The challenges associated with determining fair compensation for expropriated land have been extensively discussed and debated among scholars, practitioners, policymakers, and the public.
Up to 2.5 billion people hold and use the world’s community lands, yet the tenure rights of women—who comprise more than half the population of the world’s Indigenous Peoples and local communities—are seldom acknowledged or protected by national laws.
The oil palm boom in Indonesia continues to be a major driver of land acquisitions in remaining tropical forest frontiers, drawing on a wide range of actors into its production, and transforming both rural landscapes and livelihoods in the process.
With more than 60 percent of Asian population either directly or indirectly relying on agriculture for livelihood, agriculture remains key to uplifting lives of many people in the region, as well as to providing sufficient and nutritious food for all.
Improving land productivity is essential to meet increasing food and forage demands in hillside and mountain communities. Tens of millions of smallholder terrace farmers in Asia, Africa, and Latin America who earn $1-2 per day do not have access to peer-reviewed knowledge of best agronomic practices, though they have considerable traditional ecological knowledge.
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.
