IN DEPTH

Prioritizing women's rights in the renewable energy push

By Beth Roberts, Director of Landesa's Center for Women’s Land Rights

An engineer at a power station in Mauritius. Photo by: Stephane Bellerose / UNDP in Mauritius and Seychelles / UNDP Climate / CC BY-NC

The urgently needed shift from fossil fuels to renewables is clear and increasingly well known. The rise of renewable energy projects in response to this need has been exponential across most renewable sources and across many countries.

But this rapid and crucial shift has also witnessed a familiar trend: Women — especially rural and indigenous women — are severely marginalized in decisions about land use. Consultations and compensations are missing or disproportionately low for women in the context of investments in land, and women who defend human rights to land suffer disproportionate levels of violence. The rise of land use change for renewable energy projects is no exception.

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PROGRAM UPDATE

Sharing land law knowledge in SE Asia

As a follow-up to the FAO-funded Southeast Asia study program, Landesa Myanmar was asked to conduct a study on how to harmonize land laws for the new National Land Law of Myanmar. Given the current political situation in Myanmar, Landesa and FAO pivoted to take a broader approach to this question by looking at comparative examples and best practices from across the region.

To provide an opportunity for practitioners to share their vast knowledge and experience, we convened a regional video workshop on land law harmonization with colleagues and partners from Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Myanmar. Participants exchanged experiences with conflicting legal instruments, approaches for harmonizing laws, and inclusive practices for consulting civil society.

The discussion was lively, with participants sharing challenges and comparing solutions across countries, often finding similarities in the biggest barriers to achieving harmonized legal frameworks. Participants requested that the conference become a regular gathering to discuss these questions in more depth, and to address other challenges facing land rights in the region. Landesa and FAO will produce the law harmonization study this month.

Land rights impact climate action

Around the world, land rights are essential for building resilience to climate change. Sustainable farming practices like improved irrigation, tree planting, and soil conservation often depend on whether a landholder’s rights are secure.

Visit Our Planet, Our Future: Youth as agents of climate action hub with new infographics and stories from youth in Africa about how they perceive their role in building a climate secure future, and how rights and access to land can help them fulfill that vision.

BROWSE RESOURCES

Remembering Dr. Tajamul Haque

Dr. Tajamul Haque, an agriculture economist and one of India’s foremost land policy experts, passed away on May 2. Landesa joins the development community in India and around the world in mourning. 

Dr. Haque dedicated his life and work to improving the lives of those experiencing poverty. His contributions to land reform and agriculture development in India are too numerous to count, and he is remembered as a tireless advocate for the rural farmer in the highest levels of government. He served as a mentor and Senior Advisor to Landesa over the past two decades, in which he provided guidance and gracious support for our work in several countries in Asia. He will be deeply missed.

READ REMEMBRANCES FROM THE LANDESA COMMUNITY

Landesa in the news

Intern Spotlight: Joy Imbuye

Joy is interning with Landesa's Africa team and supporting several projects related to youth land rights, women’s land rights, and climate change. Joy is currently pursuing her second Master's degree in European and International Project management at the University of Nantes in France.

What brought you to Landesa?
While I enjoy my coursework, I am very excited to be an intern at Landesa because I have the opportunity to work in areas that match my interests in law and project coordination to serve humanity in the best way possible and with equally enthusiastic colleagues. Landesa’s outstanding work in collaboration with relevant governmental bodies and other partners to protect the land rights of the underprivileged in the world encouraged me to seek to join Landesa.

READ JOY'S INTERVIEW