Various multilateral organisations, for instance the World Bank, the Food and Agricultural Organisation have been at the forefront of the different programmes designed to enhance tenure security of landholders as the basis for long-term agricultural development. This has been the case especially in parts of the world where customary systems of tenure are predominant. Wily argues that ‘so little of sub-Saharan Africa is subject to formal entitlements as legally recognised private properties’.

 Writ­ten sub­mis­sions on the Regulation of Agricultural Land Holdings Draft Bill made to the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform 

Writ­ten sub­mis­sions on the MPRDA Amend­ment Bill 15D of 2013 to the Gaut­eng Leg­is­la­ture, made on behalf of the Land Access Move­ment of South Africa (LAM­OSA), the Amadiba Cri­sis Com­mit­tee (ACC), and Bench Marks Foun­da­tion.

This thesis examines the extent to which Kenya’s domestic legal framework vindicates indigenous peoples’ land rights. The question of who is an indigenous person in Kenya is, of course, controversial. In order to avoid becoming enmeshed in this debate, this thesis adopts the approach of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which is based on identifying the key concerns faced by marginalised communities who self-identify as indigenous peoples.

Kenya is the most recent African state to acknowledge customary tenure as producing lawful property rights, not merely rights of occupation and use on government or public lands. This paper researches this new legal environment. This promises land security for 6 to 10 million Kenyans, most of who are members of pastoral or other poorer rural communities. Analysis is prefaced with substantial background on legal trends continentally, but the focus is on Kenya’s Community Land Act, 2016, as the framework through which customary holdings are to be identified and registered.

It is the ineludible commitment of the State of Nicaragua to respond to the claim for the titling of the lands and territories of the indigenous peoples and ethnic communities of the former Mosquitia of Nicaragua; right set forth in the International Treaties entered into between England and Nicaragua, such as the 1860 Managua Treaty and the 1905 Harrison-Altamirano Treaty. This right to the land is recognized in the 1987 Political Constitution of Nicaragua and the Statute of Autonomy of the Autonomous Regions of the Atlantic Coast.

In Nigeria, the recurring impoverishment and other negative socioeconomic impacts endured by landholders affected by expropriation are well-documented and call into question the Land Use Act’s (LUA) effectiveness in protecting local land rights. The World Bank’s Land Governance Assessment Framework found that, in Nigeria, “a large number of acquisitions occurs without prompt and adequate compensation, thus leaving those losing land worse off, with no mechanism for independent appeal even though the land is often not utilized for a public purpose”.

This paper examines whether national expropriation and land laws in 30 countries across Asia and Africa put Indigenous Peoples and local communities at risk of expropriation without compensation. In particular, this paper examines whether national laws ensure that communities are eligible for compensation and whether eligibility requirements effectively close the door on communities seeking compensation.

Most of the world’s remaining tropical forests lie in areas that are customarily managed and/or legally owned by Indigenous Peoples and local communities. In the context of climate change and global efforts to protect and enhance the capacity of forests to capture and store greenhouse gas emissions, the question of who owns the trees and the carbon stored therein is paramount. Clarifying this question is crucial, both for the future of the planet, and for up to 1.7 billion people worldwide who rely on forests for their livelihoods.

Women, Land and Corruption is a collection of unique articles and research findings that describe and analyse the prevalence of land corruption in Africa — and its disproportionate effect on women — pr

In Nigeria, the recurring impoverishment and other negative socioeconomic impacts endured by landholders affected by expropriation are well-documented and call into question the Land Use Act’s (LUA) effectiveness in protecting local land rights. The World Bank’s Land Governance Assessment Framework found that, in Nigeria, “a large number of acquisitions occurs without prompt and adequate compensation, thus leaving those losing land worse off, with no mechanism for independent appeal even though the land is often not utilized for a public purpose”.

IWGIA is an international human rights organization staffed by specialists and advisers on indigenous affairs.

IWGIA supports indigenous peoples' struggle for human rights, self-determination, right to territory, control of land and resources, cultural integrity, and the right to development.