Princetonlaan 8a, 3584 CB, Utrecht landac.geo@uu.nl +31 30 253 13 63

Chiang Mai University | Call for Applicants MA Social Science (Development Studies). Scholarships Available!

Call for applicants: MA in Social Science (Development Studies) – Focus on Land Relations – at Chiang Mai University. SCHOLARSHIPS ARE AVAILABLE

Please pass this on to any parties who might be interested in Masters-level training on land:

For more information, and to receive the full brochure, please contact Daniel Hayward at: mekonglandforum@gmail.com

Want to work in Development?

Looking for a career as a sustainability professional, social researcher, development specialist, humanitarian worker or policy maker? Interested in Land Relations? Start the journey down your career path with a Master of Arts in Social Science (Development Studies) from the Faculty of Social Sciences, Chiang Mai University.

Since 2017, a focus in land relations has connected students with academic institutions, NGOs and researchers from around the Mekong Region. Chiang Mai University has become a centre for training benefitting a new generation of researchers and administrators working in the field of land governance.

SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE

For those from Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam, full scholarships are available, covering both study, travel and living costs.

Deadline for Application: 31 March 2020

Programme start: June 2020

For questions on the International Master’s Program and Chiang Mai University, please contact Ann at: rungthiwa.hacker@gmail.com

For specific questions about the focus on land relations, please contact Daniel at: mekonglandforum@gmail.com

Women’s Land Rights | Call for Proposals 2020 (deadline 31-1-2020)

Research Consortium has launched a Call for Proposals 2020: Women’s Land Rights Research Consortium Research Grant on the Effectiveness of Interventions to Improve Women’s Land Tenure Security.

The Research Consortium on Women’s Land Rights is a community of learning and practice that works to increase the quantity and strengthen the quality of research on interventions to advance women’s land and resource rights. With this RFP, the Research Consortium seeks to address gaps in knowledge and evidence on what works and what does not work to improve land and resource rights for women in practice. 

Objectives
The objectives of the research grants are to:

  1. Contribute to the body of knowledge on gender-differentiated results of interventions that seek to reform land and resource tenure in a given context.
  2. Understand the attributes of interventions, policies, and reforms that make them better or worse for women.
  3. Understand the context in which these interventions take place and how that influences their outcomes.
  4. Develop and disseminate best practices for research and programming that seeks to reduce poverty, ensure better resource management, or improve gender equity through land and resource tenure related reforms. 
  5. Build or strengthen capacity to do research on gender and land rights in a way that helps to shift and shape policy and practice.


Types of projects that will be eligible for research grants 
Grants will be awarded for research projects that address one or more of the following topics:

  • On interventions that address all the dimensions of tenure security for women: completeness, durability, and robustness. See here for an explanation of these terms.
  • On the value to women of documenting land and property rights in tenure systems other than private, individual tenure (e.g. collectively held lands).
  • On interventions that improve women’s participation in governance bodies of collectively held lands and an examination of under what conditions inclusion on governance bodies improves outcomes for women.
  • On the intra-household effects of land rights reforms, especially for women in male-headed households.
  • On the sustainability of interventions or outcomes once donors are no longer involved.
  • On the potential for scaling specific interventions and positive and negative outcomes of doing so.
  • On land tenure interventions appropriate to the experience of women in different stages of life or with diverse life experiences, e.g., never married, widowed, disabled, economically poor, rural, urban.
  • On how to effectively foster and support social norm change to the benefit of both women and men.

Eligibility criteria

  • Grantees must be based in low- and middle-income countries.
  • Grant-funded research must be undertaken in low- and middle-income countries.
  • Applicants must have a proven history and background on similar research
  • Applicants may be organizations or individuals.
  • Must be able to be completed by the key deadlines provided below.
  • More than one entry per applicant is acceptable.
  • Applications must clearly state a research question that aligns with the eligible topics above.
  • Applications and reports must be submitted in English.
  • Grant proposals can build on other research and can use existing data if available.

