A group of concerned actors has partnered to co-lead a series of Independent Dialogues ahead of the upcoming 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit. The Dialogues will promote the centrality of land rights in building sustainable food systems.
Together, the European Commission, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the International Land Coalition, the Land Portal Foundation, RVO & LANDac – the Netherlands Land Academy (both supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and Welthungerhilfe are joining forces to hear experiences across the globe of how land rights can be a part of building sustainable and resilient food systems. The Summit, which is part of the Decade of Action to achieve Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, is the opportunity to remind the world of the key role that land plays in achieving the 2030 agenda. Food sustainability, as part of the 2030 agenda, cannot be achieved if the rights of those who depend on land for their survival are not secured.
Survey
This survey is part of a series of consultations to collect ideas and solutions for potential game-changing and systemic solutions to feed into the decision-making process and the outcome of the United Nations Food systems Summit. The survey will complement the outcomes of regional dialogues organised by the co-conveners and feed into the efforts of brining land rights as an inherent element in building inclusive, sustainable and resilient food systems in the world.
Take the survey in English, French of Spanish
Independent Dialogues
The Independent Dialogues will hear from women and men, family farmers, pastoralists, indigenous peoples, fisherfolk, and youth. They will also hear from governments and their development partners, and NGOs. The dialogues will inform the Summit by crowdsourcing promising ways of securing land rights that are locally based and locally led, which strengthen sustainable food systems. Dialogues will be conducted in Asia, Africa/Middle East/Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean.
ASIA
Date: Tuesday, May 4, 2021, 10:00H CEST
Where: Online
AFRICA, EUROPE, AND THE MIDDLE EAST
Date: Tuesday, May 11, 2021, 14:00H CEST
Where: Online
LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN
Date: Wednesday, May 12, 2021, 09:00AM Peru Time
Where: Online
For more information, visit the website of ILC
Last Updated: 30th April 2021 by Charlotte Stam
Call for applications: Shelter City Netherlands
Shelter City provides temporary safe and inspiring spaces for human rights defenders at risk where they re-energise, receive tailor-made support and engage with allies. The term human rights defender is intended to refer to the broad range of activists, journalists and independent media professionals, scholars, writers, artists, lawyers, civil and political rights defenders, civil society members, and others working to advance human rights and democracy around the world in a peaceful manner.
From September 2021 onwards, several cities in the Netherlands will receive human rights defenders for a period of three months. At the end of their stay in the Netherlands, participants are expected to return with new tools and energy to carry out their work at home.
Deadline for application: May 14th, 2021
Posted: 28th April 2021 by Coordinator
Roads to Change: Livelihoods, Land Disputes, and Anticipation of Future Developments in Rural Kenya
Roads to Change: Livelihoods, Land Disputes, and Anticipation of Future Developments in Rural Kenya
This article by Greiner, Greven and Klagge examines how rural roads relate to differences in livelihood patterns, attitudes toward social change, and land disputes in Baringo, Kenya. Although their direct use is limited for many residents, roads have a highly differentiating impact. While some households orientate themselves toward roads, those relying more on (agro-)pastoralist livelihoods avoid their proximity. Our findings suggest that better-off households are not the only ones that tend to live closer to roads, but that poorer households do as well. Rather than by socio-economic status, households living closer to roads can be characterized by higher degrees of formal education and also appear to be more open to economic and social change. Our data also highlight dynamics of land disputes in the face of ongoing large-scale infrastructural investments in Kenya’s previously marginal northern drylands.
Read the full article here.
Last Updated: 28th May 2021 by Charlotte Stam
ILC | 2021 UN Food System Summit (UNFSS) Survey and Independent Dialogues
Together, the European Commission, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the International Land Coalition, the Land Portal Foundation, RVO & LANDac – the Netherlands Land Academy (both supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and Welthungerhilfe are joining forces to hear experiences across the globe of how land rights can be a part of building sustainable and resilient food systems. The Summit, which is part of the Decade of Action to achieve Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, is the opportunity to remind the world of the key role that land plays in achieving the 2030 agenda. Food sustainability, as part of the 2030 agenda, cannot be achieved if the rights of those who depend on land for their survival are not secured.
Survey
This survey is part of a series of consultations to collect ideas and solutions for potential game-changing and systemic solutions to feed into the decision-making process and the outcome of the United Nations Food systems Summit. The survey will complement the outcomes of regional dialogues organised by the co-conveners and feed into the efforts of brining land rights as an inherent element in building inclusive, sustainable and resilient food systems in the world.
