In early 2015, Maasai and Datoga citizens living in the Morogoro region of Tanzania were victims of deadly, ethnic violence. According to reports from local media, the assaults were instigated by public figures interested in acquiring land, and state authorities have not intervened to protect Maasai citizens. Police protection has instead been given to others who are illegally cultivating officially registered Maasai land. 

This briefing note call attention to the ongoing situation of harassments and arbitrary arrests of human rights defenders in Loliondo in northern Tanzania.It offers an account of the recent events taking place in the area and background information.

IWGIA believes that these developments are a cause of great concern. The detentions, harassment and trumped up charges undermine civil society and other stakeholders, limiting their options to carry out human rights work in Tanzania.

Beginning in the mid-1970s through to the 1980s, Tanzania experienced a severe socio-economic crisis. In an attempt to turn things around the abating economy and accelerate economic growth, the government embarked on a broad range of radical policy, legislation, and institution reforms, which opened doors for foreign direct investments (FDIs) and further initiatives have been taken to create an enabling environment for investments to flourish in the country.

This paper analyses the resettlement process and procedures followed during the displacement of communities from Kipawa and Kigilagila settlements to pave way for the expansion of the Dar es Salaam International Airport in Dar es Salaam city. The paper is based on findings of a PhD research project carried out between 2010 and 2013 that explored procedures and process which caused displacement of the receiving community while resettling the displaced residents from Kipawa and Kigilagila.

This paper analyses the resettlement process and procedures followed during the displacement of communities from Kipawa and Kigilagila settlements to pave way for the expansion of the Dar es Salaam International Airport in Dar es Salaam city. The paper is based on findings of a PhD research project carried out between 2010 and 2013 that explored procedures and process which caused displacement of the receiving community while resettling the displaced residents from Kipawa and Kigilagila.

In various countries around the world, land expropriation is considered as a major tool used by governments to assemble tracts of land for various activities aiming at public interest. However, determination of compensation which is regarded as a pre-requisite for land expropriation has been a source of controversy in this process. This paper attempts to find out how land valuation for compensation during expropriation is carried out in Rwanda, considering two expropriation projects in Kigali city.

Large scale land acquisition is a buzzword of the day in the world, more so in Ethiopia. The issue is indeed polarizing, in one hand it is dubbed as land grab and seen as ultimate scramble for land. On the other hand, it is often depicted as key to development, technology transfer and boost in productivity of an otherwise idle land available in Ethiopian lowlands, or somewhere else.

The spatial patterns resulting from large fires include refugial habitats that support surviving legacies and promote ecosystem recovery. To better understand the diverse ecological functions of refugia on burn mosaics, we used remotely sensed data to quantify neighborhood patterns of areas relatively unchanged following the 2011 Las Conchas fire. Spatial patterns of refugia measured within 10-ha moving windows varied across a gradient from areas of high density, clustered in space, to sparsely populated neighborhoods that occurred in the background matrix.

China is rapidly urbanizing and will inevitably face trade-offs between promoting economic growth through further urbanization and protecting fertile farmland against accelerated urban expansion. This paper presents how this dilemma is being addressed in one of the most rapidly urbanizing regions in China, the Pearl River Delta (PRD), by means of assessing urban growth and farmland dynamic, as well as their complex relationships.

Many internally displaced people (IDPs) find refuge in cities. However, the scale of global urban internal displacement caused by violence, conflict, disasters and development projects is unknown. Cities struggle to accommodate IDPs since their movements are largely spontaneous, and some authorities may resist helping IDPs for fear of encouraging further influxes. Meanwhile, IDPs face displacement-specific challenges to rebuild their lives in urban settings and may be displaced again in the process due to lack of housing tenure security and violence and insecurity.

IDMC's report explores the challenges in providing sustainable housing assistance to informal urban settlers displaced by disasters. It looks at nine case studies from Asia, America and Europe.

The report identifies the difficulties faced by urban informal settlers in receiving long-term housing assistance in post-disaster situations. Informal settlers are more exposed and vulnerable to displacement and are more likely to be relocated and excluded from the provision of durable housing assistance.