After an
inspiring training period in the Netherlands in June and July, LANDac fellows
returned to the countries in which they work and have started planning to
conduct in-depth research on a variety of topics related to large-scale
land-based investments across Africa. During the discussions in Utrecht over
the summer, fellows committed themselves to conduct research and to
continuously exchange knowledge, supported by LANDac, with the ultimate goal to
find ways to better position communities to benefit from large-scale land-based
investments.
After some
time catching up on their work, fellows have decided on their research topics. Junior,
based in Uganda, will be looking at the impacts of urbanization processes and
land-based investments on people living in the Kibugambata community in the
municipality of Jinja, a town that is about to receive an official status as a
city. Junior will be working closely together with Teddy, who is researching the
effects of a planned highway between the city of Kampala and Jinja, that goes
hand-in-hand with the displacement of hundreds of families.
In Senegal,
El Hadji is starting his research on the establishment of special economic
zones (SEZ), looking at how these state-led developments will impact farming
communities and in Kenya, Fridah is starting her research on alternative land
investment models for large-scale land-based investments that include local
women and men. Betelehem and Hiwot, both based in Ethiopia, have started their
work on the impacts of a Dutch floriculture companies on local communities and
last but not least, Salah is working on empowering men and women through
community mapping tools in Sudan, where he is closely collaborating with the
Dutch Embassy.
All fellows
will start their work by first looking into the local context: who lives around
these investments and what are their ambitions, priorities and challenges?
Fellows will share the findings of their research through blogs and reports
throughout the year through the LANDac website. Would you like to know more
about their research projects or get in touch with one of the fellows? Contact
coordinator Romy Santpoort (r.m.santpoort@uu.nl).
Last Updated: 15th January 2020 by Coordinator
EADI ISS Conference 2020 | Call for Papers
The European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI) and the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) announce the 16th EADI General Conference, to be held in The Hague (Netherlands) from Monday 29 June to Thursday 2 July 2020. The conference will be hosted by the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), and combined with the Development Dialogue, the annual European conference of PhD candidates working in development studies.
The call for papers for the conference is now open! Deadline: 15th December 2019.
For more information on the call for papers, click here.
The EADI ISS Conference 2020 takes place back-to-back with the LANDac 2020 Annual International Conference on the 2-3 of July.
Last Updated: 31st July 2020 by Coordinator
Land Portal and IIED | Launch of the Responsible Land-Based Investment Navigator
The Responsible Land-Based Investment (RLBI) Navigator helps private sector actors identify and access the practical tools and guidelines that are most relevant to their work. It was developed jointly by the Land Portal and the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) as part of the DFID-funded Land: Enhancing Governance for Economic Development (LEGEND) programme.
Tools and guides can be accessed based on the topics they cover and/or their main target audience. The Navigator also offers a selection of additional resources, including general principles such as UN documents; reports and case studies providing insights into experiences with addressing land rights issues; and links to external platforms that offer complementary services to the Navigator.
Click here to visit the RLBI Navigator!
Last Updated: 31st July 2020 by Coordinator
Wageningen University | Winter School Natural Resources and Conflict: Violence, Resistance and the State (for PhD students)
9th December 2019 @ 08:00 – 18th December 2019 @ 17:00
Download the flyer here!
The extraction, exploitation and trade of natural resources continue to be a source of conflict worldwide, notwithstanding claims of inclusive and equitable development. This course helps PhD students unravel the multiple contraditions surrounding the access to natural resources, the overt and covert forms of violence involved, and the resistance this may generate. Specific attention is paid to the role of institutionalised and state power in shaping conflict. The course offers students a solid theoretical basis to problematize the relation between natural resources and conflict.
Organised by the Wageningen School of Social Sciences and Centre for Space Place and Society (Wageningen University), the course is relevant to PhD students who are interested to (further) develop a conceptualization of conflict and violence relevant to their research problem and setting. It moves beyond well-known theories on resource scarcity and the ‘resource curse’, discussing critical perspectives from political sociology, philosophy, geography and economics.
Last Updated: 31st July 2020 by Coordinator
World Bank | Violence Against Women and Girls Resource Guide: Land Sector Brief
Read the full brief here.
A recently published report by the World Bank highlights the intersections between land programs/projects and violence against women and girls. It provides recommendations for policy, as well as institutional and community level interventions that may address violence against women and girls.
