Statement on the killing of Ka Rene Peñas in the Philippines by the Secretariat of the International Land Coalition
The Secretariat of the International Land Coalition (ILC) is outraged over the brutal murder of Ka Rene Peñas, 51 years old, the National Vice-President of Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahang Magsasaka (PAKISAMA). On 5 June, Ka Rene was on the way to his farm in Sumilao, Bukidnon when he was repeatedly shot by unknown assailants. Two of his companions were wounded.
A dedicated advocate of the rights of farmers and landless communities, Ka Rene went on hunger strike to push for agrarian reform in 1997. He continued to work with farmers' movements to bring their cause into the public conscience through marches, strikes and other non-violent means. Ka Rene was one of the leading figures in the farmers' struggles for the continuation and deepening of the agrarian reform process in the Philippines.
The ILC Secretariat has known Ka Rene and PAKISAMA since 2001 through ILC’s Community Empowerment Facility (CEF) programme in which PAKISAMA collaborated with AR Now!, an ILC member, in a project of capacity-building for landless farmers and farm workers in the Philippines.
We extend our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Ka Rene, and express our support for Elizer Peñas and Samson Dollete who were both wounded in the attack. We believe those who worked with Ka Rene will continue to stand for the values and principles of social justice to which he devoted his life.
We call on Her Excellency President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to order an immediate and transparent investigation into the circumstances and motive behind the killing of Ka Rene.
At the 2009 Assembly of Members, the following organizations have been accepted as new members of ILC:
CODELT, Congo MBOSCUDA, Cameroon RISD, Rwanda ReBeSeF/GDT, Benin SIF, Madagascar TRALSO, South Africa ARBAN, Bangladesh CDS, Nepal MGSA, India JKS, India PAFID, Philippines ARNow, Philippines CARRD, Philippines CINEP, Colombia FUNDAPAZ, Argentina PROCASUR, Regional, based in Chile IBC, Peru NACFPA, Albania TERRA Institute, International, based in USA
Congratulations and welcome to our new members!
Tenure in REDD by IIED
This report aims to take the debate forward by identifying: a typology of tenure regimes in rainforest countries and some of the challenges they present for REDD;
the nature of tenure and usage rights regimes within key rainforest countries; and the issues revealed by exploration of these regimes that will need to be engaged
with if REDD and related strategies are to have sustainable impact. Seven rainforest countries – examples of those likely to be major players within a REDD system – are the focus of attention: Brazil, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guyana, Indonesia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea.
Technical Support Provider needed for ILC collaborative study on Commercial Pressures on Land (CPL).
In the context of the wider ILC collaborative initiative on Commercial Pressures on
Land (CPL), a global study will be undertaken to increase understanding of the
current and anticipated impacts on poverty of CPL on the tenure security of the poor. ILC Secretariat is looking for an individual or institution to provide technical support to the study. Deadline for submissions: Friday 29th May.
"Towards Food Sovereignty. Reclaiming autonomous food systems"
IIED launched a new chapter focused on the need to transform agricultural research. The publication builds and expands on themes addressed in the IAASTD report and addresses the politics of knowledge associated with conservation and natural resource use as well as notions of cognitive justice and equivalency between indigenous knowledge systems and western science.
The GLTN E-forum on Land, Environment and Climate Change has been extended until the 15th of May 2009
E-forum on Land, Environment and Climate Change: Challenges, Priority issues and Tools
This e-forums aims at further enriching the background paper that provides an overview of the relationship between land tenure, land management approaches and the environment (including climate change related issues). The focus is on the linkages between land and the environment moving from a scientific framework to a country level implementation framework and to what implications this has in urban and rural areas.
Land Grabbing - Den Armen wird der Boden unter den Füßen weggezogen
Welthungerhilfe, Brennpunkt, Nr.8, April 2009
This Paper whose title is “Land Grabbing, the ground is pulled away under the poor’s feet” describes Land Grabbing itself. Apart from describing its drivers, reasons and historical development, the study states that by 2030 the available agricultural land should grow by more 515 million ha to secure the need of food-, energy- and forest production. This enormous need is recognized to be possibly only partially (50%) covered through actual un-used agricultural land, the other part would be given through forest transformation into agricultural lands. Land Grabbing is the result of acquisition of lands for food and agro-energy crop production usually in developing countries, of which the paper gives some examples: firstly quoting some Investment funds investing in overseas agricultural lands, secondly giving two case studies (Cambodia and Myanmar) to describe historical progression of land alienation, often illegal, and the environmental and social impact on indigenous land and people. The paper concludes by underlying that these land acquisitions are openly disrespecting the human right to food.
Climate change and expanding biofuel production is likely to lead to greater competition for access to land. For the millions of farmers, pastoralists, fisherfolk and forest dwellers with no formal land tenure rights, this increased competition poses a tremendous threat to their livelihoods. Sound land tenure policies and planning will be crucial to ensuring that these men and women do not fall into even greater hardship.
