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Highlights from Land and Natural Resources Tenure Security Learning Initiative for Eastern and Southern Africa II

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Tenure security plays a central role in driving rural transformation. It is a powerful means for enhancing the sustainability of development efforts and empowering rural people. Given the importance of tenure security, IFAD entered into a partnership with UN-Habitat, through the Global Land Tools Network (GLTN) in 2011 to implement the first phase of the Land and Natural Resources Tenure Security Learning Initiative for Eastern and Southern Africa (TSLI-ESA) initiative. The objective of TSLI-ESA I was to identify common issues and promote lesson sharing and knowledge management on land related tools and approaches amongst IFAD supported projects in selected East and Southern African (ESA) countries.

The second phase of TSLI-ESA, which started in 2013, aimed to strengthen security of tenure on land and natural resources through the integration of pro-poor tenure tools in IFAD supported projects and programmes within the ESA region. The projects objectives were to:

a) Improve knowledge and awareness of land and natural resource tenure issues and measures for strengthening the tenure security of poor women and men;
b) Strengthen capacity for development and implementation of tools (for in-country policy dialogue, country strategy development, project/programme design, implementation and evaluation) and;
c) Strengthen and scale up approaches and tools for securing land and natural resource tenure.

In places where IFAD works, especially in Africa, most rural land falls under customary tenure. Managing customary land can be challenging, as it is generally undocumented and perceived to be unclaimed, generating competing interests and claims which end up resulting in encroachment, grabbing and in some cases conflict. The management by public authorities of land, for which no official title can be presented by those living on it, can in some cases further increase tenure insecurity, leading to unilateral changes in the allocation of the land and discouraging dwellers of that land to invest on their main productive asset.

Under the project GLTN provided support in developing tools and providing training to IFAD supported projects. In total 217 participants from 39 IFAD-supported investment projects in 21 countries participated in various training and information sharing events. Two examples of IFAD supported projects that have integrated GLTN tools are the Vegetable Oil Development Project (VODP) in Uganda and the  Smallholder Dairy Commercialisation Programme (SDCP) in Kenya.

Kenya – Smallholder Dairy Commercialization Programme (SDCP) – Nov 2013 • Credit: ©IFAD/Susan Beccio

TSLI-ESA in Kenya’s Smallholder Dairy Commercialisation Programme (SDCP) 
The goal of the project is to increase the incomes of poor rural households that depend substantially on the production and trade of dairy products for their livelihoods. The SDCP project was confronted with some key tenure challenges right from the beginning as there was encroachment of grazing lands and a deterioration in the state of communally shared resources. This provoked some rising tensions with regards to pasture and water resources, which also impacted the productivity of the dairy animals. As a response, GLTN in collaboration with partners conducted participatory mapping of communally shared resources ensuring that communities now have the means to protect their common resources from encroachment and ultimately promote their sustainable utilisation. The success of community mapping under TSLI-ESA in Kenya, has been captured in a video with an accompanying blog entry from GLTN.

TSLI-ESA in Uganda’s Vegetable Oil Development Project 
The project aims to increase the domestic production of vegetable oil and its by-products, thus raising rural incomes for smallholder producers and ensuring the supply of affordable vegetable oil products to Ugandan consumers. With regard to tenure security, the oil palm component has faced particular challenges where land was acquired for nucleus estate for a private sector investor and where there has been large-scale conversion of land use. The project in collaboration with GLTN developed and supported “famer-driven enumeration” (FDE) in Kalangala District, Uganda, where the GLTN’s Social Tenure Domain Model (STDM) is being used to upgrade the database system for farmers being used by the Kalangala Oil Palm Growers Trust (KOPGT). For further information and a video showcasing the success of farmers’ driven participatory mapping with STDM in Kalangala, Uganda, here is a blog entry from GLTN.

 

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WITNESS RADIO MILESTONES

Uganda: Land-grab victim communities will join counterparts in commemorating the 2024 International Day of Struggle Against Industrial Plantations.

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By Witness Radio team.

On September 21, 2024, land-grabs communities under their group, the Informal Alliance for communities affected by irresponsible land-based investments in Uganda for the first will join fellow victims in commemorating the International Day of Struggle Against Industrial Plantations, highlighting the growing threat posed by large-scale monoculture plantations.

These industrial plantations have led to the forced eviction of millions of people across Uganda, displacing indigenous communities and stripping them of their land rights and livelihoods. Driven by multinational companies and government-backed investors, with the support of government and private security entities, these evictions prioritize profits over people.

Among the many Ugandan communities still suffering the devastating impact of monoculture plantations are over 30,000 people who were violently displaced from the Namwasa and Luwunga forest reserves between 2006 and 2010 to make way for the New Forests Company’s pine and eucalyptus plantations. In addition, thousands of local and indigenous communities were illegally evicted to make way for palm oil plantations in Kalangala district. Nearly 4,000 people had their land grabbed by the Formosa tree planting company in the Mubende district, and over 35,000 were displaced in Kiryandongo to make way for industrial agriculture to grow maize, soybean, and sugarcane plantations, among others. These and other affected communities united and formed the Informal Alliance for Victims affected by irresponsible land-based investments to defend their rights in early 2019.

