News archive March 2014

(6) March 2014

Taiwan’s Indigenous oppose trade deal with China

The indigenous people of Taiwan are concerned that the controversial Cross-Strait Service and Trade Agreement (CSSTA) between the island and China will lead to the destruction of their ancestral land and the suppression of their languages, among other consequences. (I-fan Lin / Global Voices)

Conflict in Indonesia’s Papua Region

The clearing of forests inhabited by indigenous people in Indonesia's Papua* Region by agribusinesses is fuelling conflict in the southern Merauke Regency, say campaigners. (IRIN)

Indigenous communities demand forest rights, blame land grabs for failure to curb deforestation

Indigenous and forest-dependent peoples from Asia, Africa and Latin America have called for increased recognition of customary land rights in order to curb deforestation and ensure the survival of their communities. (Diana Parker / Mongabay)

African govts give away continent’s natural heritage, acre by acre

African governments are in the spotlight for their role in the continent’s land grabs which has seen millions of acres end up in the hands of private investors. This trend has been identified by some land experts and economists as a “dangerous” grab of the basis upon which the continent’s people depend for survival. (Mbaria / The East African)

Good news: Guarani return to their ancestral land as rancher leaves

A Guarani community in Brazil has managed to return to a small part of its ancestral land, forcing out the rancher who had taken over their land and blockaded their houses. (Survival)

Indonesian sugar company poised to destroy half of island paradise’s forests

An Indonesian plantation company may be preparing to destroy up to half of the natural forests on Indonesia's remote Aru Islands, reports Forest Watch Indonesia. (R Butler / Mongabay)