News on Land
Get the latest news on land and property rights, brought to you by trusted sources from across the globe.
Queries over Sh73m pay to spy agency for digital land system
Parliament has questioned payment of Sh73 million to the National Intelligence Service (NIS) for an electronic land system that President Uhuru Kenyatta launched last month.
MPs put Lands Principal Secretary Nicholas Muraguri to task to explain why the spy agency was tapped to develop the Land Information Management System (LIMS).
The National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) demanded to know why the ministry received Sh73 million from the Ministry of ICT for the development of LIMS wired the cash to NIS.
Uluguru Spice Project changing lives of smallholder spice farmers
SPICE farmers in Ulugulu Mountains are earning windfall profits thanks to a project which has
introduced them to modern agriculture practices and use of hybrid seeds
A recent report by Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania said over 1,500 farmers from the Uluguru Mountains catchment area and 172 model farmers from other regions backed by 31 agriculture extension officers are benefited directly from the Uluguru Spice Project.
81 Indigenous leaders, environmental defenders slam BlackRock in open letter
- A letter signed by Indigenous leaders and environmental defenders from the Amazon, West Africa, Southeast Asia and elsewhere blasts BlackRock for failing to hold companies in its investment portfolio accountable for deforestation and land grabs.
- “While BlackRock makes pledges to ask portfolio companies to cut emissions in the future, our forests are being razed, our land is being stolen, and our people are being killed, today,” the letter said.
- Last week, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, published new guidelines related to “nat
Front Line Defenders condemns the continued attacks against human rights defender Elvis Brown Luma Mukuna
Front Line Defenders strongly condemns the systematic targeting and continued attacks against human rights defender Elvis Brown Luma Mukuna. The recent attacks against the human rights defender appear to be part of a pattern of reprisals for his legitimate and peaceful work in defence of human rights.
Pension and endowment funds linked to conflict-plagued oil palm in DRC
- A new report from the Oakland Institute, a policy think tank, reveals that several well-known pension funds, trusts and endowments are invested in a group of oil palm plantations in the Democratic Republic of Congo accused of environmental and human rights abuses.
- Plantations et Huileries du Congo (PHC) was recently purchased by two African private equity investors, and several European development banks have invested millions of dollars in the company’s operations.
Explainer: What does it mean to invest ‘ethically’ or with ‘impact’?
Demand for funds which cherry pick investments with strong environmental, social or governance (ESG) credentials has surged in recent years.
Many of these funds include terms such as 'ethical' or 'impact' in their names. But what do these words actually mean?
Below is a glossary of the key terms often used to describe investment styles and processes.
SUSTAINABLE/RESPONSIBLE INVESTING
Oil company exploring in sensitive elephant habitat accused of ignoring community concerns
State pursues land for Lokichar-Lamu oil pipeline
The process of land acquisition for the laying of the 824-km Lokichar-Lamu Oil Pipeline, also known as the Kenya Crude Oil Pipeline, is expected to be completed in December.
Petroleum and Mining CS John Munyes has said through the Lapsset and the National Land Commission, the government is engaging communities in six counties to give up their land.
“That is the condition. Until we get the land and then the private sector comes in and the government puts money to lay the pipeline. We will have to wait,” said the CS.
Decree Amending Several Provisions of Mexico’s General Law of Sustainable Forestry Development
On April 26, 2021, the Decree amending several provisions of Mexico’s General Law of Sustainable Forestry Development was published in the Federal Official Gazette (DOF). The Decree is effective as of April 27.
In relevant part, the Decree’s amendments include the following:
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Changes to land use of forest land will be subject to analysis of carbon storage capacity, in addition to the existing requirements set forth in the current law.
Thailand: Land Rights Activist Gunned Down
(New York) – Thai authorities should immediately investigate the killing of Somsak Onchuenjit, a lawyer and land rights activist, in Trang province in southern Thailand, Human Rights Watch said today. Successive Thai governments have failed to prevent or adequately respond to attacks against human rights defenders who represent landless farmers.
Govt Announces Mass Verification of Title Deeds
The Ministry of Lands and Planning is set to embark on mass verification of title deeds in Nairobi's Thome area following reports of fraudulent land transactions.
In a notice, the Lands CS stated that the validation exercise of the title deeds in Nairobi Block 110 would commence from May 24 to June 2021.
The exercise, she noted, would apply to all plot owners in the area to establish the validity of the records showing ownership.
NEMA right to allow sugarcane growing on Bugoma Forest land - Judge
The High Court in Kampala has ruled that National Environmental Authority was right to allow sugarcane growing on Bugoma Forest land.
Conservationists including Water and Environment Media Network Uganda Limited (WEMNET-U), National Association of Professional Environmentalists(NAPE) and the African Institute for Energy Governance went to court challenging the Environment and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) report approved by NEMA that allowed Hoima Sugar Limited to conduct sugarcane growing in the disputed Bugoma Central Forest Reserve.