In early 2015, Maasai and Datoga citizens living in the Morogoro region of Tanzania were victims of deadly, ethnic violence. According to reports from local media, the assaults were instigated by public figures interested in acquiring land, and state authorities have not intervened to protect Maasai citizens. Police protection has instead been given to others who are illegally cultivating officially registered Maasai land. 

This briefing note call attention to the ongoing situation of harassments and arbitrary arrests of human rights defenders in Loliondo in northern Tanzania.It offers an account of the recent events taking place in the area and background information.

IWGIA believes that these developments are a cause of great concern. The detentions, harassment and trumped up charges undermine civil society and other stakeholders, limiting their options to carry out human rights work in Tanzania.

Beginning in the mid-1970s through to the 1980s, Tanzania experienced a severe socio-economic crisis. In an attempt to turn things around the abating economy and accelerate economic growth, the government embarked on a broad range of radical policy, legislation, and institution reforms, which opened doors for foreign direct investments (FDIs) and further initiatives have been taken to create an enabling environment for investments to flourish in the country.

This paper analyses the resettlement process and procedures followed during the displacement of communities from Kipawa and Kigilagila settlements to pave way for the expansion of the Dar es Salaam International Airport in Dar es Salaam city. The paper is based on findings of a PhD research project carried out between 2010 and 2013 that explored procedures and process which caused displacement of the receiving community while resettling the displaced residents from Kipawa and Kigilagila.

This paper analyses the resettlement process and procedures followed during the displacement of communities from Kipawa and Kigilagila settlements to pave way for the expansion of the Dar es Salaam International Airport in Dar es Salaam city. The paper is based on findings of a PhD research project carried out between 2010 and 2013 that explored procedures and process which caused displacement of the receiving community while resettling the displaced residents from Kipawa and Kigilagila.

In various countries around the world, land expropriation is considered as a major tool used by governments to assemble tracts of land for various activities aiming at public interest. However, determination of compensation which is regarded as a pre-requisite for land expropriation has been a source of controversy in this process. This paper attempts to find out how land valuation for compensation during expropriation is carried out in Rwanda, considering two expropriation projects in Kigali city.

Large scale land acquisition is a buzzword of the day in the world, more so in Ethiopia. The issue is indeed polarizing, in one hand it is dubbed as land grab and seen as ultimate scramble for land. On the other hand, it is often depicted as key to development, technology transfer and boost in productivity of an otherwise idle land available in Ethiopian lowlands, or somewhere else.

Under Vietnam’s State land ownership regime, the Government holds supreme authority over compulsory land acquisition. The results show that many improvements in land acquisition policies have been made, but poor implementation measures largely cannot prevent or even mitigate the adverse impacts on displaced persons. In particular, ineffective compensation measures and a lack of production land and livelihood alternatives accelerate the resistance of communities displaced as a result of hydropower development.

Who can access and use the land? The answer to this age-old question is changing fast in many parts of rural Africa. Land that used to be allocated within the community by chiefs is now increasingly changing hands in more diverse ways. The wealthy and well-connected within the community or from further afield are frequently able to override local statutory or customary land rights, dispossessing the previous occupants or forcing them to divide their already small plots of land.

The purpose of the research is to assess the land governance system in preventing state land conflicts in Zambia. In order to obtain insights about the actual realities on the ground, based on a case study strategy (i.e. Lusaka District has a study area), the research examined the present status of state land governance system, and investigated the efficiency of the present state land governance system in preventing state land conflicts.

This input by Dr Aninka Claassens Director of the Land and Accoutability Centre at the University of Cape Town was presented as part of a five day short couse on the political economy of land mining and rural democracy. It provides a detailed history of processes and events which continue to shape South Africa's rural hinterland in the contemprary era.