This Decree-Law, consisting of 14 articles, amends the Sinai Development Law, by extending the period of land use from 30 to 50 years and boost the maximum period up to 75 rather than 50 years. In addition, the amendment states exemptions — to be granted by a presidential decree — for the required percentage of Egyptian shareholders in companies holding lands in Sinai. These exempted companies must undertake not to change the structure of their shareholders until the end of the project.

Land tenure is one of the great challenges Habitat for Humanity faces in helping families access decent housing. Countless families around the world lack rights to the land on which they live. Just imagine the stress of knowing that any day you might be forced to move because someone else claims ownership of the place you call home.

The history of modern land management and administration in Cambodia begins with French initiatives in the late 19th century. The first Civil Code was adopted in 1920 and it established a system of French land law that recognized private property rights. Some traditional Cambodian rights, in particular that of creating a land right simply by occupation and possession, were included in the Civil Code. During the 1960s there was an adequate system of land management, including confirmation of private property rights with land records including cadastral maps and land titles.

In 2014-2015, the Asian Farmers Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA) implemented a project entitled “Popularizing the VGGT Among Small Scale Farmers Organizations, Relevant National Government and Inter-governmental Organizations” with the support of the International Land Coalition (ILC).

In Kenya, insecure land tenure and inequitable access to land, forest and water resources have contributed to conflict and violence, which has in turn exacerbated food insecurity. To address these interlinked problems, a new set of laws and policies on food security and land governance are currently being introduced or designed by the Government of Kenya. The new Food Security Bill explicitly recognizes the link between food security and land access, and the 2012 land laws target the corrupt system of land administration that made much of Kenya’s land grabbing possible.

Customary communal tenure is characteristic of many local shifting cultivation upland communities in S.E. Asia. These communities have strong ancestral relationships to their land, which has never been held under individual rights, but considered common property of the village. Communal tenure has been the norm and land has never been a commodity...

Customary Tenure and Land Alienation in Myanmar:
"Customary communal tenure is characteristic of many local upland communities in S.E. Asia. These
communities have strong ancestral relationships to their land, which has never been held under
individual rights, but considered common property of the village. Communal tenure has been the
norm and land has never been a commodity. This is an age-old characteristic of many societies
globally. Prior to the publication in 1861 of Ancient Law by the English jurist Henry Sumner Maine,

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS:-
(1) TO MYANMAR LAWYERS:
"a. Lawyers need to form strong networks and associations to support farmers, ethnic groups and community organizations...
b. Lawyers need to develop new skills to participate in policy advocacy, including collecting data about current practices, and engage in a national debate about land rights...
c. Lawyers working on land rights cases need to use all available tools to strengthen their case work (see annex 2 for a list of practical actions lawyers can take).....
(2) TO CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS:

The government has promised to secure ethnic rights and the rights of original landowners in setting a new national land use policy...A national forum to discuss a draft national land use policy, which will create a framework for a new national land law, was held on June 29 and 30 in Nay Pyi Taw. Discussion was dominated by the question of the rights of ethnic community organisations and other rights groups.

In the recent past, high profile cases involving land governance problems have been thrust into the public domain. These include the case involving the grabbing of a playground belonging to Lang’ata Road Primary School in Nairobi and the tussle over a 134 acre piece of land in Karen. Land ownership and use have been a great source of conflict among communities and even families in Kenya, a situation exacerbated by corruption.

 
En este número de la serie quincenal Diálogos presentamos una entrevista lograda en Puerto Maldonado, capital del departamento Madre de Dios, en plena Amazonía peruana. Como podrán apreciar las y los lectores, su contenido es muy ilustrativo sobre la historia corta de esa región en general y, de forma particular, sobre la historia del pueblo Esse Ejja, protagonista de una ardua ruta de tensiones y desafíos sobre la vida en la selva. La entrevista fue realizada por la investigadora Ruth Bautista Durán y transcrita por María Julia Fernández, secretaria del IPDRS.

Opinion and analysis on business and human rights issues in Myanmar...For the last two days I have been at the Workshop on the National Land Use Policy Formulation held at the Myanmar International Convention Centre in Nay Pyi Taw. Under discussion was the 6th, and likely final, draft of the National Land Use Policy. (Available here: http://www.fdmoecaf.gov.mm/documents)