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The document examines the failure of community trusts to deliver broad-based empowerment in South Africa's mining sector, highlighting how historical land tenure and the power of traditional chieftaincies often lead to rent-seeking and conflict. It specifically critiques Mining Charter III for mandating a new, ill-defined state agency to manage community shares without addressing the underlying governance failures seen in cases like the Bapo Ba Mogale and Bakwena Ba Mogopa.

Tanzania has liberalized its economy and leveraged political stability and strategic location to become a leading FDI destination in the East African Community. However, the country faces significant structural challenges, including a lack of skilled labor, cumbersome land tenure systems, and an outdated network of first-generation bilateral investment treaties that limit the government's policy space for industrial development. The paper recommends modernizing investment treaties, reforming land laws to empower smallholders, and strengthening the Tanzania Investment Centre to better integrate local SMEs into global value chains.

The statement by Amis de la Terre de l’Amérique latine et les Caraïbes (ATALC) denounces the criminalization of members of the Organización Fraternal Negra Hondureña (OFRANEH) and the vulnerability of the Lenca people in Río Blanco. It highlights the spoliation of Garífuna lands in Guadalupe to benefit foreign capital and urges the Honduran government to respect collective land titles and ILO Convention 169.

The document denounces the criminalization of at least four members of the Organización Fraternal Negra de Honduras (OFRANEH) and the dispossession of Garifuna lands in Guadalupe to benefit foreign capital. It also highlights the vulnerability of the Lenca people of Río Blanco due to the presence of armed men and threats against territorial defenders, calling on the Honduran government to respect collective land rights and ILO Convention 169.

The document denounces the criminalization of at least four members of the Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (OFRANEH) and the forced dispossession of Garifuna land in Guadalupe for the benefit of foreign capital. It further highlights threats and violence faced by the Lenca people of Río Blanco and calls on the Honduran government to uphold land rights according to the national constitution and ILO Convention No. 169.

Friends of the Earth International (via ATALC and ATI) responds to the June 7, 2017, court hearing of four suspects in the murder of Berta Cáceres, arguing that identifying both the material perpetrators and the underlying interests behind the crime is essential to protect indigenous and peasant communities in Honduras from further persecution and murder.

Following a court hearing on June 7 in Tegucigalpa, ATALC and Friends of the Earth International call for the identification of the interests and intellectual perpetrators behind the March 2016 murder of Berta Cáceres to end impunity for crimes against indigenous and peasant communities in Honduras.

ATALC and ATI call for the full investigation of the intellectual authors and interests behind the 2016 murder of Berta Cáceres to end impunity for environmental defenders in Honduras.

The document critiques the 2010 MOU between California, Acre, and Chiapas, which aimed to link California's cap-and-trade system with jurisdictional REDD+ programs in Brazil and Mexico. It argues that these market-based mechanisms lead to human rights violations, territorial conflicts, and the marginalization of indigenous peoples. In Acre, the report highlights methodological flaws in emission baselines and the failure of social projects. In Chiapas, it notes the rise of land-grabbing for African palm monocultures and significant public debt to the World Bank and IDB. The report concludes that REDD+ serves as a tool for capital accumulation rather than a genuine solution to climate change, recommending a shift toward recognizing land tenure and autonomous territorial management.

The report critiques the 2010 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between California, Acre, and Chiapas, which aimed to link jurisdictional REDD+ programs to California's cap-and-trade system. It argues that these mechanisms prioritize market logic over structural climate causes, leading to land grabbing, the criminalization of traditional practices, and the marginalization of indigenous peoples. In Acre, the report identifies methodological flaws in emission accounting and failures in community-level projects. In Chiapas, it highlights the expropriation of territories for agrofuel monocultures and increasing public debt. The document concludes that REDD+ safeguards are largely rhetorical and recommends the exclusion of carbon markets and offsets from environmental policy.

The document examines artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in Tanzania as a critical but under-governed source of employment and income. It argues that while the sector provides a vital livelihood for approximately 1.5 million people, it is plagued by severe health and safety risks, specifically mercury poisoning and pit collapses, and environmental degradation such as deforestation. The author contends that current legislation, specifically the 2010 Mining Act, prioritizes large-scale mining (LSM) and creates bureaucratic and financial barriers that marginalize artisanal miners. To harness the sector's potential, the paper recommends lowering licensing costs, improving geological information access, and implementing context-sensitive technology rollouts, such as mercury-recycling retorts, through partnerships between the government, private sector, and international organizations.

