The purpose of this study was to assess the bio-energy sector in Tanzania and to critically inquire the threats, benefits and opportunities to smallscale producers and sustainable environment management. Based on the terms of references this study focused on areas where land is earmarked or already in use for production of biofuels in Tanzania for both large and small-scale firms. The development of policy of liquid biofuels and other policies in general were examined.

This report springs from series of field visits.Its aim was, among others, to examine further the extent of human rights violations suffered by pastoralists in Kilombero and Rufiji valley during the evictions. It additionally makes recommendations including the need for lobbying against the State’s contempt of court orders

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.

Front Line Defenders

On 23 January 2013 Front Line Defenders released its fourth Annual Report on Global Challenges facing Human Rights Defenders around the World in 2012.

The report explores the situation on both the global and regional level including several countries examined in focus namely: Burundi, Vietnam, Guatemala Kazakhstan and Algeria. It highlights the 'unabated' targeting of human rights defenders for their work documenting abuses, exposing corruption, or pushing for reform.

The results of the Febraury 2013 Land Portal discussion "Using online platforms to increase access to open data and share best practices of monitoring women’s land rights" have been synthesized and incorporated into a new Land Portal paper entitled Connecting people, sharing knowledge, increasing transparency: Using the Land Portal to increase access to open data, share best practices. The paper will be presented at the upcoming Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty 2013, but is available now on the Land Portal:

The Inspection Panel is an independent complaints 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 through assessment of Bank's compliance with operational policies. The process is designed to pro-vide redress to affected people and address issues of policy non-compliance and harm.

La felicidad en cientos de rostros campesinos el pasado 19 de octubre, podía ser comparada con la sensación que da la bendición de una cosecha abundante, ya que la lucha de más de dos años y medio, obtenía su primer fruto: ¡tierras para las primeras 140 familias desalojadas en el Valle del Polochic, en marzo de 2011!

This publication forms a part of a two volume training package on Tools to Improve Transparency in Land Administration. The training package comprises a Training Toolkit and a Trainers' Guide. The first provides content and the latter training methods. The publication is a product of a series of training workshops implemented across Sub-Sahara Africa, South and South East Asia. Under the leadership of the GLTN/UN-Habitat, the training brought together six universities from the global South and one from Europe.

A Summary of Demands that were Presented by pastoralists and hunter-gatherers organizations before the Constitutional Review Commission in January 2013

This research report examines the changing role and function of civil society in South Africa pre and post-1994, and its changing relations with the state through successive presidencies. It presents a four quadrant typology of civil society organisations

A diagnostic study of the development potential of livestock for the rice-based economy of the Office du Niger (ON) was conducted in Mali. The functioning of selected farming systems and value chains were studied by means of interviews, surveys and farmer group discussions. The findings show that in the ON rice remains the prime agricultural activity; although half of the farm households own cattle (for capital insurance and draught power), livestock management is troublesome because of a lack of grazing land and water points.

Based on case studies in Guatemala, Nigeria, Tanzania and the Philippines. Contains introduction: shaping agricultural investments and markets for inclusion; getting the basics right: the wider policy environment; policies for inclusive agricultural investment and inclusive market governance; conclusions: policy and advocacy priorities for inclusive agricultural investments and market development.