Members of rural communities in Namibia often lack a basic understanding of what their user rights and responsibilities are under the Communal Land Reform Act and are also unaware of their rights to object to a proposed land allocation or to appeal a decision once made. The large-scale acquisition of land for agriculture and conservation projects often displace local communities or reduce their access to control and ownership of key resources due to the gaps between good legislation and inadequate implementation and enforcement.

The LANDac Conference 2018 looked at land governance through the lens of mobility. Land acquisitions trigger migration and yield other types of mobility such as capital, goods and ideas. Ensuing land claims raise new questions for land governance. So far, the discussion has focused on respecting land rights, informing local residents and offering fair compensation. The conference explored the question: Given the variety of mobility, what are good ways forward in land governance?

Data and information on land are fundamental for enabling smallholder farmers to gain secure access and control over their land, which provides the basis for investing in their operations.
This briefing paper outlines the importance and benefits of increasing the availability and accessibility of land information in support of improved food security and nutrition.

One of the world's major buyers of farmland is under fire for their involvement in land conflicts, environmental destruction and risky investments. A new report by GRAIN and Rede Social de Justiça e Direitos Humano presents, for the first time, a comprehensive analysis of Harvard University's controversial investments in global farmland.

The report finds that:

This moderated online dialogue was facilitated by Phuhlisani NPC in association with the Land Portal. Phuhlisani NPC has drafted this report on the key issues surfaced through the dialogue. 

Dialogue objectives
The dialogue provided an online forum to explore different perspectives on the content of a pro-poor programme of land reform programme that can:

The Chinese central government has consistently taken decisive legal and policy measures over the past 35 years to secure, enhance, and expand farmers’ rights to farmland and forest land in order to reduce the gap in income and consumption between urban citizens and their counterparts in mountainous forest areas.

March 2014 – Inheritance is the overwhelming way land is acquired in India, but societal practices exclude women from inheriting land. The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act 2005, an inheritance law that covers 83.6% of the population of India, corrected some fundamental inequalities in the law bringing the women in equal status to men in the right to inherit land. However, eight years after its enactment, the ground reality is that women still do not inherit land on an equal basis with men.

Since 2008 there has been a rapid increase in the level of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in agricultural land in Sub Saharan Africa and South East Asia. In 2008-2009 land acquisitions were estimated to be approximately 56 million hectares, 70-75% of which were in Africa (although it is likely that many leases are still pending or not yet executed). Large scale land acquisitions are primarily for agricultural development (circa 80%). The remaining 20% are dominated by extractives and infrastructure.

This short, desk-top study investigates and reviews how technology is being used in developing countries to promote transparency around land acquisitions. This includes reactive solutions to identify and highlight what land acquisitions have taken place and proactive solutions that promote and protect land rights from future land acquisitions.

DFID are looking to propose that the UK supports a package of measures to strengthen land transparency and ultimately governance. This work is of a high priority for DFID and the wider UK Government. Following further research on the evidence and internal discussions, DFID have identified a gap relating to two specific questions:

1.    What are the impacts of large-scale land acquisitions (LSA) on local food insecurity and malnutrition levels? 
2.    Is there a difference in impacts whether investments are international or local? 

The series of studies discussed in this overview pull together updated information about large-scale land acquisitions in the region, with the aim of identifying trends, common threats, divergences and possible solutions. As well as summarising trends in investment, trade, crop development and land tenure arrangements, the studies focus on the land tenure and human rights challenges.

A wave of commercial investments in the natural resource sectors has rekindled debates about the place of contracts in the interface between economic governance and control over natural resources.