Land and property rights are an essential to building just and equitable societies. Yet Prindex data shows that more than 1 in 4 people living in the Middle East and North Africa fear for these rights – a higher proportion than anywhere else in the world.
Environment, forest and climate change minister Md Shahab Uddin on Sunday directed the country’s eight divisional commissioners for taking measures not to lease out forestlands to individuals and businesses and to evict the grabbers of forestlands.
At a routine meeting with the divisional commissioners at his office, Shahab Uddin asked the officials to pass on the order to all 64 deputy commissioners not to lease out anymore forestland in protecting the country’s forests.
What is the state of land information in South Africa? Is there really a lack of land data to support decisions and to improve land governance? This was the point of departure that a team of specialists grappled with to uncover the many different sources of land data and information available in South Africa. For the very first time, they attempted to systematically review and categorize the entire ecosystem of data and information related to key land topics in the country, assessing over 104 land datasets from 59 different sources.
The spread of COVID-19 in South Africa and other countries in the region has again brought to the fore the fact that very dense, under-serviced, mostly informal, settlements are not healthy places to live. They are also places where the spread of a disease is difficult to prevent or manage.
The kind of emergency response that was required to address the imminent spread of COVID-19 highlighted the widespread vulnerability of the poorest, compounded by highly unequal access to services and ongoing unhealthy living conditions.
Attempts by the Agricultural Land Reform Office (Alro) to revamp its regulations to allow Sor Por Kor landholders to use their plots for non-agricultural purposes have raised real doubts about possible foul play, as illegitimate windfalls could be handed over to the rich and unscrupulous politicians.
Under its new policy, non-farming activities to be allowed under the new regulations being vetted in parliament include running apartment buildings, gas stations and food-processing plants, among others. Illegal occupants will be made tenants of state land.
Hundreds of people gathered in front of the Koh Kong Provincial Court on November 18 to await the sentencing of their three community land representatives who were accused of defamation related to a land dispute.
Provincial court prosecutor Un Sovantheany identified the three activists as Phao Nherng, Seng Lin and Khon Phon. They were sued for defamation by one of their former fellow representatives, Chhay Vy.
Vy said the three had falsely accused her of persuading people living in Sre Ambel district’s Chi Khor Leu commune to sell their community land.
News curated via knowledgebase.land