Take the survey in English, French of Spanish
Independent Dialogues
The Independent Dialogues will hear from women and men, family farmers, pastoralists, indigenous peoples, fisherfolk, and youth. They will also hear from governments and their development partners, and NGOs. The dialogues will inform the Summit by crowdsourcing promising ways of securing land rights that are locally based and locally led, which strengthen sustainable food systems. Dialogues will be conducted in Asia, Africa/Middle East/Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean.
ASIA
Date: Tuesday, May 4, 2021, 10:00H CEST
Where: Online
AFRICA, EUROPE, AND THE MIDDLE EAST
Date: Tuesday, May 11, 2021, 14:00H CEST
Where: Online
LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN
Date: Wednesday, May 12, 2021, 09:00AM Peru Time
Where: Online
For more information, visit the website of ILC
Posted: 22nd April 2021 by Charlotte Stam
Call of abstracts: IASC Land Commons Virtual Conference
As one of a series of virtual conferences organized by the International Association for the Study of the Commons (IASC), this virtual conference aims to broaden a dialogue between traditional commons scholars, practitioners and researchers from the IASC and related global change research communities, regional research networks and organizations working with Indigenous Peoples and local communities. These include but are not limited to the Global Land Programme, the Political Ecology Network (POLLEN), and others.
The 2021 IASC Land Commons Virtual Conference will be held from 13 until 17 September, 2021 and will be an immersive intense experience using various new technologies to provide an inclusive, low-cost, and low environmental impact event. Instead of traveling to the conference to attend panels and deliver a talk, as speakers, you will do the following:
1. Create and submit a video of your presentation with a maximum length of 10 minutes.
2. Answer questions during the conferene.
3. View other presentations and ask questions to other speakers.
4. Participate in Webinar conference panels.
5. Participate in networking events, which are Zoom meetings to meet people working on similar topics.
6. Participate in other conference events such as games, virtual field trips, etc.
The call for abstracts is now open and can be found on their website.
Conference website
Sumbit your abstract here
Last Updated: 21st April 2021 by Charlotte Stam
WRI Blog | 4 Ways Indigenous and Community Lands Can Reduce Emissions
Peter Veit wrote a blog for the World Resource Institute (WRI) on how countries are now missing out on a key strategy to fight climate change. There is growing evidcence that there are emissions-reduction benefits of well-managed indigenous and community lands. However, still only a few countries set targets to protect these lands in their initial national climate plans in 2015 (known as ‘Nationally Determined Contributions’ or NDCs).
Peter Veit describes 4 ways in which indigenous and community lands can reduce emissions. Concluding that indigenous and community lands are crucial for avoiding catastrophic climate change. In addition to carbon sequestration, these lands provide the benefits of global ecosystem services that merit increased protection and financial support, especially if forested countries are to achieve their commitments under the Paris Agreement.
On the website of World Resource Institute you can read the full blog.
Posted: 21st April 2021 by Charlotte Stam
Land Portal | RVO and FAO Round Table on Land Consolidation in the Arab World
The Land Portal summarized the outcomes of the roundtable by RVO and FAO to initiate a dialogue and to share experiences between countries in North Africa and Middle East, while also bringing in lessons from Europe on land consolidation building on lessons learned from FAO and RVO. Countries in the MENA region are facing many similar challenges, which include fragmentation of agricultural land, need for improved and more efficient irrigation, and strong impacts of climate change on agricultural production.
What are the state-of-the-art and new approaches to land consolidation as part of integrated rural development strategies in North Africa and Near East? That was the main question around which several experts from Egypt, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, and Turkey joined the FAO/ RVO roundtable discussion on land consolidation during the Second Arab Land Conference last February; a session which 110 participants attended – both in person and online.
Read the outcomes of the discussion and the most interesting insights on the website of the Land Portal.
Posted: 19th April 2021 by Charlotte Stam
Job Opportunity: Postdoctoral GIS Researcher in Environmental, Housing and Health Inequalities
Deadline for application 21st of April 2021.
University of Amsterdam, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences – Department of Geography, Planning and International Development Studies, are looking for a postdoctoral researcher with experience in spatial analysis to join their multi-disciplinary team and work on an exciting study on environmental justice in Amsterdam.
This postdoctoral position is funded through a research grant awarded by Kenniscentrum Ongelijkheid to study the linkages between housing market change, environmental inequalities and health outcomes in the Amsterdam metropolitan region. The project includes an interdisciplinary research team of scholars from Urban Geography, Environmental Planning and Public Health (Amsterdam UMC) as well as representatives from the Municipality of Amsterdam, GGD, AFWC, and De Gezonde Stad.
