Land acquisitions and rights blogs
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Supporting small-scale farmers in negotiations with agribusiness
24 May 2018Unequal bargaining power often characterises the relationship between small-scale rural producers and agribusinesses. A recent IIED webinar discussed ways to protect and support farmers when negotiating with companies.
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Legal activism key to securing land rights in new investment phase
28 March 2018In the face of rapid changes, how can people in low- and middle-income countries ensure they get the best deal to protect their land?
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Creating a global 'land rights family': from knowledge to action
14 March 2018Community land rights are the focus of two new initiatives. The first, launched with an 'action shop' in Kenya, enables civil society organisations to share knowledge and chart new paths; the second supports communities to seek legal redress for violated rights
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Getting community voices heard in investor-state arbitration
5 March 2018During investor-state arbitrations, the rights and interests of local communities are often overlooked. A recent webinar discussed mechanisms that are getting the concerns of local communities on the table
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Forest rights create new livelihoods in Myanmar
5 December 2017In Myanmar, the National League for Democracy (NLD) is transferring the rights to forest land – and all its potential bounty – to local communities. Duncan Macqueen explains how this important move, supported by peer-to-peer learning, is helping to establish new long-term livelihoods
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Legal empowerment: what we do, what we've learned
14 November 2017If you missed the recent policy forum on legal empowerment, fear not: here Lorenzo Cotula recaps on what characterises IIED's approach and shares his top three lessons learned
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Responsible investment provisions in international investment treaties: where next?
16 October 2017Lorenzo Cotula discusses how international investment treaties could promote more responsible investment and argues that, while some innovative practices are emerging, there is still much to do
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Using legal tools to make agribusiness investments more accountable
19 June 2017A range of tools and approaches can support rural communities to exercise their rights and give them greater control over agribusiness deals that could affect their future, as a recent IIED webinar explored
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Using community by‑laws to protect indigenous and rural land rights
1 December 2016A recent IIED webinar explored how developing community by-laws that suit local needs can be a powerful way of protecting the lands of indigenous peoples and rural communities
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Rainfall, grazing, families and land in Dlonguebougou
9 November 2016As part of research recording 35 years of change in one village in Mali, IIED senior fellow Camilla Toulmin highlights five key observations from a recent field visit
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Using online technology to empower communities facing land deals
4 August 2016Online databases are proving a useful tool for communities facing large-scale agricultural investments and associated conflicts, as a recent IIED webinar discovered
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Commodity cycles, economic treaties and pressures on land rights
25 May 2016The commodity slump has cooled the global land rush. But land rights are still under pressure, requiring action at local to global levels
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Next steps to strengthen global land governance
15 May 2016In 2012 there was a milestone international agreement on voluntary guidelines on the governance of land and tenure. The authors of a new progress report review the lessons learned about implementing the guidelines, and offer some recommendations for the future
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Enhancing women's role in land management decisions
24 March 2016Large-scale agricultural investments impact upon men and women in different ways, yet women's voices and interests are not always heard in decisions about land. An IIED webinar examined how this could be changed
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Protecting land and community resources in Africa
7 March 2016Rural communities across Africa face a variety of threats to their claims to customary and indigenous land and natural resources. Advocates working to support these communities must draw on a range of experience and expertise. The NGOs Namati and Natural Justice brought together experts to consider the issues and published the results in a new book of 18 case studies
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What women want
29 February 2016What would women in sub-Saharan Africa propose this leap year? IIED's legal tools team asked what women would like to happen when their communities are affected by land deals
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How investment treaties protect 'land grab' deals
17 February 2016New research examining the geographical coverage of international investment treaties raises concern about how they might affect public action to address 'land grabbing'
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Flaming parrots and palmetto palms
8 February 2016A new business opportunity could help protect Belize's Yellow-headed parrots and benefit local communities as well
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Holding actors in agricultural investment chains to account
22 October 2015When communities lose access to land, or their livelihoods, as a result of large agricultural investment projects, what can they do? An IIED webinar examined how mapping out the investment chains and using 'pressure points' can help
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Opening up land contracts
20 October 2015Many land deals are still kept secret. Will a new online resource change the game?
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Water and land rights – hand-in-hand for sustainable development
25 September 2015The recent Stockholm World Water Week provided plenty of opportunities to explore the links between water and land rights, and the importance of these rights for ensuring sustainable development at both local and national level
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Getting to the root of gender equal land governance
23 September 2015A workshop in Senegal revealed that issues over equal access to land for men and women may not be as simple as they at first seem
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Brazil's first community protocol: the Bailique experience
25 August 2015A remote community in the Amazon has agreed Brazil's first community protocol, giving them an equal voice in future discussions about natural resource use
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Investment treaties, land rights and a shrinking planet
8 July 2015Commercial land concessions may be protected under international investment law. Lorenzo Cotula argues that securing land rights requires tackling these global dimensions
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Using the law for resource justice
28 April 2015Large-scale resource development can threaten people's land and environment. Now a new initiative is bringing grassroots organisations together with international lawyers to fight for resource justice