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Displaying 261 - 265 of 358Legal empowerment for accountable, just and equitable governance of land and investment in Cameroon
General
Large land areas in Cameroon are under agribusiness and logging concessions. While private sector investments hold out promise for green development and poverty reduction, the country faces key governance challenges, including a legal system in flux and weak regulation of rural land relations. Uncoordinated, overlapping investments have created scarcity in specific places, and tensions between investors and communities. The government has launched a process to revise the country’s land laws. This offers opportunities to promote more just, equitable, and effective approaches to land governance. Against that backdrop, this action-research project, implemented by the Cameroon-based Centre pour l’Environnement et le Développement will test two sets of interventions: a local-level community-investor dialogue process, supported by junior lawyers and local support staff, and a national-level process to facilitate effective public participation in land policy and reform debates. The project will examine strategies to: enable communities, women, youth, and indigenous groups to secure their tenure rights in the face of land-related investments and address community-investor challenges; facilitate the equitable participation of organizations representing marginalized groups, including women, youth, and indigenous peoples, in national-level policy debates; and address social differentiation and power imbalances at both the local and national levels. Findings are expected to contribute to the improved ability of communities to secure their tenure rights; the more equitable participation of women and indigenous groups in local land governance and decision-making processes; improved capacity of civil society organizations to contribute to land reform processes; and the sharing of lessons internationally. This project is part of a group of IDRC-supported projects in sub-Saharan Africa entitled “Using action research to improve land rights and governance for communities, women, and vulnerable groups”.
Using Community Land Rights to Build Local Governance and Reduce Land Conflicts
General
In the past five years, commercial interest and investments in agricultural land have intensified in quantity, speed, and size over the past five years, with demand for land in Africa particularly high. Yet, while the supply of fertile land diminishes globally, pressure continues to mount to meet the demands of growing populations. Experience has shown that even when communities welcome outside investment, they can face a number of potentially destabilizing risks. These include expropriation, or reduced use, displacement, loss of livelihoods, and conflict brought on by increased competition for land. Communities are often left out of land concession-granting processes. They tend to have little power to advocate for equitable terms which support local prosperity and protect community interests. This is particularly true for communities that manage land use and ownership through customary rules, and have no formal legal title to their lands. In these contexts, communal lands not under cultivation can become flashpoints, as they are often the first to be allocated to investors, claimed by elites, and appropriated for state development projects. Studies have shown that increased scarcity and competition for land can trigger a breakdown in customary rules, especially rules that previously protected vulnerable groups' land rights and ensured that communal resources were equitably and sustainably managed. The effects for women can be particularly pronounced. Evidence shows that families may reinterpret customary rules to weaken women's right to land. This project aims to fill an important knowledge gap. Researchers will conduct the first known longitudinal study on the impact of community land registration efforts. The potential for community land protection to provide an alternative to individual land rights registration systems' remains largely unknown. Initial evidence suggests that community land protection may help to build more accountable land governance and management practices at the local and national level. This, in turn, can help increase communities' ability to negotiate with government and outside investors in cases of proposed land concessions. Efforts to secure community land titles have also produced important improvements in women's land rights and their participation in local decision-making processes. The research will take place in three countries: Liberia, Mozambique, and Uganda. Each has laws that create community land titles, and processes to formally register them. The research will draw on a mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods, including randomized control trials to assess the use of different legal empowerment interventions. Researchers will also apply participatory action methods used to build community governance processes. The project team includes a strong mix of local civil society organizations. The project will build on their existing close partnership with researchers based in developed countries. This project is part of a series of projects on promoting accountability around large-scale land acquisitions in Africa.
Paraguay FOLUR
Objectives
Promote landscape integrity and sustainable beef and soy value chains in two key biomes in Paraguay.
Other
Note: Disbursement data provided is cumulative and covers disbursement made by the project Agency.
