Three separate ‘on my mind’ articles by Professor Mbilinyi: Making National Land Policy inclusive and people-centred; In whose interest will this National Land Policy be?; Questions about the National Land Policy, 2016. Draft NLP just released for external consultation. Shares the views of other researchers.

In 2013, 20 expert advocates from across Africa gathered for a symposium to share experiences and practical strategies for effectively supporting communities to protect their lands and natural resources. Resulting from that meeting, this book is a collection of case studies and analysis written by and for practitioners, sharing a variety of creative and practical strategies for proactively confronting the forces that undermine community land and natural resource tenure security in Africa.

Calls on the World Bank to freeze for 6 months all lending to projects that involve or enable agricultural large-scale land acquisitions. Includes an opportunity cost too high, the pivotal role of the World Bank, vital areas for progress, time to call a halt, recommendations.

Based on 2002 fieldwork in four rural communities in Manica Province. Divided into 5 sections: overview – main points; case studies and methodology; effects of the 1997 Land Law in rural communities; problems encountered during implementation; recommendations; conclusion. Includes suspicion of the legal system, effects of legal knowledge, greater awareness of rights, class inequalities, conflicts between political parties, corruption and ignorance of local officials, attitudes to investors.

Includes key policy areas; the legal framework governing land in Malawi; the Green Belt initiative and the New Alliance: threats or development opportunities?; case studies of large-scale acquisitions in Malawi – out-grower schemes in Nkhotakota and Chikwawa districts; recommendations. Brief illustrates the further accelerate land concentration among local elites and the exposure of many to landlessness and food insecurity.

Presents a legal analysis of the national legislation that relates to Indigenous Peoples’ and communities’ forest tenure rights at a global scale by assessing whether the legal systems of 27 of the most forested developing countries of the world recognize the rights of Indigenous Peoples and communities to access, withdraw, manage, exclude and alienate to forest resources and land. The countries included in this study are home to 2.2 billion rural people and include approximately 75% of the forests in the developing world.

Includes key issues; the rise of development-induced displacements; key findings on the resettlement process; evaluating the proposed National Resettlement Policy; recommendations. Brief argues reforms need to be cognisant of the ways and means in which communities have been displaced and resettled in recent cases of land-based investments, and learn lessons from them.

Presents an example of a biofuels production project and its value chain to argue that there is a need for a land and investment policy to guide communities, investors and stakeholders. The expansion of commercial sugarcane farming and the establishment of an ethanol refinery at Chisumbanje in Chipinge District present both opportunities and risks for rural people. Without clarity on land tenure, investors are faced with challenges when deciding the extent to which they can put their money into agriculture.

Investigates the processes and impact of commercialisation of land in Malawi – specifically the acquisition of huge tracts of communal lands by foreign companies and local elites for sugarcane production in Nkhotakota and Chikwawa districts. The main finding was that ‘land grabbing’ for large-scale commercial agriculture in these two districts negatively affected the livelihoods of the poor communal farmers. The costs to the affected communities outweighed the benefits

Notes from a conference on land grabbing in Southeast Asia at Chiang Mai University, Thailand, 5-6 June. Covers colonial and post-colonial plantations; the infrastructural violence of plantations; winners and losers – gender and generation; what then is the future for small-scale and family farmers?; state power, private capital and people’s rights; comparative thoughts

Looking at several large-scale land deals in Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia, this documentary film highlights the nuanced impacts of these investments. Small-scale farmers and producers, national government officials, and African policy-makers unpack the deals, showing that there are winners and losers when providing investors access to large tracts of land in Africa. For example, land deals impact differently on women and youth, and altering land regimes also impacts on access to other natural resources such as water, fish, and local indigenous vegetables.

Report based on fieldwork in Chisumbanje seeks to understand: 1) the interest and role of the Zimbabwe Government and its contribution to the first large-scale private investments undertaken by GreenFuel in Chisumbanje; 2) the impact of the project on local communities’ land rights and livelihoods; 3) the role of the local institutions in facilitating and mediating investment, particularly on land; 4) the capacity of local and national institutions to structure a land agreement palatable to the local communities; and 5) the role of GreenFuel as the land user.