Key Dates
All dates/times are Australian Eastern Standard Time UTC +10

  • Call Information Webinar Session-Wednesday 22nd January 5 pm. 
  • The closing date for applications is Friday 31st January 2020. 
  • Grants awarded by Friday 7th February 2020. 
  • The first draft of reports must be completed by Friday 6th March 2020. 


Total grant amount
 The total budget for grant proposals must not exceed $20,000.

How to apply

  • Email rc@resourceequity.org to request your application package.
  • Applications for the 2020 Women’s Land Rights Research Consortium Research Grant on the Effectiveness of Interventions to improve Women’s Land Tenure Security must be submitted using the Annex One in the application package.
  • Instructions on the form, including word length and process, must be followed to be eligible.

Further information
A webinar will be held (and recorded) on Wednesday 22nd January, 2020 at 5pm (AEST +10 UTC) where the Research Consortium representatives will explain the grant criteria.

Register to attend the webinar by clicking the link to zoom below.

https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Rv0pNRgXT-mqWh7PL48SSQ

Questions can be asked during the webinar (online) or can be submitted by Thursday 23rd January 2020 by emailing rc@resourceequity.org

If you cannot attend the webinar but would like a copy of the webinar recording, please email rc@resourceequity.org.

UU, CIFOR & LANDac | PhD Defense Federico Brandão

Dear colleagues,

You are cordially invited Frederico’ public defence of its PhD thesis titled:

OIL PALM EXPANSION IN THE BRAZILIAN AMAZON
The challenge of reconciling conservation and development

January 17, 2020 at 14.00

Summary

The recent Amazon fire crises and the emerging anti-environmental governmental rhetoric across some important countries have brought to the fore the need to develop viable models that both protect forests and stimulate socioeconomic development as intertwined goals in tropical landscapes. This dissertation focuses on one of the proposals to address that aim: sustainable agricultural production. More precisely, it discusses the extent to which sustainable oil palm expansion can be a viable option to reconcile conservation and development in the Brazilian Amazon. The book’s eight chapters analyse in great detail an expansion process shaped by a unique governance context characterized by robust measures to prevent the deforestation of primary forests and to use degraded lands, and to support the inclusion of smallholder farmers in the business through contract farming schemes. It does so grounded in extensive fieldwork activities carried out between 2014 and 2015 in the Amazonian state of Pará, where the bulk of Brazil’s agricultural investments are located. Brazil has achieved remarkable outcomes in terms of preventing deforestation and stimulating a fairer and more equitable distribution of benefits. This shows that oil palm expansion is not necessarily associated with devastating consequences, such as those observed in Southeast Asia. Yet, the Brazilian model does have some important limitations in terms of inclusivity and viability, which questions its socio-environmental orientation in the long run. By discussing the observed merits and failures, the case study presented here provides an interesting example of the existing challenges and dilemmas encountered when attempting to align agricultural development, poverty alleviation, and forest conservation.

This defense is part of the LIFFE program with CIFOR, and is a partnership with LANDac.

Address: Academiegebouw, Domplein 29, Utrecht

LANDac 2020 Conference | Call for Sessions Extended!

Land Governance Challenges
and Climate Change:

Handling Pressures, Upholding Rights

2-3 July 2020
Muntgebouw Utrecht, The Netherlands

Call for Sessions for the 2020 Conference is out now!
Deadline for submission extended 22 January 2020.

The LANDac Annual International Conference offers a podium for researchers, practitioners and private sector representatives interested in land governance for equitable and sustainable development. The 2020 Conference looks at the challenges that climate change poses for land governance systems, processes and actors and at relevant lessons that can be drawn from experiences with land governance to date.

New America | Future of Property Rights Program: Call for “Frontier Fellows”

New America’s Future of Property Rights Program (FPR) is looking for a ‘Frontier Fellow’! Deadline for application: 10th January 2020. More information below.

About the Future of Property Rights Program:

New America’s Future of Property Rights Program (FPR) was founded to answer the following question: Why is a quarter of the world’s population unable to exercise their fundamental right to property, despite advances in technology and human development?

They believe a disconnect between policymakers and technologists is hindering progress in the global fight for land and property rights.

