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. 

The poster presents an overview of forestland, livelihoods and customary practices in Man Ping Village, Northern Shan State, Myanmar. This poster is one of a five village case studies produced by partner organizations during field-based training on how to document customary tenure systems, supported by MRLG.

This guidebook provides conceptual, legal and practical tools and resources to help civil society organizations guide communities through the process of documenting customary tenure at the local level. It also provides suggestions for how to build on the momentum generated by the documentation process to develop strategies and actions to defend, strengthen and promote customary rights at community, regional and national level. The guidebook was developed out of practical experience and conversations with local groups in Myanmar that have been documenting customary tenure.

This video is part of one of the major activities of the L&A initiative “Collective Learning on Land Conflict Resolution” in Cambodia. It shows how important the solidarity of villagers is important to prevent land grabbing. The concerned village is in Taing Mlou village, Andoung Meas district, Ratanakiri province. 

In the Mekong region, conflicts between local communities and large scale land concessions are widespread. They are often difficult to solve. In Cambodia, an innovative approach to conflict resolution was tested in a case involving a private company, Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL), and several indigenous communities who lost some of their customary lands and forests when the company obtained a concession to grow rubber in the Province of Ratanakiri. The approach was developed by CSOs Equitable Cambodia (EC) and Inclusive Development International (IDI) with the support of QDF funding from MRLG.

This video is based on the combined efforts of 5 civil society organizations and ethnic youth organizations (88 Generation, Point, FLU, KYO&TSYU) to document local Customary Tenure practices in different villages throughout the country, in the states of Shan North, Shan South, Magwe and Kayah, with the support of MRLG. It’s explains how they implemented the documentation of Customary Tenure practices. The video also explains what customary tenure is, based on the local communities point of view and practices, and why CT recognition is important to them.

This country level analysis addresses land governance in Laos in two ways. First, it summarises what the existing body of knowledge tells us about power and configurations that shape access to and exclusion from land, particularly among smallholders, the rural poor, ethnic minorities and women. Second, it draws upon existing literature and expert assessment to provide a preliminary analysis of the openings for and obstacles to land governance reform afforded by the political economic structures and dynamics in the country.

The poster presents an overview of land, livelihoods and customary practices in Nan-Pan Village, Southern Shan State, Myanmar. This poster is one of a five village case studies produced by partner organizations during field-based training on how to document customary tenure systems, supported by MRLG. 

La spiruline est une algue produite en quantité au Burkina Faso. Sa composition nutritionnelle exceptionnelle lui donne un rôle efficace pour la récupération des personnes dénutries ou immunitairement affaiblies. Considérant cela, une association française et une burkinabé ont créé, en partenariat, un projet pour la promotion de la spiruline et de conseils nutritionnels dans le milieu rural.

L’urbanisation est souvent considérée comme ayant des effets néfastes sur le développement rural. En fait, c’est tout le contraire. Les espaces ruraux et urbains, les populations et les entreprises sont étroitement liés et on peut dire avec certitude qu’il n’y a pas de développement rural sans développement urbain et inversement.

Si les investissements étrangers directs (IED) dans les terres arables peuvent stimuler la croissance économique, ils peuvent aussi, le cas échéant, affecter de manière négative la situation des revenus et la sécurité alimentaire de la population locale. À la lumière de la culture de caoutchouc au Laos, l'article montre comment les concessions et la culture sous contrat peuvent conduire à l'accaparement de terres par les investisseurs étrangers.