The Inspection Panel is an independent complaint mechanism for people who believe that they have been, or are likely to be, adversely affected by a World Bank-funded project. The Panel provides for accountability and redress through its process and its assessment of Bank compliance with operational policies.

Urban LandMark visited DFID London from 12 to 13 November 2012 to present the organisation' s recent work on and approach to improving access to urban land and property rights.The main objective of the visit was to showcase Urban LandMark's work, impact and lessons learnt over the last seven years to a broader, more global audience, as well as to a larger audience within DFID, Urban LandMark's main funder over the past six years.

Read more at http://www.urbanlandmark.org.za/newsletter/issue/0801/04.php

Ekta Parishad along with support organisations launched a decisive movement called Jan Satyagrah whose focus was to bring together people’s voices for a ‘National Land Reforms Act & Policy’ as a broad framework and means of land re-distribution to the landless and homeless poor.

Please find here the report of the online discussion facilitated by Ekta Parishad on the land portal in December 2012 : Is the right to land for shelter a human right? Many thanks to all of the participants for their very interesting inputs, which will contribute to the ongoing negociations with the indian government.

Special thanks to Dominik Pauli for his great support and commitment.

This work aims to contribute to the debate on social conflicts generated by coastal development and the process of land tenure reform as a conflict resolution mechanism. We will present the case of the Territorios Costeros Comunitarios reform movement (TECOCOS) currently mobilized in Costa Rica and integrated by over 60 coastal communities. This reform movement initiated in reaction to a recent wave of planned evictions threatening specific coastal communities on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica, following a decade of aggressive coastal tourism development.

The Sustainable Rangeland Management Project (SRMP) aims at securing land and resource
rights of pastoralists, agro-pastoralists and crop farmers, while improving land management
by supporting village and district land use planning and rangeland management in Kiteto,
Bahi, Chamwino and Kondoa Districts in Tanzania. More broadly, it aims at influencing policy

The Cities Alliance-funded Tenure Security Facility Southern Africa 2012 programme aims to provide specialist tenure technical assistance and advisory services to slum upgrading initiatives in the region. The work also aims to contribute to improved access to land for poorer people, which in turn contributes to improved livelihoods, active citizenship and wealth creation. Read more

The report of the discussion that took place online in September 2012 is now online!!! (Special thanks to Andrea...) Check it in the attachement below. Do not hesitate to contact us for more information, we would be glad to recveive more feed back from you. Jai jagat!

[via UNDP, 2008] These 4 Policy Briefs from UNDP show how increasing knowledge about gender relations and empowerment has highlighted the importance of access to and control over land within intra-household gender relations, and what this implies for broader concerns about empowerment of the poor.  Moreover, significant knowledge gaps are also found in discussions on the link between land policies and cultural, territorial and gender empowerment issues.

Urban land markets have a profound effect on how well poor households are able to access the jobs, amenities and services offered in the city. But often the way in which this market works frustrate attempts to open up better located living and business opportunities for poorer urban households and communities, despite government policies and programmes intended to address these challenges. The challenge in South Africa is even larger because of worsening poverty and inequality, and the continuing growth of cities through urbanisation.

'Transforming Cities with Transit' explores the complex process of transit and land-use integration in rapidly growing cities in developing countries. As one of the most promising strategies for advancing environmental sustainability, economic competitiveness, and socially inclusive development in fast-growing cities, transit and land-use integration is increasingly being embraced by policy-makers at all levels of government. This book focuses on identifying barriers to and opportunities for effective coordination of transport infrastructure and urban development.