FPR aims to help solve global property rights challenges by shrinking the gulf between technologists and policymakers. Through research, writing, and convening, we strive to bring these two constituents into the same room. Our goal is to act as a translator between the world of drones, artificial intelligence, and blockchain, and the world of politics, laws, and institutions.

At the same time, we aim to preempt emerging property rights challenges by thinking critically about the paradigms that govern new spaces, from cyberspace to outer space.

About the Position:
The ideal candidate is a self-motivated thought leader with experience in both technology and policy or international development. The candidate should be a good multi-tasker, capable of managing day-to-day project operations and contributing to the long-term goals of FPR through coordination with New America and external colleagues, writing short articles and white papers, and speaking at events.

The fellow will primarily research and write on the intersection of land policy and technology, with a focus on ICT and the emerging power of digital data trails to prove land and property rights. As part of this role, FPR expects the fellow to stay abreast of emerging tech trends and developments that may be applicable to property rights; write short articles and research papers; liaise with stakeholders in both the property rights and tech communities; and possibly to help pilot the introduction of a new technology to solve a property rights challenge in a developing country context. Should resources materialize for a pilot, the fellow would be expected to help manage the project. Finally, the fellow must be an engaging speaker and networker, able to represent FPR to new audiences in new geographies. 

Experience with innovative tech, grounding in policy and/or international development, intellectual agility, and strong organizational, research, writing and communication skills are essential for this role. This is an ideal position for someone who is familiar with international development and technology, and is able to translate that experience into a dynamic role that is part project manager, part technologist, part ambassador, and part journalist. 

It is expected that the fellow will work remotely, with 1-2 trips to Washington D.C. during the course of the fellowship. The fellow may need to maintain a flexible work schedule to facilitate participation in cross-timezone meetings, within reason.

Responsibilities:

  • In collaboration with FPR, research and write on the intersection of land and technology. The fellow will be expected to produce blogs or articles monthly, as well as one to two longer research products.
  • Network with stakeholders in the property rights and technology sectors to stay abreast of new developments and flag opportunities for FPR engagement. 
  • Possibly help develop and explore resources for a pilot; should resources materialize, the fellow would help manage the project.
  • Work closely with FPR to take advantage of media opportunities –print, social, broadcast, or otherwise.
  • Serve as an ambassador and advocate for the Future of Property Rights Program.

Qualifications:

  • A bachelor’s degree or higher.
  • Minimum 10 years experience in international development or technology, with preference for experience in both disciplines. 
  • Experience working in a developing country context. 
  • Strong research, writing and editing skills in English. Preference for experience with both short-form journalistic writing, and longer-form research.
  • High attention to detail.
  • Excellent organizational skills and the ability to prioritize work and manage time in order to meet deadlines.
  • Strong interest in the mission of the Future of Property Rights Program.
  • Familiarity with new and emerging technology, project design, and project management.
  • Ability to complete assignments and problem solve with minimal supervision.
  • Interest in working on a team and with a diverse group of stakeholders.

Application Process:

Please submit a resume, a professionally written one-page cover letter, and a short writing sample (2-5 pages). Fellowship compensation is commensurate with experience and is competitive.

The position will be open until January 10, with an anticipated start date of mid-February 2020

For more information, vist New America’s website here.

WUR | Public Lecture An Ansoms: Land Lost – Land Regained in Transforming Rural Landscapes?

Public Lecture Prof An Ansoms: Land lost – land regained in transforming rural landscapes? Smallholder farmers navigating Rwanda’s agrarian land reforms.

Date: December 18th 2019
Time: 15:00 – 17:00
Location: room C62, Leeuwenborch, Wageningen University, The Netherlands

