While many people in the developing world lack secure property rights and access to adequate resources, women have less access to land than men do in all regions and in many countries (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations [FAO], 2011b). Women across the developing world are consistently less likely to own land, have fewer rights to land, and the land they do own or have access to is of lower quality in comparison to men
(FAO, 2011b).

The Constitution of Kenya 2010 apportions responsibility of planning to both National and County governments. The County Government Act, 2012 obligates county governments to prepare and implement County Integrated Development Plans (CIDP). The CIDPs are, according to the act, five year plans that will form the basis of annual budgetary allocation by the county governments.

2016 saw a record 200 killings of people defending their land, forests and rivers against destructive industries.

It has never been deadlier to take a stand against companies that steal land and destroy the environment. Our new report Defenders of the Earth found that nearly four people were murdered every week in 2016 protecting their land and the natural world from industries like mining, logging and agribusiness.

In Timor-Leste, customary institutions contribute to sustainable and equitable rural development and the establishment of improved access to and management of land, water and other natural resources. Drawing on multi-sited empirical research, we argue that the recognition and valorization of custom and common property management is a prerequisite for sustainable and equitable land tenure reform in Timor-Leste.

The acquisition of land by foreigners in developing countries has emerged as a key mechanism for foreign direct investment (FDI). FDI is defined by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as the category of international investment that reflects the objective of a resident entity in one economy to obtain a lasting interest in an enterprise resident in another economy.

In Kenya, insecure land tenure and inequitable access to land, forest and water resources have contributed to conflict and violence, which has in turn exacerbated food insecurity. To address these interlinked problems, a new set of laws and policies on food security and land governance are currently being introduced or designed by the Government of Kenya. The new Food Security Bill explicitly recognizes the link between food security and land access, and the 2012 land laws target the corrupt system of land administration that made much of Kenya’s land grabbing possible.

In Kenya, insecure land tenure and inequitable access to land and natural resources have contributed to conflict and violence, which has in return exacerbated food insecurity. Most farmers in Kenya have no legal title for the land on which they farm. Sources of tenure insecurity can be ethnic conflicts over land between neighbouring communities, particularly in the Northern provinces, expropriation by the state or local government and land grabbing by local elite or companies. Competition is as well growing over water, especially over groundwater, which is scarce in Kenya.

Land plays a vital and central role in the economic, social-cultural and political lives of both individuals and communities. Given its centrality in the socio-economic and political spheres, national goals such as economic development, poverty reduction, social and political stability are closely linked to land. Land provides the livelihood base for the bulk of the population especially in the rural areas where agriculture is the main occupation. Despite their importance, land and environment in Kenya have suffered decades of mismanagement that has led to the current state of degradation.

Land acquisitions, either driven by foreign investments or domestic investment needs have continued to polarize opinions. When this research was proposed, it was premised on arguments by scholars Ruth Meinzen-Dick and Helen Markelova, who had analysed agricultural land deals, and argued that there were potentially two schools of thought about foreign acquisitions over agricultural land.

Kenya is going through a period of intense transition. The country's main development policy, Vision 2030, is just entering the second Medium Term Plan of Implementation from 2013. The development priorities focus extensively on large scale investments, for industrial, irrigated agriculture, utilization of newly discovered natural resources, and infrastructure development. Land is therefore a central commodity for realization of the sought after socioeconomic transformation.

Kenya is currently implementing a number of large scale infrastructure and development projects aimed at trans forming the country into a newly industrializing, middle-income country. For this, the government has had to compulsorily acquire large tracts of land upon which the infrastructure is set.

The Land Act, 2012

The Land Registration Act, 2012

The National Land Commission Act, 2012

The Environment & Land Court Act, 2011

The Urban Areas & Cities Act, 2011