Construction of the Kandadji dam in Niger will involve, among other consequences, the appropriation of agricultural land owned by customary holders but also in many cases sub-holdings of other non-landowners. The government offered a long lease of 50 years for owners in compensation for their expropriated property rights.

How should the State compensate for the loss of the right of use by non-landowners farming land expropriated for the development of the Kandadji dam? This study aims to answer this question and proposes the use of a 'contract of occupation'.

The Kandadji dam, currently under construction in Niger, will displace 38,000 people. The High Commission for the Development of the Niger Valley (HCAVN), in accordance with national law, is committed to compensating people for the traditionally-owned land that they will lose.

37,891 inhabitants were displaced when the Kandadji dam was built in Niger. We carried out a study of the legal aspects of such displacement, examining ways for the State to optimise its investment whilst also seeking justice for displaced populations. This study weighs up the various options for managing legal processes within the affected areas of dams.

This study presents the results of field interviews with farmers, managers and the private sector from the Sélingué and Maninkoura (Mali) irrigation schemes to discuss how the current terms and conditions of the farming contract are implemented. These interviews focused on the functioning of the land management system as perceived by the stakeholders. The aim was to discuss the necessary and possible reforms of land tenure security which might allow a better development of smallholder farms.

Document language: 

French

Author(s): 

Moussa Djiré, Amadou Keita, Kadari Traoré

Le développement de l’irrigation fait partie des stratégies prioritaires dans les pays du Sahel pour lutter contre la pauvreté et l’insécurité alimentaire. À l’heure où les gouvernements s’engagent, une fois de plus, à augmenter les superficies irrigables, il a semblé pertinent d’analyser, conformément aux lignes directrices de la CEDEAO, les résultats obtenus sur des grands périmètres aménagés dans les années 80 et 90 afin d’en tirer les leçons pour les aménagements futurs.

The development of irrigation is one of the priority strategies in the Sahel countries to tackle poverty and food insecurity. At a time when governments are once again committing to increase irrigable areas, it seemed relevant to analyze, in line with the ECOWAS guidelines, the results achieved in large irrigated schemes developed in the 1980s and 1990s to draw lessons for future developments.

Le développement de l’irrigation fait partie des stratégies prioritaires dans les pays du Sahel pour lutter contre la pauvreté et l’insécurité alimentaire. À l’heure où les gouvernements s’engagent, une fois de plus, à augmenter les superficies irrigables, il a semblé pertinent d’analyser, conformément aux lignes directrices de la CEDEAO, les résultats obtenus sur des grands périmètres aménagés dans les années 80 et 90 afin d’en tirer les leçons pour les aménagements futurs.

The development of irrigation is one of the priority strategies in the Sahel countries to tackle poverty and food insecurity. At a time when governments are once again committing to increase irrigable areas, it seemed relevant to analyze, in line with the ECOWAS guidelines, the results achieved in large irrigated schemes developed in the 1980s and 1990s to draw lessons for future developments.

Globally, the conservation and tourism sector is being enthusiastically promoted as one of the key mechanisms to catalyze rural local economic development. This is particularly relevant in South Africa where tourism is considered an important sector for Black Economic Empowerment and community development. However, there is increasing concern that the impact of tourism and conservation on local communities is not always beneficial and can include a range of negative livelihoods consequences.

The exploitation of natural resources plays a critical role in the Uganda government’s plans to develop the country. Extractive industries are up scaling their activity as the sector is gearing up for the exploitation of oil and gaz by 2020. In a country where most people live off the land, the construction of industrial infrastructure carries great risks for the protection of fundamental rights.

This Expert Group Meeting (EGM1 ) was convened with the purpose of examining land indicators in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and promoting meaningful and harmonised approaches to monitoring women’s land rights (WLR)2 . It was convened by the Global Land Indicators Initiative (GLII) of the GLTN, UN Habitat, and Oxfam with inputs and assistance from Landesa, UN Women and Huairou Commission as part of a process of work on the development of methodologies for the land related SDG indicator monitoring.