In her lecture, An Ansoms will reflect on how different discourses on land reform -centred on rights, conflictuality or efficiency-  have played a role in the reorganisation of Rwanda’s rural economy. Since 2007-2008, Rwandan authorities embarked upon an ambitious project to reorganise the entire agrarian sector. Instead of counting on subsistence-based family farming, the Rwandan government elaborated a Green Revolution strategy, aiming to promote productive farming through the modernisation and professionalization of the entire agrarian sector. This involved the creation of a centrally-organised land registration system, a Crop Intensification Policy and a system of performance contracts. Professor Ansoms will reflect on how the various land governance discourses were mobilised by authorities at all levels, and how they culminated in a concrete reconfiguration of the rural landscape. She will also point to how other actors involved (civil society, farmer organisations, private sector), and in particular smallholder farmers have navigated and continue to navigate within Rwanda’s agrarian and land reforms. Interestingly, the space for criticism towards the ‘modernising’ orientation of the reforms is opening up. Forms of contestation by smallholder farmers are being picked up by Rwandan policy makers, and ten years after the introduction of the New Green Revolution, this is resulting in renewed opportunities for smallholder farming.

An Ansoms is professor in development studies at the Université Catholique de Louvain (Belgium). She coordinates an interdisciplinary action-research project, titled ‘Land Rush’ (www.land-rush.org), on natural resource conflicts in conflict-prone settings in Central Africa. The interdisciplinary team is composed of African and European scholars who engage in in-depth prolonged field research in Eastern DRC, Rwanda and Burundi. They actively engage in generating scientific knowledge, but also participate in societal debates, and in reflections around the ethical and emotional challenges of research in conflict settings.

Find An on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AFiJ_5YG_U

All welcome. Registration is not necessary. This event is organised by the Conflict@WUR cluster of the CSPS.

PhD students are invited to join a Masterclass with An Ansoms in the morning of December 18th. For further information (or registration for the Masterclass) please contact Lotje.devries@wur.nl.

LAND-at-scale | Vacature Programma-adviseur

Vacancy in Dutch

RVO’s LAND-at-scale is op zoek naar een nieuwe programma-adviseur.

Functieomschrijving

Betere landrechten zijn cruciaal voor resultaten op verschillende ontwikkelingssamenwerkingsthema’s. Denk maar eens aan voedselzekerheid, integraal waterbeheer, klimaatadaptatie en duurzaam bos- en grondstoffenbeheer. Maar ook aan het bevorderen van inclusieve economische groei en betere vrouwenrechten. Als programma-adviseur help je mee om veel ontwikkelingsdoelen van de Verenigde Naties te behalen.

Je zet je als programma-adviseur in voor het team Mondiale Vraagstukken Voedselzekerheid, Energie en Klimaat. Dat team is onderdeel van de afdeling Internationale Ontwikkeling binnen de Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland. Jouw inzet spitst zich toe op het programma LAND-at-scale. Dit programma versterkt essentiële land-governance-componenten die bijdragen aan structurele veranderingen in focus- en partnerlanden.

Het LAND-at-scale-programma biedt essentiële handvatten voor landbestuur aan mannen, vrouwen en jongeren die kunnen bijdragen aan structurele, rechtvaardige en inclusieve veranderingen in ontwikkelingslanden. Wij werken programmatisch en ondersteunen gevalideerde aanvragen voor technische assistentie en strategische investeringen.

Jouw taken

  • Je draagt (mede) zorg voor het synthetiseren en wegzetten van resultaten en geleerde lessen.
  • Je faciliteert bedrijven, (lokale) overheden, ngo’s en/of kennisinstellingen door het inzetten van middelen en een netwerk om zo de impact van projecten te vergroten.
  • Je draagt bij aan het formuleren van landrechtenprojecten.  
  • Je ziet toe op een goede uitvoering van projecten. 

Voor deze taken onderhoud je intensieve contacten met overheidsinstanties in de betrokken landen, de ambassades en de bedrijven, kennisinstellingen en/of ngo’s die de projecten uitvoeren. Ook bezoek je regelmatig deze landen en zie je daar toe op de uitvoering van de projecten.

Het team Mondiale Vraagstukken Voedselzekerheid, Energie en Klimaat is ontstaan uit een splitsing van het team Mondiale Vraagstukken in twee teams: één met focus op water en één met focus op voedselzekerheid, energie en klimaat. De afdeling Internationale Ontwikkeling voert diverse programma’s uit voor het ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken en het ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat. Deze zijn gericht op armoedebestrijding, onder meer door de toegang tot energie te verbeteren en de voedselzekerheid te vergroten. Bekende programma’s zijn:

  • de SDG Partnerschapfaciliteit;
  • de Energie Transitie Faciliteit;
  • de Faciliteit Duurzaam Ondernemen en Voedselzekerheid;
  • het Energising Development Partnership-programma.