The International Day of Struggle Against Industrial Plantations was first celebrated on September 21, 2004, during a community network meeting fighting against industrial tree plantations in Brazil. Since then, it has become a day when organizations, communities, and movements worldwide come together to celebrate resistance and raise their voices, demanding an end to the relentless expansion of industrial tree plantations.

In Uganda, on Saturday, September 21, the 2024 commemoration will start with a radio program in a local dilect (Luganda) purposely to highlight weird experiences faced by communities displaced by large-scale monoculture plantations, struggles for justice, and holding companies and financiers accountable. A one-hour radio program starting at 10 a.m. EAT will feature leaders of the loose alliance. Listen to the radio program on Witness Radio platforms on the website www.witnessradio.org or download the Witness Radio App on playstore.

Later, land-grab victims in Uganda will join their colleagues from Africa and other countries around the globe in a webinar meeting aimed at fostering organizations’ and rural communities’ connection across member countries and communities to build confidence, share experiences, strengthen our campaign to reignite hopes and forge a bond of understanding between the Informal Alliance and victim communities shattered by destructive plantations as well as deterring future plantations expansion.

The Webinar will start at 3PM EAT and will be aired live on Witness Radio platforms on the website www.witnessradio.org or download the Witness Radio App on playstore.

Please note: Both the radio show and Webinar will be live on Witness Radio on www.witnessradio.org or download the witness radio app on playstore to listen live.

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WITNESS RADIO MILESTONES

Uganda: CSOs claim Agilis Partners forcibly evicting local communities to pave way for agribusiness; company did not respond

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Witness Radio and its partners have alleged that thousands of people from local and Indigenous communities have been forcefully evicted from their land to make way for Agilis Partners Limited’s large-scale farming operations, in violation of international human rights law.

They have raised concerns about severe human rights abuses including forced evictions and lack of prompt, fair, and adequate compensation; violations of Indigenous peoples’ right to free, prior, and informed consent; abduction, arrest, torture, and judicial harassment of human rights defenders, and alleged sexual violence against women and girls, as well as other negative social and environmental impacts.

Witness Radio and its partners representing PAPs have written to Agilis Partners on several occasions seeking a dialogue between the company and people who have been harmed however, the company has not responded to their communications.

In a letter to Agilis Partners in June 2024, 36 civil society organizations called on Agilis Partners and its financial backers to take immediate action to stop the human rights abuses and harassment committed against community members, engage in dialogue with the communities, and restore the lands to the people that have been displaced.

We invited Agilis Partners to respond to the letter, the company did not respond.

Company Responses

Agilis Partners. No Response.

Source: business-humanrights.org

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DEFENDING LAND AND ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS

Breaking: Witness Radio and Partners to Launch Human Rights Monitoring, Documentation, and Advocacy Project Tomorrow.

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By Witness Radio Team.

Witness Radio, in collaboration with Dan Church Aid (DCA) and the National Coalition for Human Rights Defenders (NCHRD), is set to launch the Monitoring, Documentation, and Advocacy for Human Rights in Uganda (MDA-HRU) project tomorrow, 22nd February 2024, at Kabalega Resort Hotel in Hoima District.

The project, funded by the European Union, aims to promote the protection and respect for human rights, and enable access to remedy where violations occur especially in the Mid-Western and Karamoja sub-regions where private sector actors are increasingly involved in land-based investments (LBIs) through improved documentation, and evidence-based advocacy.

The three-year project, which commenced in October 2023, focuses its activities in the Mid-Western sub-region, covering Bulisa, Hoima, Masindi, Kiryandongo, Kikuube, Kagadi, Kibale, and Mubende districts, and Karamoja sub-region, covering Moroto, Napak, Nakapiripirit, Amudat, Nabilatuk, Abim, Kaabong, Kotido, and Karenga districts.

The project targets individuals and groups at high risk of human rights violations, including Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) and Land and Environmental Defenders (LEDs). It also engages government duty bearers such as policymakers and implementers in relevant ministries and local governments, recognizing their crucial role in securing land and environmental rights. Additionally, the project involves officials from institutional duty bearers including the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC), Equal Opportunities Commission, and courts, among others.

Representatives from the international community, faith leaders, and business actors are also included in the project’s scope, particularly those involved in land-based investments (LBIs) impacting the environment.

The project was initially launched in Moroto for the Karamoja region on the 19th of this month with the leadership of the National Coalition for Human Rights Defenders (NCHRD).

According to the project implementors,  the action is organized into four activity packages aimed at; enhancing the capacity and skills of Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) and Land and Environmental Defenders (LEDs) in monitoring, documentation, reporting (MDR), and protection, establishing and reinforcing reporting and documentation mechanisms for advocacy and demand for corporate and government accountability;  providing response and support to HRDs and marginalized communities; and lastly facilitating collaboration and multi-stakeholder engagements that link local and national issues to national and international frameworks and spaces.

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