IFPRI on "Land Grabbing" by Foreign Investors in Developing Countries: Risks and Opportunity
by Joachim Braun and Ruth Meinzen-Dick, IFPRI Policy Brief 13, April 2009
One of the lingering effects of the food price crisis of 2007–08 on the world food system is the proliferating acquisition of farmland in developing countries by other countries seeking to ensure their food supplies. Increased pressures on natural resources, water scarcity, export restrictions imposed by major producers when food prices were high, and growing distrust in the functioning of regional and global markets have pushed countries short in land and water to find alternative means of producing food. These land acquisitions have the potential to inject muchneeded investment into agriculture and rural areas in poor developing countries, but they also raise concerns about the impacts on poor local people, who risk losing access to and control over land on which they depend. It is crucial to ensure that these land deals, and the environment within which they take place, are designed in ways that will reduce the threats and facilitate the opportunities for all parties involved.
The Global Land Tools Network (GLTN) was set up in 2005 by UN-Habitat to develop practical and up-scaleable tools for pro-poor land policy. ILC sits on the International Advisory Board of GLTN, as means to facilitate links between rural civil society stakeholders and GLTN. On 28 and 29 October 2009, GLTN will be organising a workshop to strengthen collaboration with partners.
ILC Secretariat participated at the event organised by World Bank, 9-10 March 2009, in Washington on "Land Governance in Support of the MDGs: Responding to New Challenges". Many papers on six areas of interest have been presented and discussed:
- Land Governance for the 21st Century
- Sustainable Systems for Land Administration & Management
- Securing Social Tenure for the Poorest
- Making Land Markets Work for All
- Improving Access to Land and Shelter
- Land Governance for Rapid Urbanization
Foreign Investment in Agricultural Production: Opportunities and Challenges by Vera Songwe and Klaus Deininger
The recent surge in food and fuel prices has prompted countries with high dependence on food imports to try and lock in future food supplies through direct investment in agricultural production in other countries.
The price surges also led to a wave of proposals to invest in biofuels investments in agricultural land. While such investment can provide large benefits, it also carries considerable risks both to investors and citizens in the locality of the investment.
To ensure that investments provide broad benefits and effectively
contribute to larger development outcomes, enforceable property rights and contractual agreements
in many developing countries need to be strengthened. Read document
Launch of DPRN Project: ILC, University of Groningen and Oxfam Novib, came together in The Hague on 26th February to launch an initiative funded by the Development Policy Review Network (DPRN). This project will focus on supporting networking and research on trends, risks and opportunities in commercial pressures on land, linking in to the wider research project of ILC. Partners will come together to share findings at a special 1-day session at the 15th Annual International Sustainable Development Research Conference, Utrecht University, 5-8 July. http://globalchallenge2009.geo.uu.nl
Brussels Briefing #9,
held 25th February, tackled the question of Land access and rural development: new challenges, new opportunities, organised by CTA on 25th February and attended primarily by representatives of ACP delegation and the EC members. A particular focus of the briefing was on the recent trend of large-scale land acquisitions for agricultural production. ILC members participating included EC, FAO, KENFAP and IIED. Michael Taylor, programme manager global policy and Africa gave concluding remarks. http://brusselsbriefings.net/
OXFAM speaks on the linkages betweeen poverty reduction and land
issues.. Battling poverty? Land is the key, says top Oxfam official.. Read article..
The ways in which land is accessed and used are rapidly changing around the globe. Rising demand for agricultural
commodities including food, feed, and agrofuels, as well as for ecosystem services including carbon sequestration and
tourism are driving significant and sustained increases in land values.
Land grab or development opportunity? Agricultural investment and international land deals in Africa
Land acquisitions in Africa, Latin America, Central Asia and Southeast Asia have made headlines in a flurry of media reports across the world. Yet international land deals and their impacts still remain little understood. This report is a step towards filling this gap.
The outcome of a collaboration between the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the report discusses key trends and drivers in land acquisitions, the contractual arrangements underpinning them, and the early impacts on land access for rural people in recipient countries – with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa.
The report draws on national inventories of approved land acquisitions since 2004 in five African countries (Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, Mali and Sudan) and on case studies in Mozambique and Tanzania. National inventories and case studies were prepared by teams of researchers in each country. The report also draws on a literature review, on qualitative interviews with key informants internationally, and on the legal analysis of applicable law and of a small sample of land deals.
Legal tools for citizen empowerment: Getting a better deal for natural resource investment in Africa -
Highlights and lessons learned (2006-2009), by Lorenzo Cotula http://www.iied.org/..
This note aims to take stock of what IIED has learned so far, consolidate a conceptual framework for moving forward, and link up with interested people. It includes insights from IIED’s research on the legal levers that can be used to maximise local voice and benefit (from local land rights to investor-state contracts through to community-investor partnerships), as well as a few milestones in IIED’s work on legal literacy training, exchange of experience and policy advocacy.
La Revista Agraria
CEPES
Special Issue on 40 years of Land Reform in Perú and articles about the conflict in the peruvian amazon and the Kathmandu Declaration of the ILC Read Article
Opinion article from the Instituto del Bien Común (IBC) regarding decrees which affects the land rights laws in Perú / Artículo de opinión del Instituto del Bien Común (IBC) sobre decretos legislativos que afectan los derechos sobre la tierra en Perú http://www.elcomercio.com.pe/impresa/notas/reclamo-selva...
