The Chief Land Claims Commissioner from the Commission of Restitution of Land Rights presented the strategic plan for 2015-2020 as well as the Annual Performance Plan 2015/2016 to the Committee. She emphasised that there was still a need for the Commission to be clearly delineated in function and fact from the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR) particularly since the Commission reported directly to the Minister.

The Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries is currently developing a project in conjunction with the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR) to create Agri-parks in locations throughout South Africa. These Agri-parks aim to involve smallholders and local producers in the entire process of agriculture to address both food security and poverty. The Department hopes to fight issues such as the 14 million hungry South Africans, unused potential farmland, and the inequality between private agricultural business and the people.

Sub-Saharan Africa has always been perceived as a land-abundant continent. Deininger & Byerlee (2011) estimate that the continent has the largest area of potentially available uncultivated land. Despite these abundant resources, the agricultural sector continues to be dominated by smallholder production that is characterized by high labor and low capital intensities – but still produces the majority of food in Africa (IFAD & UNEP, 2013).

This note is for private sector project implementers and financers (development finance institutions, international development agencies, commercial lenders and equity investors) seeking to invest responsibly in new greenfield sites in low and middle- income countries. It aims to provide practical guidance on identifying and addressing community land conflicts to prevent them escalating into disputes between the project and local communities.

Pastoralists have a unique relationship of mutual dependency with their livestock and their environment; the uniqueness of this relationship distinguishes them from other livestock keepers. They depend highly on the environment where they develop their livelihood, that they make productive through highly adapted animals, but at the same time the quality of this environment depends on how well they take care of it, which in turns depends on complex social regulations and on large-scale mobility. The way they keep their animals forms part of their daily life and of a complex culture.

Excluding the introductory and concluding chapters, this book has 11 chapters presented in three sections. The first section dwells primarily on conceptual issues, which comprehensively unravels large-scale agricultural investments and their impacts at the theoretical level.

In 1991, Terminology for Grazing Lands and Grazing Animals was published with the objective of ‘developing a consensus of clear definitions of terms used in the grazing of animals.’ This first effort involved primarily organizations and agencies within the USA but included representation from New Zealand and Australia. It was the intent from the beginning to expand this to a truly international effort at a later date.

Baseline Research Report 

Research Report 

Summary Report of the TA Baseline Survey - Key Findings 

This report aims to evaluate the economic, social and ecological impacts of large-scale land concessions to plant rubber and make recommendations for the future management of land in Lao PDR. Study focused on Champassak and Salavane provinces from July 2007 to July 2008. It was the product of a collaboration between the Centre for Research and Information on Land and Natural Resources of the National Land Management Authority, Office of Prime Minister, Laos, the Foundation for Ecological Recovery, and the Faculty of Social Sciences, Chiang Mai University.

A discussion note from Mekong Region Land governance (MRLG) summarizing findings and recommendations of a multi-stakeholder initiative and study tour conducted in Southern Laos, to study the social and environmental practices of two large scale companies holding large scale concessions in Lao PDR, published by MRLG in January 2017.