This video presents the experiences of small scale women and men farmers, fishers, and indigenous peoples with agricultural land investments and their impact on their lives and livelihoods.

AFA Cases on Large Scale Land Acquisition in Asia

* Themes: All the reports in this month’s issue are about various types of Land Grabbing and Confiscation, and a few incidents of other violations, committed by members of the Burmese army and their cronies during mid and late 2012...

1 Background The Pastoral and Agro-Pastoral Land Tenure and Administration Study (PALTAS) was launched because of the compelling need to identify and recommend policy that clarify and strengthen the land rights of pastoralists and agro-pastoralists and put in place appropriate administrative mechanisms to enforce their rights. It was designed to assess the land tenure problems in the pastoral and agro-pastoral areas of Oromia, SNNP, Gambella, Afar, and Somali regional states.

Land grabbing is an urgent concern for people in Tanintharyi Division, and
ultimately one of national and international concern, as tens of thousands of people are being displaced
for the Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ). Dawei lies within Myanmar’s (Burma) southernmost
region, the Tanintharyi Division, which borders Mon State to the North, and Thailand to the East, on
territory that connects the Malay Peninsula with mainland Asia. This highly populated and prosperous

Although Myanmar/Burma has undergone unprecedented political change in recent months, the country is currently grappling with a severe land grabbing and speculation crisis. The DS Director, Scott Leckie, was requested to provide guidance to the Government about how to address these pressing issues, the views of which are contained in a guidance note on land grabbing and speculation which can be viewed here. DS’ landmark study Myanmar at the HLP Crossroads will be released in the coming weeks

The complaint letter below, signed by 25 local community members, was written in July 2011 and raises villagers' concerns related to the construction of the Kanchanaburi – Tavoy [Dawei] highway linking Thailand and the Tavoy deep sea port. Villagers described concerns that the highway would bisect agricultural land and destroy crops under cultivation worth 3,280,500 kyat (US $3,657). In response to these concerns, local community members formed a group called the 'Village and Public Sustainable Development' to represent villagers' concerns and request compensation.

This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during April 2012 in Ler Mu Lah Township, Mergui/Tavoy District by a community member trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The community member interviewed 40-year-old G--- village head, Saw K---, who described abusive practices perpetrated by the Tatmadaw in his village throughout the previous four year period, including forced labour, arbitrary taxation in the form of both goods and money, and obstructions to humanitarian relief, specifically medical care availability and education support.

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.

38 000 habitants seront déplacées lors de la construction du barrage de Kandadji au Niger. Nous avons réalisé une étude sur les aspects juridiques de ce déplacement, en examinant des moyens permettant à l’État d’optimiser son investissement tout en veillant à ce que la compensation des populations déplacées soit juste. Cette étude pèse le pour et le contre des différents modes de gestion des processus juridiques au sein des zones affectées par un barrage.

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.

INDEX 2.0 RECENT EVENTS 3.0 PROTECTING LIVESTOCK MOBILITY ROUTES: LESSONS LEARNED 4.0 KENYA’S CONSTITUTION 2010 What will it mean for tenure security in rangelands? ‘Equal rights for women’ say Maasai elders 5.0 CAN VILLAGE LAND USE PLANNING WORK FOR RANGELANDS? 6.0 PROTECTING RIGHTS OF HUNTER-GATHERERS IN TANZANIA 7.0 OTHER NEWS FROM THE REGION Improving rangeland quality through land use planning Developing policies in Uganda 8.0 LAUNCH OF RANGELAND OBSERVATORY