Target Groups
326. The direct beneficiaries of the Project are 7,270 people, of whom 431 are women and 6,839 are men, living in the selected intervention areas.327. Project support will develop the capacities of the beneficiaries to: i) participate actively in territorial planning and development and implementation of land use plans; ii) participate in dialogue platforms and establish collaboration relationships among different sectors (public, private, NGOs, community organizations); iii) increase their awareness and knowledge on the importance of conserving biodiversity and ensuring the sustainability of the ecosystem services on which agricultural production depends; iv) better comply with the environmental legal framework for conservation and restoration of ecosystems ; v) apply biodiversity-friendly and sustainable land management practices for the sustainable use of resources and ecosystems; and vi) develop alternatives to diversify production and incomes.328. Under Component 1, through training 270 people (189 men and 81 women, including 30 indigenous peoples) from national and local governments as well as key beneficiaries will have improved capacities for planning, implementation and monitoring of urban and territorial management plans, for monitoring and enforcement of environmental policies and gender mainstreaming. In addition the involvement of beneficiaries through their organizations (producer associations, cooperatives, women´s organizations, indigenous people’s organizations that are relevant to the project) in the participatory processes and decision making to develop the POUTs will strengthen their economic, social and political empowerment. The resulting POUTs will incorporate the socio-economic proposals prioritized by the beneficiaries, including differentiated activities/budgets for women and indigenous peoples to guarantee their participation and respond adequately to their practical needs, strategic interests and key demands. 329. Under Component 2 the beneficiary target groups (producer associations, cooperatives, women´s organizations, indigenous people’s organizations) through participating in the soy and beef platforms will strengthen their political, social and economic empowerment. In these spaces, they will take part in dialogues, negotiations and decision making on an equal footing with public sector, traders, financial and other stakeholders on issues such as land use planning, sustainable production standards, financing, land and forest restoration, green seals, market access and responsible purchasing, gender and interculturality. This will enable to include proposals that balance the social, economic and environmental aspects of their development in the action plans of the platforms. By participating in the women´s platform and indigenous peoples working groups, women and indigenous peoples will strengthen their advocacy capacities. This will enable them to participate more actively and perform more efficiently in the platform meetings with all stakeholders with the purpose of proposing and incorporating gender and culturally sensitive actions that respond to their interests in the action plans of the platforms. In addition, 2,000 producers (5% women as minimum initial estimate to be confirmed during implementation) will be strengthened to apply land use planning and management with biodiversity considerations, SLM and adopt sustainable production standards. This will seek firstly to reverse or reduce land degradation at the farm level, so that in a second stage it will be possible to increase the productivity of these areas, thereby increasing the income generated for the producer, while conserving and restoring forests and biodiversity and enhancing carbon stocks. Women producers will be prioritized in the selection of demonstration farms and will receive technical and financial assistance to implement sustainable practices. This will allow to position and highlight women as producers and leaders, improve their economy and will serve as motivation for other women when exchanging experiences with their peers, increasing the interest of women in land planning and management as well as greater participation in training and outreach activities sponsored by the project (webinars, workshops and other events).330. Under Component 3, small landowners and communities (small farmers and indigenous peoples) will be supported to develop gender-sensitive and culturally relevant management plans for income diversification and investments. Beneficiaries will benefit from technical assistance to implement plans, including equipment, inputs, materials and training required for the productive proposals identified in their plans, increasing their food safety and achieving income diversification, while contributing to habitat conservation and restoration and carbon stock enhancement. Furthermore, the project will produce an analysis comparing property income with and without forest resource management, presenting numerical values to be able to show producers the economic value of maintaining forest resources (forest maintenance costs vs potential income from marketing environmental services certificates) that will serve to demonstrate landowners the advantages for becoming interested in restoration and subsequent certification under Law 3001/06. This will help generate additional incomes for landowners while enhancing forest conservation and restoration in their properties.331. Under Component 4, 5.000 producers (5% women as minimum initial estimate to be confirmed during implementation) will have increased their understanding and knowledge on the environmental regulatory framework, sustainable production practices, BD conservation, SLM and will be able to replicate the experiences and socio-economic benefits generated through Components 2 and 3.332. Project interventions and enhanced beneficiary capacities will result in local and regional benefits in terms of better livelihoods, preservation of rural lifestyle, cultural reassertion, and environmental sustainability that contribute to supporting long-term global environmental benefits. In particular, the benefits are: i) Conserving, restoring and maintaining ecosystem services provided by forests and other ecosystems; ii) Maintaining cultural, aesthetic and spiritual benefits, scenic beauty, preserving places of cultural significance, territorial identity, and valuing the natural heritage; iii) Economic benefits through new sources of diversification, income, food security of small holders, local and indigenous communities; iv) Social benefits in terms of alliances and empowerment of local communities and stakeholders (including women and indigenous peoples).
Appui à la réforme de la gestion du foncier urbain
General
Le projet a pour objectif global de contribuer à améliorer la gouvernance foncière
Adaptation to Increase Resilience to Climate Change in Ethiopian Agriculture
General
Ethiopia's agriculture sector contributes 42 to 45% of its gross domestic product and employs more than 80% of the population. However, the sector remains fragile and vulnerable to climate change. This project will provide knowledge to help Ethiopians adapt. Climate change and agriculture in Ethiopia Scientists are predicting that rainfall in Ethiopia will be more variable, with more drought- and flood-related incidents in the future. Projected rainfall changes will make Ethiopia even more vulnerable to harvest and food shortfalls. Small-scale farmers will need to adopt water management technologies to increase food output in the face of a changing climate. There is a need to identify the barriers that farmers face. Enhancing adaptation through research This project aims to enhance the adaptation process in Ethiopia by -analyzing combinations of technologies for profitability and ease of use; -identifying barriers for optimal adaptation by examining data from the Blue Nile Basin that has a focus on climate change in small-scale agriculture; and -conducting a randomized controlled trial of a policy intervention designed to improve adaptation options that are socially accepted. The project team will also investigate how gender differentiated ime and risk preferences affect whether and to what extent households adopt technology. Results will help government and farmers The researchers will share their evidence-based analysis with the Ethiopian Ministries of Agriculture, and Water, Irrigation and Energy. The findings are expected to inform ongoing government policies and programs designed to increase adoption rates, crop yields, food security, sustainable agricultural growth, and resilience in the face of climate change. Programs include the Climate Resilient Green Economy Strategy and the second phase of the Sustainable Land Management Sector Program. The project will build skills and knowledge among younger researchers, such as postdoctoral, PhD, and postgraduate students. The team will train farmers and extension agents, who educate farmers in new innovations. Research outputs will include scientific peer-reviewed publications, technical reports, and policy briefs.