After remarkable social and economic reconstruction since 1994, Rwanda aspires to become a middle income country by 2020 with a strong focus on inclusive growth. In this context the Government of Rwanda (GoR) has recognized the critical nature of land policy and agricultural growth.

The world today faces a wide range of critically important issues, whose resolution require inter- national collaboration of various stakeholders. Environmental conservation and conflict resolution are such examples. Interestingly enough, these two issues have been until very recently conceptual- ized as separate problems, and coordinated resolution came to be pursued only recently. This paper attempts to connect these two critical agendas by using the case study of land issues in Rwanda in Africa.

In a country with the highest population density of all Africa, and 95% of this population dependent on land, the question of land tenure is inevitably a vital issue. In Rwanda it is becoming even more crucial as marginal lands are cultivated, and competition for land, and thus a livelihood, increases. The currently prevailing land tenure systems in Rwanda vary from one area of the country to another, reflecting both differences in traditional customary laws, and the adoption, at varying degrees in different regions, of written law in place of customary law.

This paper examines Philippine policies on land and resource tenure as embodied in the 1987 Constitution and ten major laws on tenure, and then analyzes these policies in comparison to the Voluntary Guidelines, in order to identify areas of policy convergence, divergence and gaps. 

El artículo contiene propuestas sobre lo que SIPAE sugiere como temas clave en el debate hacia una nueva Ley de Tierras. Este es un aporte para incentivar la discusión en las organizaciones campesinas e indígenas, entre los expertos en la temática, para un proceso que está totalmente abierto. La posibilidad de colocar en el debate nacional una Ley de Tierras es un desafío para orientar y consolidar las demandas de redistribución de tierras, con un horizonte de Reforma Agraria

The International Land Coalition (ILC)’s Commercial Pressures on Land initiative aims to support the efforts of ILC members and other stakeholders to influence global, regional, and national processes to enable secure and equitable access to land for poor women and men in the face of increasing commercial demand. Its global research contains a careful and focused analysis of the gendered impacts of commercial pressures on land (CPL), and especially the impacts on women.

ABSTRACTED FROM THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Myanmar’s agricultural sector has for long suffered due to multiplicity of laws and regulations, deficient and degraded infrastructure, poor policies and planning, a chronic lack of credit, and an absence of tenure security for cultivators. These woes negate Myanmar’s bountiful natural endowments and immense agricultural potential, pushing its rural populace towards dire poverty. This review hopes to contribute to the ongoing debate on land issues in Myanmar.

PUBLISHER'S ABSTRACT: The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 13 September 2007. Since then, the importance of the role that indigenous peoples play in economic, social and environmental conservation through traditional sustainable agricultural practices has been gradually recognized.

PUBLISHER'S ABSTRACT: This report discusses the political, economic and social opportunities and constraints that will influence the design and implementation of REDD+ in Vietnam. In particular, four major direct drivers (land conversion for agriculture; infrastructure development; logging (illegal and legal); forest fire) and three indirect drivers (pressure of population growth and migration; the state's weak forest management capacity; the limited funding available for forest protection) of deforestation and degradation in Vietnam are discussed, along with their implications for REDD+.

ABSTRACTED FROM IIED WEBSITE INTRODUCTION: One of the outputs of a research project considering shifting cultivation in Thailand, Lao PDR and Vietnam. It considers the dynamics of shifting cultivation and alternative land use systems in the context of highland development in Thailand, gathered in order to provide up-to-date information to policymakers. The study includes examination of national policies relating to highland areas and the impacts of such policies on local communities and land use patterns.

This article explores the nature of property rights systems, their evolution, and their effect on resource allocation. It is argued that certain institutional arrangements for land rights have evolved in order to reduce uncertainty and increase efficiency in credit as well as in land markets. Of particular relevance to developing countries, the article emphasizes the contribution of public sector infrastructure to effective land rights systems.

The establishment or upgrading of cadastres and land registration systems is viewed by many as an essential infrastructure investment to be considered by less developed countries. Nevertheless, while many will agree that cadastres and land registration are useful, a decision to actually invest in establishing or expanding these activities will be easier to undertake if it is demonstrated that the resulting benefits are higher than those of other public investments. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to report the results of a recent study undertaken in rural Thailand.