This case study tells the story of Yusuf Matubbarer Dangi Village as a microcosm of the existential threat posed by river erosion and flooding to the country of Bangladesh. This village also encapsulates the experience of communities who are rendered landless when floods swallow up their properties and who then have to wait for new land to emerge from the river in the simultaneous erosion and accretion of land when the river swells.

This case study shows the challenge of securing land rights and land tenure security among a sector of Bangladesh’s landless poor whose claim to land is among the most tenuous in the world — the char dwellers. Their settlement on land that was created by river erosion and could at any time disappear in the same way provides a compelling case for the grant by the government of land rights that are not presently provided for by current land laws. The increasing risk of disasters, particularly flooding, threatens char dwellers equally if not more than other landless poor.

This video is about the everyday struggles of Munda people of Datinakhali Mundapara in Shyamnagar upazila (subdistrict) of Satkhira district in Bangladesh. Munda is one of the indigenous communities in the country. Being on the frontline of the climate crisis, rising sea levels and salt infiltrates, 28 Munda families living in Datinakhali Mundapara are in dire straits due to landlessness, poverty, and climate change effects, with 10 Munda households already have migrated to other places.

This case study challenges assumptions that disaster-hit communities that have lost their houses and possessions would willingly pack up and leave, believing that it is easier to migrate than to remain in their communities. However, for indigenous people like the Munda in Shyamnagar sub-district, migration is not the answer to achieving climate resilience. Because their lives are inextricably linked to their ancestral home, uprooting themselves exacts a toll on their identity and undermines the continuity of their culture and traditions.

By creating a land commission, the Kazakh authorities managed to bring down the protest rallies in 2016, when, under pressure from citizens, the government was forced to abandon the sale and lease of land to foreigners. The goal of the national patriots was achieved, but the key issue for the citizens remained unresolved – the mechanism and procedures for the return of land to the people of Kazakhstan, sold by the authorities as a result of massive corruption deals and now belonging to oligarchs – “land barons”, has not been created by law.

Food systems must provide adequate, healthy, and sustainable diets to the growing and changing population whilst responding to shocks and stressors related to climate variability, urbanization, globalization, conflicts, and economic change. This study examined the national food systems of Cambodia, Myanmar, and the Philippines and the local food systems of complementary Climate-Smart Villages: Chhouk, Htee Pu, and Himbubulo Weste.

Institute for Constitutional Studies (ICS) commissioned a study on Key Land Laws in Sri Lanka during 2017-2018 in order to identify the priority areas for which the attention of policy makers and the administrators is required. These policy briefs are prepared focusing on the five important areas identified by that study.

ABSTRACTED FROM OVERVIEW:

The Lands Act 1964 was the first comprehensive piece of legislation which came into existence to pave the way for land reform. Key objectives of the Act were a) enhancing the standard of living of people dependent on land including through ensuring “equitable distribution of agricultural land”; and b) securing rapid economic development and wellbeing of the general population through attaining optimum agricultural growth.

The Annual Country Reviews reflect upon current land issues in the Mekong Region, and has been produced for researchers, practitioners and policy advocates operating in the field. Specialists have been selected from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam to briefly answer the following two questions:

1. What are the most pressing issues involving land governance in your country?

2. What are the most important issues for the researcher on land?

The Afghanistan land sector is plagued by a multitude of problems linked to weak governance, corruption and lack of capacity. There are competing claims to land, widespread conflicts, resultant landlessness and poverty. Other issues are limited availability of undisputed farmland, difficulties in accessing grazing lands and many disputes over pasture lands. These issues are exacerbated by conflicting land ownership systems, insecure land tenure and registration, weak land governance environment and uncertain and incomplete legal frameworks.

As global inequality is dropping, inequality within countries is rising. The problem of inequality is a cause for concern for nations as it undermines democracy and reduces welfare. Bhutan, a developing country in South Asia, also faces rising inequality. Based on the experience of the kidu system in Bhutan, this paper argues that the system is effective in reducing inequality of opportunity. The kidu functions as a welfare system in Bhutan, and is under the prerogative of the King of Bhutan. The traditional kidu system was reformed by the present monarch of Bhutan in 2006.

The LANDac Conference 2018 looked at land governance through the lens of mobility. Land acquisitions trigger migration and yield other types of mobility such as capital, goods and ideas. Ensuing land claims raise new questions for land governance. So far, the discussion has focused on respecting land rights, informing local residents and offering fair compensation. The conference explored the question: Given the variety of mobility, what are good ways forward in land governance?