A growing body of evidence suggests that criminal activities associated with drug trafficking networks are a progressively important driver of forest loss in Central America. However, the scale at which drug trafficking represents a driver of forest loss is not presently known. We estimated the degree to which narcotics trafficking may contribute to forest loss using an unsupervised spatial clustering of 15 spatial and temporal forest loss patch metrics developed from global forest change data.

Ukraine has tremendous potential that has not yet been reached. Ukraine is endowed with intelligent, energetic, and entrepreneurial people; extraordinary fertile land; considerable natural resources; and a geographic location at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. There is no reason why Ukraine, under the right conditions, should not be among the league of prosperous and successful nations. The circumstances today, however, are of course, still far from that ultimate target.

The Land Corruption Risk Mapping Instrument is designed to raise awareness and understand how to detect corruption in land governance issues. The instrument is developed in a way that it can be applied in any Sub-Saharan African country. It is published as a handbook that gives explanations, guidance and examples.

Attempts to fill a gap by providing a pragmatic instrument which can be applied quickly and with comparatively few resources. Focuses on corruption risks rather than searching for offenders, so allowing open discussion, and on structural corruption risks and related solutions. Encourages coalitions between all crucial stakeholders and helps them develop joint counter-measures. Includes case studies from Kenya.

Rapid population growth combined with fast rate of land transfer and land conversion urges for an effective land administration and management in Bangladesh. But the land administration system in Bangladesh is corrupt, inefficient, and unreliable and inherently contains systematic weaknesses. It proliferates and perpetuates the endemic nature of land disputes. Nearly 80 percent of court cases in the rural areas are estimated to be related to land-conflicts.

This paper analyses patterns of corruption and corruption risks related to community mineral beneficiation schemes (CMBSs) that distribute benefits funded by mineral revenues to communities. It analyses insights from existing scholarship on CMBSs, evidence from seven cases of corruption, and lessons from guidance documents on reducing corruption in the mining value chain. The aim of the paper is to stimulate debate and further research about the suitability of anti-corruption strategies for CMBSs.

As gold prices soared from 2008 onwards, tens of thousands of foreign miners, especially from China, entered the small-scale mining sector in Ghana, despite it being ‘reserved for Ghanaian citizens’ by law. A free-for-all ensued in which Ghanaian and Chinese miners engaged in both contestation and collaboration over access to gold, a situation described as ‘out of control’ and a ‘culture of impunity’. Where was the state? This paper addresses the question of how and why pervasive and illicit foreign involvement occurred without earlier state intervention.

A landmark report from the Oakland Institute, Taking On the Logging Pirates: Land Defenders in Papua New Guinea Speak Out! elevates the voices of communities across the country who are opposing the theft of their land, made possible by the corrupt practices of local officials and foreign companies.

As gold prices soared from 2008 onwards, tens of thousands of foreign miners, especially from China, entered the small-scale mining sector in Ghana, despite it being ‘reserved for Ghanaian citizens’ by law. A free-for-all ensued in which Ghanaian and Chinese miners engaged in both contestation and collaboration over access to gold, a situation described as ‘out of control’ and a ‘culture of impunity’. Where was the state? This paper addresses the question of how and why pervasive and illicit foreign involvement occurred without earlier state intervention.

Governance quality plays a key role in private sector development: competent bureaucrats not only create good policies and regulations but also effectively implement them to shape the business environment. The authors exploit Vietnam’s decentralization of administrative tasks since the early 2000s to test this hypothesis. The authors examine how changes in the provincial administration of national business regulations affect firms through two channels: within firm productivity levels and resource allocation across firms.

Land corruption affects women and men, but the impact is experienced differently by each gender. Packed with practical advice, this guide, produced by Transparency International, will help organisations understand these differences in order to design advocacy programmes that are both inclusive and effective.