The paper examines the gap between Tanzania's high agricultural growth potential and the persistent poverty of its smallholder farmers. It analyzes the role of the Tanzanian Investment Centre (TIC), the impact of land tenure insecurity, and the potential of 'mega-PPPs' like the Southern Agriculture Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) to drive inclusive development. The author argues that while policies exist to stimulate investment, structural bottlenecks in taxation, infrastructure, and land rights hinder smallholders from moving beyond subsistence farming into commercial value chains.

The document identifies five dimensions of gender inequality in agriculture: land rights, productive resources, unpaid work, employment, and decision making. It compares Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSSs), which are typically adopted by producer organizations and companies, with Responsible Investment Frameworks (RIFs), which are guidelines for government and private sector actors. The analysis finds that RIFs generally have stronger gender dimensions regarding land rights and decision-making, while VSSs provide stronger guidance on earnings and employment. However, the document notes that neither tool automatically ensures positive outcomes; for example, VSSs can sometimes exacerbate women's workloads or be detrimental to access to common land if used for privatization. The brief recommends that stakeholders focus on implementation, adopt a gender-equity approach, and engage women as partners. Specific recommendations for investors include developing explicit gender strategies and ensuring female participation in consultations, while host governments are urged to prioritize gender-transformative outcomes and require gender statements from prospective investors.

The document analyzes the persistent land-use conflicts between farmers and pastoralists in Tanzania, specifically focusing on the Pawaga division. It identifies historical evictions, 'green grabbing' for conservation, large-scale agricultural investments like SAGCOT, and a biased legal framework as primary drivers of hostility. The author argues that Tanzania's formal land dispute machinery is inadequate and often politicized, failing to protect pastoralist rights. As an alternative, the paper highlights a successful pilot project by the Tanzania Natural Resource Forum (TNRF) that established a coalition of farmers and pastoralists in Pawaga to resolve disputes through dialogue and joint bylaws.

The report examines Brazil's complex rural land tenure system, tracing its origins from colonial 'sesmarias' to the current framework. It highlights how institutional complexity, the lack of a unified land cadastre, and weak enforcement contribute to land conflicts, deforestation, and inefficient land use. The document evaluates current initiatives like the Terra Legal Program and the SIG-Fundiário system, concluding with recommendations to streamline regularization, centralize registries under the CNIR, and clarify the application of the Forest Code to collective lands.

The document reports that 25 land defenders were killed in Colombia within the first 65 days of 2017, following approximately 80 deaths in 2016. It highlights specific victims, including José Antonio Anzola Tejedor, Luz Angela, and Ruth Alicia López Guisao, and argues that these killings are linked to private and transnational interests seeking territorial control for capital accumulation, extractive projects, and 'green economy' initiatives. ATALC calls on the Colombian government to end impunity and on the international community to develop concrete protection strategies for social and environmental defenders.

The document reports a surge in the killing of territory defenders in Colombia, noting 25 murders in the first 65 days of 2017 and 80 in 2016. It identifies the drivers of this violence as interests opposed to environmental justice and agents seeking capital accumulation through extractive and 'green economy' projects. ATALC demands that the Colombian government implement legal mechanisms to stop these attacks and identify perpetrators to end impunity.

Friends of the Earth International condemns the February 8, 2017, murder of 85-year-old Palestinian farmer Suleiman Hammad, who was run over by an Israeli settler near Al-Khader Village. The statement highlights the systematic confiscation of land in Al-Khader, where 85.5% of the village area (Area C) is under full Israeli control and an apartheid wall isolates 562 hectares of territory. The organization calls for international action to stop violations of the Right to Life for Palestinian farmers and the protection of environmental defenders resisting land confiscation.

In 2015, Côte d’Ivoire received FCFA 16.8 billion in REDD+ aligned finance, a small fraction of the estimated FCFA 173 billion needed annually to reach its 2030 forest cover target. The report highlights a significant gap between ambition and means, noting that 87% of relevant international finance (FCFA 80 billion) was 'grey'—meaning it lacked safeguards to prevent deforestation. Key institutional bottlenecks include SODEFOR's inability to execute its reforestation budget and a lack of mainstreaming of forest protection in national planning. The report argues that 'greening' existing agricultural finance could increase aligned funding five-fold. It recommends creating a National REDD+ Fund, improving land tenure security, and leveraging the success of the OIPR's debt-swap funding model.

The document outlines a comprehensive framework for governments to manage artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). It is structured into three phases: preparation (establishing working groups and analyzing context), strategy development (creating a vision and categorizing mining types), and implementation (executing plans and monitoring outcomes). The guide emphasizes integrating informal mining into legal and economic systems while reducing social and environmental harms, such as child labor and mercury use.