Indigenous peoples are increasingly important players in the management and use of land and natural landscapes, bound in spiritual and traditional practices that endure and pre-date colonisation. This also extends to the aspirations that Indigenous traditional owners may have to generate income from land and to sustain business and employment opportunities that enable reinvestment in local communities. The paper draws from a study undertaken while the authors were at the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that involved 13 countries.

This article focuses on land use changes in the area of interest in the southern part of the Czech Republic (South Bohemia Region). Land use changes have been assessed at several time levels over nearly two centuries. Unlike similar studies, two types of materials were used as source data and compared. Specifically, these are historical maps or aerial photographs and the Corine Land Cover database. The evolution of land use was examined on a representative set of sixty cadastral areas, which evenly cover the territory of three different production areas of the South Bohemia Region.

Redressing land dispossession in the aftermath of violent conflicts is daunting and complex. While land dispute resolution and restitution are expected to promote return migration, this outcome is contingent upon the changing social, economic and political conditions under which return takes place. Drawing on qualitative data from Makamba Province in southern Burundi, this case study highlights the politically and historically shaped challenges underlying the resolution of competing and overlapping claims on land following protracted displacement.