The term ‘usurpation’ refers to the action of crafty or violent appropriation of something which is legitimately owned by someone else and is therefore; taken without right, acquired by fraud, or illegally possessed. The term is used to describe the global phenomenon of “land grabbing”, such as the rent or purchase of vast extensions of land in poorer developing countries (as is the case of Mozambique) by richer countries with food insecurity and by private investors of those same countries so as to produce or explore diverse goods for export.

A viabilidade e sustentabilidade dos sistemas modernos de protecção social, em países subdesenvolvidos como Moçambique, são geralmente avaliadas em torno dos mecanismos financeiros, como se a segurança humana da maioria da população dependesse principalmente da robustez, eficácia e eficiência dos sistemas económico-financeiros.

This chapter is an initial exploration and sharing of experiences and ideas based largely on a case study of a group of small farmers who have occupied and are producing on land that they believe they have an historical right to. The group, called Mahlahluvani – although they include people from other communities and claimant groups – are part of a land claim that has been lodged on the land they now occupy, but the claim is not yet settled.

This report provides an overview of the conflict in Loliondo, reviewing historical information, current land uses and tenure arrangements. 

This brief produced for the Dialogue Initiative on Large-Scale Land Acquisitions and their Alternatives provides an overview of the Principles for Responsible Agricultural Investment (RAI), developed by the World Bank, FAO, UNCTAD and IFAD in response to calls for guidelines to regulate the phenomenon of large-scale investment in land, or land grabbing.

The following lesson brief examines the land issues confronting returnees as well as the IDPs who remain in the camps in Uganda. In 2005, between 2.1 million and 2.4 million people were displaced by conflicts in northern Uganda.

This study documents women’s aspirations in relation to land in Kibaale district, Uganda. The study was designed to identify the gaps between those aspirations and the current reality, the actions required for their achievement, and the implications of those actions. Based on qualitative methods of data collection and analysis, information was gathered from 60 women belonging to the two villages, Nyanacumu and Kanywamiyaga, in the sub-county of Muhorro in Kibaale district. Researchers used appreciative inquiry, participant observation, narratives, focus groups, photos and video recording.

We the Rural Women’s Assembly of Southern Africa, meeting in Durban on the event of the 17th Conference of Parties of the UNFCCC in Durban from 30 November to 5 December 2011 demand that governments take the following immediate steps to address the clear and present danger posed to rural communities by the climate crisis.

This paper on agroecology and women's empowerment in Brazil includes a long section on "The Right to Land and Natural Resources in Brazil"  from a feminist perspective. It is published by the Association of Women’s Rights in Development (AWID). The summary of this article follows. 

This brief produced for the Dialogue Initiative on Large-Scale Land Acquisitions and their Alternatives provides an overview of the  Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land and Other Natural Resources.

This brief produced for the Dialogue Initiative on Large-Scale Land Acquisitions and their Alternatives provides an overview of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), the most inclusive international and intergovernmental platform to facilitate and coordinate work to ensure food security and nutrition for all.

You can get involved in the CFS through the Civil Society Mechanism. Check out http://cso4cfs.org/ to connect with your constituency and sub-regional focal points.