The violence which followed the contested December 2007 Kenyan election was, arguably, an opportunity for historical grievances to be settled. This paper focuses on the land issue in regards to Kenya, asserting that land is a primary cause of conflcit in the country as it has been the crux of economic, cultural and socio-economic change.

This paper discusses the nature of the land problem in the region and tries to situate the general land reform process in Zimbabwe within a regional context.It examines the four key land problems facing the region the discriminatory and insecure forms of land tenure that are found among variouslandownership regimes the increasingly imbalanced landownership structures and factors underlying itthe contradictory tendencies towards irrational land-use patterns through both the over utilisation and underutilisation of land the devotion of most prime lands and resources to production for externa

Drylands have potential for economic activity now markets are emerging for natural products such as aloe or gum Arabic. However it is difficult to take advantage of these opportunities because there is a lack of structure for this market. A regulatory framework providing an enabling environment for increasing investment in the sustainable use and management of land and natural resources would be beneficial.

This document summarises the main points in the conclusions and recommendations sections of the World Bank’s Final Report of the Extractive Industries Review (EIR). The document focuses particularly on a few of the issues touched upon in the report, such as indigenous peoples’ rights, human rights generally, World Bank accountability/institutional issues, and the definition of poverty and sustainable development.The Final Report recognises that if the World Bank Group is to comply with its mandate, strict conditions must be applied to Extractive Industry (EI) projects.

Local governance has become increasingly significant as devolution from central and provincial levels is being attempted in India as a result of the enactment of the 73rd and 74th Amendment of the Constitution in 1993. The essence of local self governance is to enable a small community to maintain access and control over their natural and physical resources, to take collective decisions in the common public good and to provide resources in priority developmental actions. Another dimension of local self governance is to demand accountability from people in public positions.

The paper considers: the question of whether the process of population ageing affects the ways in which land is passed on between members of different generationsthe likely implications of ageing-related changes in intergenerational transfers for food production in developing countriesThe paper concentrates primarily on rural population ageing in contexts where the individual ownership of land or natural resources is a predominant socio-economic phenomenon, although it also considers communal ownership situations.The authors conclude that: the need to conceptualize the elderly as a neces

Previous studies of land contracts have focused more on efficiency questions than on determinants of access to land and dynamics of access. By looking closely at the question of access to land, the authors conclude:land rental contracts more friendly to the poor than land sales markets to access land.

It has been argued that many of the poverty reduction strategy papers pay insufficient attetion to the role of land access and land distribution in rural poverty. Redressing the inequalities between small-scale and large-scale farming sectots is likely to be an important element of an effective rural poverty reduction strategy in countries such as Zimbabwe and Kenya.

Since the formation of the Government of National Unity in 1994, there have been significant strides towards the transformation of the lives of ordinary South Africans. Set within a macroeconomic policy, which is focused on stimulating economic growth, there has been significant delivery in respect of the provision of housing, engineering services such as water and electricity and social services such as education, health and social safety nets for the most vulnerable.

This paper is a report on anthropological fieldwork on the civil society movements in northeastern Thailand. The case of Kok Hin Khao land rights conflicts in the district of Nam Phong of Khon Kaen province was thoroughly examined to understand the current dynamics of civil society in the Northeast.It is argued that the discrepancy between the government's development rhetoric and what actually happened at the grassroots level has laid the ground for the emergence of contemporary civil society to protect its own interests.

The report focuses on: the statue of land degradation: types of degradation, their nature, severity and extent; the causes and consequences of land degradation; institutions to combat land degradation; proposals for strengthening efforts to combat land degradation. Countries covered are: Afghanistan; Bangladesh; India; Bhutan; Iran; Pakistan; Nepal; Sri Lanka.

The cities in southern Africa reflect the rapid urbanisation characteristic of sub-Saharan Africa in general. Angola, Botswana and South Africa have the highest levels of urbanisation with about 60% of their population living in cities in 2010 and this percentage is expected to rise to about 80% by 2050.