“The purpose of this Brief is to highlight entry points that offer actionable guidance to development practitioners on how to integrate prevention of and response to violence against women and girls (VAWG) into land programming. The following pages contain guidance on ethics and safety, resources for carrying out a rapid situation analysis, specific actionable ideas for implementation at the policy, institutional/sectoral and community level, detailed examples of promising practices, a menu of indicators for use in M&E, and dozens of active links to more detailed resources and toolkits. This brief complements the World Bank/IFAD’s Toolkit for Integrating Gender-Related Issues in Land Policy and Administration Projects.” (p2.)
Read the full brief here.
Last Updated: 31st July 2020 by Coordinator
LANDac | Professional Learning Programme Update
To download the programme brief, click here.
Last Updated: 3rd October 2019 by Coordinator
UN | Senior Expert Consultant Global Land Outlook
For more information on the vacancy, click here.
Posted: 2nd October 2019 by Coordinator
UN | Publication: The Future is Now: Science for Achieving Sustainable Development
In 2015, United Nations Member States decided that the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development would be informed by the Global Sustainable Development Report. In 2016 Member States decided that the report would be produced quadrennially by an independent group of scientists appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General and comprising 15 experts representing a variety of backgrounds, scientific disciplines and institutions, with geographical and gender balance.
This report, The Future is Now: Science for Achieving Sustainable Development, is the first quadrennial Global Sustainable Development Report prepared by an independent group of scientists.
“This Global Sustainable Development Report is a poignant reminder of the risks we face if we do not act swiftly and with purpose. The Report makes clear that we are at risk of irreversibly degrading the natural systems that sustain us and further points out where we are off track in “leaving no one behind”. More ambitious, more transformative and more integrated responses are urgently needed. This evidence-based and action-oriented Report further highlights the indispensable role of science for ending hunger, tackling climate change, reducing inequality and accelerating progress across the Sustainable Development Goals.”, according to Liu Zhenmin, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs.
Equal land governance as an integrated pathway to sustainable development is explicitly mentioned (p. 108):
Download the whole report here.
Last Updated: 31st July 2020 by Coordinator
WUR/CDI | Course on Landscape Governance
The Wageningen Centre for Development Innovation offers a course on Landscape Governance, taking place between the 30th of March and the 10th of April 2020.
Landscape Governance
This course challenges forestry and nature management professionals to adopt an integrative perspective, to look beyond the forest, and to build bridges between the public and the private sector. We focus on institutional development at landscape level including multi-stakeholder platforms and networks, and financial support mechanisms to guide landscape dynamics on the ground.
For who is this course?
Participants should be experienced professionals with several years of working experience in the fields of natural resources management, forestry, agriculture, rural development, rural livelihoods, sustainable development or other relevant areas. Proficiency in English is required.
What will you learn?
Upon completion of the course you will:
For more information, the costs and application, click here.
Deadline for application (without scholarship) is February 17th 2020.
Last Updated: 31st July 2020 by Coordinator
LANDac | Update Professional Learning Programme
After an inspiring training period in the Netherlands in June and July, LANDac fellows returned to the countries in which they work and have started planning to conduct in-depth research on a variety of topics related to large-scale land-based investments across Africa. During the discussions in Utrecht over the summer, fellows committed themselves to conduct research and to continuously exchange knowledge, supported by LANDac, with the ultimate goal to find ways to better position communities to benefit from large-scale land-based investments.
After some time catching up on their work, fellows have decided on their research topics. Junior, based in Uganda, will be looking at the impacts of urbanization processes and land-based investments on people living in the Kibugambata community in the municipality of Jinja, a town that is about to receive an official status as a city. Junior will be working closely together with Teddy, who is researching the effects of a planned highway between the city of Kampala and Jinja, that goes hand-in-hand with the displacement of hundreds of families.
In Senegal, El Hadji is starting his research on the establishment of special economic zones (SEZ), looking at how these state-led developments will impact farming communities and in Kenya, Fridah is starting her research on alternative land investment models for large-scale land-based investments that include local women and men. Betelehem and Hiwot, both based in Ethiopia, have started their work on the impacts of a Dutch floriculture companies on local communities and last but not least, Salah is working on empowering men and women through community mapping tools in Sudan, where he is closely collaborating with the Dutch Embassy.
All fellows will start their work by first looking into the local context: who lives around these investments and what are their ambitions, priorities and challenges? Fellows will share the findings of their research through blogs and reports throughout the year through the LANDac website. Would you like to know more about their research projects or get in touch with one of the fellows? Contact coordinator Romy Santpoort (r.m.santpoort@uu.nl).
Last Updated: 31st July 2020 by Coordinator
LANDac | Contribute to the LAND Special Issue Land Governance in Transition