Tenure
Beyond tenure: Rights-based approaches to peoples and forests, some lessons from the Forest Peoples ProgrammeBackgroundLand tenure reforms have been implemented in several forested landscapes to support livelihood security among forest-depended communities. However, while these reforms have led to some improvements in tenure and livelihood security, they have also increased social exclusion and marginalization in some contexts. This paper argues that tenure reforms should be implemented within a rights-based framework, but one that integrates a range of human rights and is not solely focused on property rights. Open access copy available |
Our land, our life: A participatory assessment of the land tenure situation of the Indigenous peoples in Guyana. Report for Region 8BackgroundFrom 1995 onwards, the government of Guyana began to address undecided Amerindian claims by demarcating land in villages where titles had already been granted, granting title extensions, and grant new titles. This report outlines the findings and recommendations of a participatory assessment of land tenure security among indigenous people in present-day northwestern Guyana. Open access copy available |
Context in land matters: The effects of history on land formalizationsBackgroundLand formalization is the process by which governments grant legal rights to land, along with responsibilities and conditions of access through land titles and other official documents. This process typically establishes or re-establishes the authority of the state over the governance of land. This paper draws on examples from Africa and Asia to illustrate how land formalization has differing impacts on a diverse set of claimants, and largely increases inequity. Open access copy available |
Towards food security and improved nutrition: increasing the contribution of forests and treesBACKGROUNDThis Policy brief is a product of a knowledge and information sharing between Biodiversity International, World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), and the World Bank. This was designed for policymakers on two vital areas: what they need to know; and what they need to do. It also provides different case studies on various interventions towards ensuring food security and access to improved nutrition. Open access copy available |
Restoring Working Forests in Human-Dominated Landscapes of the Wet Evergreen Forest Region of South AsiaBackgroundOpen access copy available |
The Campesino-to-Campesino agroecology movement of ANAP in Cuba: social process methodology in the construction of sustainable peasant agriculture and food sovereigntyBackgroundThis article focuses on agroecology as a farming practice based upon principles rooted in the biology of a place and its organic matter. Agroecology has been promoted by community organizations and NGOs and is scaling up to national peasant organizations and social movements. This study looks at Cuba as a case study for La Via Campesina, a global peasant movement, and how agroecology has spread in Cuba from campesino-a-campesino, or peasant-to-peasant. Available with subscription or purchase |
Bridging the great divide: State, civil society, and ‘participatory’ conservation mapping in a resource extraction zoneBackgroundThe author evaluates the outcomes of a participatory and inclusive mapping technique in a mineral extraction zone—the Cordillera Huayhuash—in the Andes of Central Peru. Knowing that land titling is often a source of mistrust and conflict between communities and the government, this technique offers a way to build counter-narratives to the unused territory story often told by state resource management agencies in charge of granting concessions to outside interests. Available with subscription or purchase |
Disappearing Forests in Malawi: Causes and SolutionsBackgroundMalawi has experienced rapid population growth coupled with soil erosion, land degradation, deforestation, hunger, and poverty. While it appears these trends are related, the author argues that the causes are more complex. Open access copy available |
Drivers of Reforestation in Human-Dominated ForestsbackgroundThe country of Nepal is examined as a case study for forest cover change, as it has experienced a shift towards an increase in forest cover in recent years. This study examines forests across Nepal in order to provide a framework of social factors useful for understanding this trend. research goals & MethodsA dataset of 55 forests from the middle hills and Terai plains of Nepal was examined for factors influencing forest cover change. Open access copy available |
Carbon sequestration in Africa: The land tenure problemBackgroundInconsistent land tenure practices across Africa are an obstacle to expanding tropical afforestation project with the goal of carbon sequestration. Few discussions of tropical afforestation in Africa address this obstacle. Open access copy available |