Deadline: 13 december 2020

EADI/ISS Series | Solidarity for People Displaced by Large-Scale Investment Projects

LANDac and UU colleagues Kei Otsuki and Griet Steel recently posted a blog for the EADI/ISS Series on Solidarity for People Displaces by Large-Scale Investment Projects.

Read the blog here!

You can still join the panel by submitting an abstract before the 15th of December.

Shelter City Netherlands | Call for temporary relocation in 2020

Orginal post here.

Justice and Peace Netherlands is launching a new call for human rights defenders at risk to participate in the Shelter City initiative around March 2020. The deadline to apply is 29 November 2019.  

Shelter City offers human rights defenders (HRDs) at risk a possibility for rest and respite by letting them escape temporarily from a threatening situation. The initiative can benefit human rights defenders that are threatened or under intense pressure due to their work. Shelter City is an initiative coordinated by Justice and Peace Netherlands together with  municipalities in the Netherlands, local partners, and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

How does Shelter City work?
Through temporary relocation, human rights defenders will be offered a shelter for 3 months in one of the Shelter Cities in the Netherlands, during which they can rest, continue their work in safety, build up capacity (including compulsory training on holistic security), extend their network and raise awareness about the situation in their country. Activities can include meetings with NGOs and public officials, public lectures, rest or leisure, treatment for work-related problems, continuing working remotely on human rights in their country, raising awareness of human rights with the Dutch public or participating in local initiatives organised by the municipality and/or the host organisation. At the end of the programme, participants are expected to return with new tools and energy to continue their work at home. A monthly stipend sufficient to cover costs of living, accommodation, health insurance, visa and return flight tickets to The Netherlands are provided. In addition, participants receive personal accompaniment throughout their stay in the Netherlands.

Who can apply for Shelter City?
For the purposes of Shelter City, the term HRD is intended to refer to the broad range of activists, journalists, scholars, writers, artists, lawyers, civil rights defenders, independent media professionals, civil society members, and others working to peacefully advance human rights and democracy around the world.

Applicants must fulfil the following conditions:
In order to be eligible to the Shelter City programme, HRDs must meet the following conditions:

  1. They implement a non-violent approach in their work;
  2. They are threatened or otherwise under pressure due to their work;
  3. They should be able to be relocated for a period of maximum 3 months. Limited spots are available for people who are not able to stay for the full 3 months;
  4. They are willing and able to return to their country of origin after 3 months;
  5. They are willing to speak publicly about their experience or about human rights in their country to the extent that their security situation allows;
  6. They have a conversational level* of English (limited spots are available for French or Spanish speaking HRDs);
  7. They are willing and able to come to The Netherlands without accompaniment of family members;
  8. They have a valid passport (with no less than six months of validity) or be willing to carry out the procedures for its issuance. Justice and Peace covers the costs of issuing a passport and / or visa (if applicable);
  9. They are not subjected to any measure or judicial prohibition of leaving the country;
  10. They are willing to begin their stay in The Netherlands around March 2020.

*By conversational English we mean that participants’ level of English allows them to actively participate in a training, speak about their work, communicate with the host city, etc.

Note that additional factors will be taken into consideration in the final round of selection, such as the added value of a stay in The Netherlands as well as gender, geographic, and thematic balance. Please note that we can only accept HRDs currently residing in a third country under exceptional circumstances.

To apply or submit the application of a human rights defender, please fill in the form by clicking ‘Apply Now’ below. Application forms must be completed by 29 November 2019, at 23:59 CET (Central European Time). An independent commission will select the participants.

Apply Now for Shelter City 2020

Note that the selected human rights defenders will not be automatically allowed into the Shelter City programme as Justice and Peace is not in control of issuing the required visas to enter the Netherlands.

For more information, please contact us at sheltercity@justiceandpeace.nl