Land tenure is the relationship, defined in law and customs, that people as individuals or groups have with land. It involves a bundle of rights to land, such as the right to use, sell, or bequeath land. Secure tenure is crucial for people to have secure homes, for food production, and for the economy. For…
Land is a vital productive asset, and access to it is an economic right. Yet governance across Africa remains weak, with many countries lacking clear rules that define ownership and tenure. As a result, land disputes have fueled significant inequalities, particularly affecting women. Only a few countries, such as Rwanda, have made notable progress in…
US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth’s plane made an unscheduled landing in the UK, during a return flight headed for the US, the Pentagon said on X. The plane carrying Hegseth on his way back from Nato’s Defence Minister meeting in Belgium had a “crack in the aircraft windshield”. “The plane landed based on standard…
Last week, a ceasefire was announced after two years of genocide in Gaza. The bombs have stopped falling, but the devastation remains. The majority of homes, schools, hospitals, universities, factories, and commercial buildings have been reduced to rubble. From above, Gaza looks like a grey desert of rubble, its vibrant urban spaces reduced to ghost…
If the slave trade uprooted millions, the Scramble for Africa uprooted entire nations. In the late 19th century, Europe turned its gaze once more to Africa–not just for people, but for land, minerals, and control. Within a few decades, the continent was carved up like a cake at a table where Africans had no seat….
Study hard, get your degree, and then step confidently into a stable, well-paid job. That’s long been the assumption about how to secure a livelihood: in neat, predictable stages. But it is increasingly out of touch with reality. Secure jobs are no longer guaranteed after obtaining a tertiary qualification. Up-to-date and reliable data on graduate…
When land grabbing banishes communities from their homes, the surrounding environment and biodiversity are left at the mercy of destructive industries The term “land grabs” describes large-scale acquisitions of land that rob communities of access to their homes and livelihoods. While the term has become more common in the last two decades, the concept is…
Every year, Global Witness works with partners to gather evidence, verify and document every time a land and environmental defender is killed or disappeared. Our methodology follows robust criteria, yet undocumented cases pose challenges when it comes to analysing data Global Witness documents killings and long-term disappearances of land and environmental defenders globally. In partnership…
New Global Witness figures bring the total up to 2,253 from 2012 to 2024 At least 146 land and environmental defenders were killed or disappeared* around the world last year defending their land, communities or the environment, a new report by Global Witness reveals. Today the investigative organisation published its annual report on land and…
Worldwide, an estimated 440 million people were exposed to a wildfire encroaching on their home at some point between 2002 and 2021, new research shows. That’s roughly equivalent to the entire population of the European Union, and the number has been steadily rising – up 40% over those two decades. With intense, destructive fires often…
