Land, Law and Chiefs in Rural South Africa analyses contestations of power and control over land through the lens of local case studies in the densely settled former African ‘homelands’ or Bantustans. These were areas reserved for African occupation by the apartheid government and when the ANC came to power in 1994, they were the poorest and least developed parts of the country. Over the last few decades, mineral deposits have been exploited and some are located close to the boundaries of rapidly expanding cities, such as Durban, where peri-urban land is at a premium.

Sustainable land governance requires that all members of a community, both women and men, have equal rights and say in decisions that affect their collectively-held lands. Unfortunately, women around the world have less land ownership and weaker land rights than men – but this can change, and this report shows ways how that can be done.

La gobernanza sostenible de la tierra requiere que todos los miembros de una comunidad, tanto mujeres como hombres, tengan los mismos derechos y voz en las decisiones que afectan a sus tierras de propiedad colectiva. Lamentablemente, las mujeres de todo el mundo tienen menos  tierra en propiedad y derechos más débiles que los hombres, pero esto puede cambiar, y este informe muestra cómo hacerlo.

This report titled Land in India: Issues and Debates is part of an initiative under the aegis of India Land & Development Conference (ILDC) which has a long-term objective of bringing out an annual Status of Land in India volume. This report is a modest beginning in that direction by drawing on the works of ILDC partners to present a quick over view of some of the key developments and debates in India’s land sector. The report brings together 11key issues which currently engage the minds of the policy makers and researchers in India.

Translation of the Customary

The climate crisis demands urgent action, yet we live in a politically polarized and paralyzed world. As governments and other actors struggle over climate change, our environment is irreversibly changing. A United Nations report on the Global Assessment of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services revealed that three-quarters of the earth’s land-based environment has been significantly altered by human actions.

 Reflexiones del informe anual sobre acceso a la tierra y territorio en sudamérica 2018[1]
 
Oscar Bazoberry Chali, sociólogo, coordinador general Instituto para el Desarrollo Rural de Sudamérica - IPDRS
Ruth Bautista Durán, socióloga, investigadora Instituto para el Desarrollo Rural de Sudamérica - IPDRS
 

“- Pero entonces, ¿qué somos? ¿Se sabe cómo y cuándo dejamos de ser indios? ¿Cómo fue,cómo sucede? / ¡Será que no nos han visto!” (Tersita Franzl Moreno, Techi1, 2011)

The Community Land Act of 2016 provides a legal basis for protection, recognition and registration of community lands andhas provisions for management and administration of the land by the communities themselves. However, implementation of the act has been slower than anticipated. This is despite the current  heightened investment interests in community lands for mega development projects.

É importante destacar incialmente que não é possível compreender o processo de resistência em Casa Nova sem compreender a rede de resistência que se formou na Zona da Mata Mineira contra um conjunto de empreendimentos que ameaçava as comunidades ribeirinhas na época.

Estudio del “conflicto armado interno” fue la lideresa indígena Ruth Zenaida Buendía Mestoquiari (Cutivireni, 1977), activista ambiental galardonada en el año 2014 con el Premio Goldman por la lucha llevada a cabo como presidenta de la Central Ashaninka del Río Ene (CARE) contra la construcción de dos plantas hidroeléctricas en el territorio ancestral de su pueblo.

Nelson Alzate y su familia han decidido luchar desde una distinción sociopolítica particular, realizando la inscripción histórica en la identidad campesina, en la cual existe un universo común con otras familias que también vienen atravesando las constantes “crisis del campo colombiano” tanto para acceder a la tierra como para permanecer con dignidad en los territorios.