In Defence of Life follows the struggles and triumphs of four communities resisting large-scale mining projects in Colombia, the Philippines, South Africa and Romania.

Courageous environmental and human rights defenders from these communities describe how they have suffered and why they are standing firm to protect their families, land, water and life from destruction by mining.

Their inspiring David and Goliath struggles demonstrate that when injustice and destruction become globalised, so does resistance.

This manual is designed to assist development organizations to respect the right to FPIC when developing and implementing projects affecting Indigenous Peoples. It contains a six-step procedure to facilitate the FPIC process while showing its benefits, as well as provides the regulatory framework to be used when mainstreaming Indigenous Peoples’ rights within organizations’ policies and standards.

The land grabbing issue has produced a plethora of debates ranging from ethical conduct of land grabbing agents, specifically concerning displacement, to evidence for and against positive externalities such as technological spill-overs and construction of infrastructure. An underexplored topic is the valuation of agricultural land and the compensatory payments made to land users, distinct from land owners, for the loss of their source of food security.

... Namati offers this brief in the hope that Myanmar’s national reforms and the implementation of the country’s new National Land Use Policy can grow from the lived experience of ordinary Myanmar citizens. Namati and our partners assist farmers in Myanmar to claim their land rights through a community paralegal approach. Community paralegals are trained in relevant laws, community education, negotiation, and mediation skills to work with farmers to resolve a variety of land rights issues.

... In December 2015, representatives of governments, civil society organizations, Indigenous Peoples’ groups, and the private sector met in Paris for the 21st
Conference of Parties (COP 21) of the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The aim of this meeting was to determine a global path forward that would limit the rise in global temperature to no more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and allow countries to reach peak greenhouse gas emissions as soon
as possible.

Covers why indigenous and community land rights matter for everyone; progress or retreat? What is happening on the ground; what do we need to change?

In terms of the splintering of cities, it is important to understand contemporary urbanization processes, speculative real estate development, and ways to challenge these via new modes of politics. This case study analyzes the impacts of largely ‘illegal’ city building, on different groups of people within the city, particularly relating to spatial (in)justice and violence.

Follow Rose, and see her impact, as she travels the Rwandan countryside educating communities about women’s rights to land.

This research is conducted to contribute to the currently ongoing policy debate on the benefits of collective vis-à-vis individual land tenure rights. The paper attempts to explore the Mozambican community land delimitation (CLD) program based on a community-level survey conducted in mid-September 2014. The survey revealed that land conflict is the main reason to initiate a CLD process, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are major players in initiating and helping the CLD process.

Près de 2,5 milliards de personnes dépendent de terres autochtones et communautaires représentant plus de la moitié des terres de la planète ; elles n'en détiennent pourtant légalement qu'un cinquième. Les cinq milliards d'hectares restants ne sont pas protégés et sont donc exposés à l'accaparement des terres par des entités plus puissantes, telles que les États et les grandes entreprises.

Las vidas de cerca de 2.500 millones de personas dependen de tierras indígenas y comunitarias, que suponen más del 50% de la tierra del planeta; sin embargo, legalmente sólo son dueñas de una quinta parte. Los 5.000 millones de hectáreas restantes están desprotegidos y son vulnerables al acaparamiento por parte de entidades más poderosas como Gobiernos y empresas.