares e o desenvolvimento sustentável do campo

Indigenous Peoples and local communities hold a large share of the world’s land area under customary systems. However, there is a tremendous gap between what is held by communities in practice and what is formally recognised by governments.

Marked power imbalances often result in communities losing out in use conflicts over their territories and resources. This applies in particular to extractive industries and infrastructure projects. Community protocols can help bring the negotiating parties together at eye level and create a balance of interests.

Providing extension and advisory services is expensive. There are salaries to be paid, transporta­tion and operational funds to be provided, buildings to be rented or built, demonstration plots to maintain, and continued education to be offered to the extension staff. And then there is the need to continually invest in an overall functioning agricultural innovation system with strong research and teaching institutions, enabling policies, as well as to make capital investments in rural infrastructure that will not only benefit the farming population.

The sheer number of refugees from Zimbabwe puts a heavy burden on the province of Limpopo in South Africa. These new arrivals strain the already weak structure of the local labour market. The result is frustration and bitterness for local people.

As part of its commitment to local community development in Mozambique, the Community Land initiative (iTC), a project financed by a group of European donors, is supporting part of a honey production chain in Mozambique, specifically in Sussundenga district, Manica province. The support consists of building capacity among local honey producers groups.

The world food crisis has spurred foreign direct investments (FDI) into arable land in developing countries. While significant financial inflows into agricultural sectors could be beneficial on a global scale, it could negatively affect local livelihoods. This article provides an overview of the different types of FDI in land. In addition, examples of investment flows are illustrated in an overview and a sustainable impact matrix outlines the occurring effects. Finally, requirements of avoiding negative effects are presented, to achieve a Pareto-efficient win-win situation.

The devastating tsunami has shown in a tragic way the great vulnerability and exposed nature of coastal communities to natural calamities. It also has drawn global attention to the poor living conditions of fishing communities and the many threats to the sustainable use of fishery resources and coastal ecosystems. Post-tsunami rehabilitation offers the opportunity to build back better, improve and make more secure the lives of disadvantaged sections of the population and set fisheries and coastal resource use on a sustainable footing.

Fragile states, posing a major challenge of our times, are increasingly becoming a focus of attention in international politics and development cooperation. But very often, the viewpoint of the people affected by fragile statehood is not sufficiently heard. Parts of the international community prioritize their own security policy interests, the motto being the «war on terrorism». People in fragile states, by contrast, are primarily concerned with their own survival and the quest for development opportunities for themselves and their communities.

This synthesis of our findings from an investigation of tenure risk in East, West, and Southern Africa, shows that a majority of tenure disputes are caused by the displacement of local peoples, indicating that companies and investors are not doing enough to understand competing claims to the land they acquire or lease. This failure in diligence is particularly noteworthy given that a majority of the disputes analyzed had materially significant impacts: indeed, a higher proportion of projects in Africa are financially impacted by tenure dispute than any other region in the world.