Cambodia's microfinance over-indebtedness crisis is leading to human rights abuses. In 2020, the average microloan in Cambodia was $4,280 – the largest in the world. The average microloan was larger than 95% of Cambodians' incomes. There were 2.8 million microloans held across the country's 3.6 million households.
Land acquisitions are transforming land-use systems globally, and their characteristics and impacts on human well-being have been extensively analysed through local case studies and regional or global inventories. However, national-level analysis that is crucial for national policy on sustainable agricultural investments and land use is still lacking. This paper conducts an archetype analysis of a unique dataset on land concessions in Lao PDR to provide a national-scale assessment of the impacts of land acquisitions on human well-being in 294 affected villages.
Includes overview;the problem: Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) finance a destructive model;current situation: DFIs write off loans;impacted communities face repression;human rights abuses;the role of European DFIs;recommendations. The negative outcomes experienced in the case of Feronia Inc.
Unauthorized migration under global regimes of border and immigration enforcement has become more risky and costly than ever. Despite the increasing challenges of reaching, remaining in, and remitting from destination countries, scholarship exploring the implications of migration for agricultural and environmental change in migrant-sending regions has largely overlooked the prevalent experiences and consequences of “failed” migration.
Despite promises to fix unjust land governance, a new study shows that digital technologies can further land grabbing and inequality.
The Twenty-first century has witnessed change in the nature, dimension and dynamics of gender role and relationship. An important area of the change is in women rising engagement in agricultural production Sub-Saharan Africa. While women profile in agribusiness has risen, there remains impediments. One of these is the denial of women the right to land ownership through inheritance. This denial continued to be sanctioned through reference to cultural practices that limit women rights to inheritance.
Chapter in a book;“Rethinking land reform in Africa;opportunities and challenges” by the African Natural Resources Centre;edited by Cosmas Milton Obote Ochieng for the African Development Bank. A think piece reflecting on changing commercial pressures on land in low and middle-income countries; the role of law in shaping the ways those pressures manifest themselves; the limits of business standards in driving systemic change; and the case for comprehensive law reform to secure rural land rights.
COVID-19 has negatively affected indigenous land rights, particularly for those who already face food insecurity as a result of land confiscation or grabbing and the loss of their territories. Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, the expropriation of indigenous lands and natural resources and the increase in conflicts on their territories were already placing indigenous peoples in a particularly precarious situation. The crisis has led to reports of encroachment upon indigenous land by opportunists, such as illegal loggers and miners.
In the six months since the coronavirus began its global spread, more than 15 million people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and more than 600,000 have perished, causing governments around the world to institute lockdowns and shut down businesses while entire industries have been devastated.
In the six months since the coronavirus began its global spread, more than 15 million people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and more than 600,000 have perished, causing governments around the world to institute lockdowns and shut down businesses while entire industries have been devastated.
International standards can help businesses fill gaps in national law but addressing issues at scale requires systematic governance reform. Law is part of the problem as often are governments. In many countries features of the law facilitate dispossession. It is often not technical capacity that is missing but the political power to confront vested interests. The challenges are steep but need to be confronted.
The establishment and development of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) are a central part of the Thai government’s strategy to expand infrastructure and attract foreign investment. These areas have been designated for development pursuant to special legal and regulatory frameworks. SEZs can play a useful role in a country’s economic development strategy. However, in many instances, their establishment results in the dilution of legal protections for human rights and the environment.