Over the past 10 years, transnational land grabs for rubber tree plantations have proliferated across Laos. Plantation concessions are being established on village lands that are represented as ‘degraded’ and legally classified as ‘state forests’, expropriated by government officials in the name of poverty alleviation with promises that plantations will provide new wage labour opportunities for those dispossessed.

In Myanmar, movements for gender justice strive to foster personal and collective security, vibrant livelihoods, and political engagement during a period of rapid and uncertain transition. This article draws from the experience of the Gender Equality Network (GEN), a coalition of over 100 organisations in Myanmar. It examines three cases in which GEN sought to document existing forms of resilience and expand these mechanisms through national-level advocacy. The first describes current attempts to publicise, and eventually eliminate, violence against women (VAW).

Transforming conflict is a key component of sustainable forest management. Transformative conflict mediation is an approach to transforming conflict that aims not only to resolve the conflict but also to foster long-term relationships and cooperation. This study explores how application of mediation contributed to conflict transformation.

Economic and legal reforms have triggered waves of conflict over property rights and access to urban land in Vietnam. In this article I develop four epistemic case studies to explore the main precepts and practices that courts must negotiate to extend their authority over land disputes. Courts face a dilemma: Do they apply state laws that disregard community regulatory practices and risk losing social relevance, or apply community notions of situational justice that undermine rule formalism?

The native communities of San Martín and its representative organizations face innumerable challenges in relation to their lands and territory, environment, governance, identity, justice and physical integrity, among others. For many years the land titling process was stagnant due to lack of funding, but today, with the presence of several projects that have considerable sums destined to the degree, the natives are be prepared and trained in this subject, as well as in the multiplicity of issues that challenges them.

Communities around the world are reeling from the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic and measures taken to contain it. Now more than ever, the ability to know, use, and shape the law is critical. Access to health care and various forms of relief hinge on the ability to know one’s rights and navigate complex systems. As emergency actions escalate, citizens must ensure that governments do not use the pandemic as an excuse to entrench unjust or discriminatory policies.

Namati has created a list of COVID-19 resources that address topics relevant to grassroots justice groups (available as a Google Doc 52 or PDF 74). Inside, you’ll find reflections and advice on:

Since the reform era began in 1978, there have been significant changes in the nature and incidence of disputes, conflicts, and social disturbances, as well as the mechanisms for addressing them. As with economic and governance reforms, the government has adopted a pragmatic, problem-solving approach as it has attempted to meet the broad and, at times, conflicting goals of justice and efficiency while maintaining sociopolitical stability and rapid economic growth.

Most literature on land tenure in sub-Saharan Africa has presented women as a homogenous group. This study uses evidence from Ghana, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe to show that women have differentiated problems, needs, and statuses in their quest for land access and tenure security. It illustrates how women-to-women differences influence women’s access to land. By investigating differentiations in women’s land tenure in the three countries, the study identifies multiple and somewhat interlinked ways in which differentiations exist in women’s land tenure. It achieved some key outcomes.

This one-pager provides details on the LAND-at-scale project in Mozambique. This project is implemented by Centro Terra Viva and Terra Firma, and financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs via the Netherlands Enterprise & Development Agency. 

The recognition of customary tenure systems and responsible land-based investments that safeguard legitimate tenure rights and right holders are the interconnected main themes for mainstreaming the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT) in Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar and Viet Nam.

This Report is the outcome of a deep commitment on part of the Land Rights Initiative research team to create systematic knowledge on land issues in India with a view to meaningfully evaluating legal and policy initiatives that can contribute to creation of more equitable land regimes for all. The Report has been in the making for five years and yet remains a work in progress. The dismal plight of the Scheduled Tribes in India is the result of complex current and historical, institutional,social, political, and economic dynamics that have been difficult for us to assess in their totality.