"Peace and Development in the Peruvian Amazon" from Peru CONVEAGRO
Agenda Interna para el Agro sea pactada e implementada con temas sustanciales y básicos para trabajar un programa integral de desarrollo para la Amazonía y el Agro Nacional Read Article
We are pleased to inform you on the final selection of research proposals to be developed in Latin America in the frame of Women's Access to Land. The selection has been very difficult because of the high quality and quantity of proposals received. Thank you all for participating at the initiative. The research results will be available in November 2009 Read Article
"Los derechos de propiedad sobre la tierra en las comunidades campesinas"
written by Fernando Eguren, Laureano del Castillo y Zulema Burneo – Cepes has been recently published Read Article
FAO Working document on Land Governance in Latin America GOBERNANZA Y TENENCIA DE TIERRAS Y RECURSOS NATURALES EN AMERICA LATINA
Documento basado en un estudio realizado por la Unidad de Gestión y Tenencia de la Tierra (NRLA) de la División de Tierras y Aguas de la FAO en vistas a la preparación de las Directrices voluntarias sobre una gobernanza responsable de la tenencia de la tierra y otros recursos naturales. Leer documento
La Coordinación de ONG y Cooperativas - CONGCOOP -, presenta el segundo boletín trimestral abril a junio de 2009.
CONVEAGRO
endorses the global campaign of the International Year of the Family Agriculture and invites all organisations concerned with farmers and small scale agriculture to subscribe the same campaign, see relevant documents.
ACTA DE RESULTADOS DEL CONCURSO DE INVESTIGACIÓN SOBRE “MERCADOS” DE TIERRAS.
Nuevas competencias y presión sobre la tierra por el desarrollo de actividades alternativas
Estimados amigos y amigas:
Tenemos el placer de comunicarles los resultados del primer concurso de investigación convocado por la plataforma latinoamericana de investigación de la ILC, respecto del tema de “Mercados de Tierras. Nuevas competencias y presión sobre la tierra por el desarrollo de actividades alternativas”.
Se presentaron un total de 8 propuestas de investigación que fueron evaluadas de acuerdo a puntajes y de manera independiente por dos miembros del comité de investigación y un miembro de la secretaría de Roma, arrojando por ganadores a las siguientes propuestas:
Proyecto
Presentado por
“A Intervenção no desmatamento como fator de desestabilização na propriedade da terra: estudo comparativo entre duas modalidades de regularização fundiária na Transamazônica”
ICRAF
¿Cómo lograr una gestión concertada y sostenible de las tierras indígenas chorotegas en un contexto de presión y de liberalización comercial que afecta a los recursos naturales?
Agrónomos y Veterinarios Sin Fronteras Nicaragua.
“Concentración, transferencia y uso de la tierra en un contexto de expansión de industrias extractivas: el caso de dos caseríos de la sierra norte del Perú”.
Cepes
“¿TIERRAS DE NADIE?” Empresas extractivas, territorio y conflictividad social en el río Cenepa
SER
“La competencia por la tierra de los productores familiares lecheros del Uruguay y sus estrategias para enfrentarla”.
Centro Cooperativista Uruguayo (ALOP)
Agradecemos la participación y disponibilidad a concursar de todos los que presentaron sus propuestas al concurso, así como vuestra paciencia por la breve demora en la entrega de los resultados.
Lima, 14 de abril del 2009.
Land Watch campaign in Asia is an initiative to establish a platform for generating and sharing knowledge on strategies, approaches and tools to enhance capacities of CSOs in pursuing access to land.
A Bi-monthly Newsletter of ANGOC and the Land Watch Asia Network
ILC regional work is mostly focused on three main areas: land literacy, empowerment and capacity building, research and advocacy. The regional component is leaded by NITLAPAN - Nicaragua, ILC members Download Brochure
The International Land Coalition is a global alliance of diverse organisations with the common aim of working together to promote secure and equitable access to land. Members pursue diverse approaches to achieving this goal, and the views and opinions expressed on this page are those of the organisations that submitted them, not necessarily those of other members of the International Land Coalition. Members are invited to submit material for this page to info@landcoalition.org
This Paper whose title is “Land Grabbing, the ground is pulled away under the poor’s feet” describes Land Grabbing itself. Apart from describing its drivers, reasons and historical development, the study states that by 2030 the available agricultural land should grow by more 515 million ha to secure the need of food-, energy- and forest production. This enormous need is recognized to be possibly only partially (50%) covered through actual un-used agricultural land, the other part would be given through forest transformation into agricultural lands. Land Grabbing is the result of acquisition of lands for food and agro-energy crop production usually in developing countries, of which the paper gives some examples: firstly quoting some Investment funds investing in overseas agricultural lands, secondly giving two case studies (Cambodia and Myanmar) to describe historical progression of land alienation, often illegal, and the environmental and social impact on indigenous land and people. The paper concludes by underlying that these land acquisitions are openly disrespecting the human right to food.
The recent surge in food and fuel prices has prompted countries with high dependence on food imports to try and lock in future food supplies through direct investment in agricultural production in other countries.