The postdoctoral researcher will work closely with the research team in developing multi-dimensional indices of environmental exposure at lower levels of scale, and conducting data analysis with the use of advanced GIS techniques. Secondly, the researcher will also be involved in more detailed public health analyses. The research tasks cover 70% of a full-time position for 17 months. Depending on department needs and candidate preferences, there may be a possibility to extend the terms of the contract to include teaching responsibilities.
The position concerns a temporary appointment of 26,6 hours per week for a term of 17 months. It offers a challenging work environment with a variety of duties and ample scope for individual initiative and development within an inspiring organisation. The social and behavioural sciences play a leading role in addressing the major societal challenges faced by the world, the Netherlands and Amsterdam, now and in the future. To work at the University of Amsterdam is to work in a discerning, independent, creative, innovative and international climate characterised by an open atmosphere and a genuine engagement with the city of Amsterdam and society.
More information about the position and how to apply, click here.
Last Updated: 1st April 2021 by Coordinator
LAND at lunch: Investments and conflict in Cabo Delgado, Northern Mozambique
LAND at lunch: Investments and conflict in Cabo Delgado, Northern Mozambique
On April 15, from 12.00 – 13.30 CEST, LANDac organizes a lunch seminar to discuss the ongoing events in Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique, where violent conflicts have been afflicting people for years. Latest reports describe that the city of Palma has been besieged by Islamic extremists and thousands of people fled the region. Colleagues who know the situation in Cabo Delgado point out that the ongoing conflict is not merely the outcome of Islamic extremism, but a result of decades of poverty, inequality and unemployment in a region in which foreign investors profit from the abundant natural resources.
In 2018, LANDac, in collaboration with the LANDdialogue and Shared Value Foundation, carried out a bottom-up research project on the impacts of land-based investments in Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique (you can find a summary of our results here). The discovery of gas just off the coast of Mozambique – combined with the rich soils and abundance of natural resources such as ruby and graphite – has attracted a large number of investors to the province. But at the same time, Cabo Delgado is among the poorest regions in the country and people affected by these type of investments do not share in the profits. On the contrary, our research showed that over 10.000 people will be displaced as a result of the recent oil and gas investments and many more have lost their land and livelihoods to foreign investors in the wider region.
You are warmly invited to join LANDac during this open discussion, organized in collaboration with LANDac fellows and colleagues from Mozambique. We will discuss recent events in Cabo Delgado and reflect upon the link with land governance and land-based investments. What has happened since our research in 2018? And what do we know about what is currently happening? Furthermore, we will discuss what we, researchers, policymakers, practitioners and businesses in the Netherlands and beyond can and should take to address the situation and put the wellbeing of people living and working in the province back on the agenda.
Please use the ZOOM-link to join us!
Posted: 22nd March 2021 by Coordinator
LANDdialogue: Liberia – More than 1.3 Million Hectares now under Community Ownership and Control
March 5, 2021 – Gerald C. Koinyeneh in Front Page Africa
Monrovia – Local communities across Liberia seem to be taking advantage of the new Land Rights Law to reclaim their ancestral land. With more than 1.3 million hectares of Customary Land now under formal community ownership and control, the future seems to be getting brighter for local communities across the country.
Information gathered at the just ended national learning and experience sharing conference on Customary Land formalization, indicates that more than 100 communities have made significant progress towards completing the process for securing deeds to their land.
According to the Sustainable Development Institute (SDI), Foundation for Community Initiatives (FCI), Parley Liberia, and IDH the Sustainable Trade Initiative, the organizations that hosted the just ended conference in partnership with the Liberia Land Authority, they have supported a total of 82 communities in ten counties covering more 1.3 million hectares of land to reclaim their ancestral land.
Read the full article here!
Posted: 22nd March 2021 by Coordinator
The Land Portal launches third annual land data stories contest
In honour of International Open Data Day, having taken place on March 6th, we would like to invite you to submit your data story to the Land Portal. Read more here below!
Why submit a data story?
What are the requirements for a data story?
1ST PRIZE
800 Euros
Your story featured and used as a case study in an upcoming Land Portal webinar on land rights and storytelling
Your story featured on www.landportal.org
2ND PRIZE
500 Euros
Your story featured and used as a case study in an upcoming Land Portal webinar on land rights and storytelling
Your story featured on www.landportal.org
3RD PRIZE
200 Euros
Your story featured and used as a case study in an upcoming Land Portal webinar on land rights and storytelling
Your story featured on www.landportal.org
Stories should be submitted by April 30th 2021 through email to datastories@landportal.info (link sends e-mail) with copy to stacey.zammit@landportal.info (link sends e-mail)
Visit the Land Portal website here!