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Land Rights

Interview with Rafael Alegría, Honduran Peasant Leader

By Latin America Bureau
May 17th, 2012

The Latin America Bureau (LAB) interviewed Grassroots’ partner, Rafael Alegría in Honduras. Co-coordinator for the Via Campesina-Central America, Rafael joins hundreds of other peasants in occupying land to call attention to the need for agrarian reform. Below is the interview, which also appeared on the Via Campesina website.

Thousands of Honduran workers occupy land

By the Via Campesina

Thousands of Honduran farm workers have launched a co-ordinated land occupation, squatting on some 12,000 hectares nationwide and fuelling new tensions over land rights, authorities said.

Walling Off Water

By Alicia Tozour and Mina Remy

Compared to their Arab neighbors, the occupied Palestinian territories are endowed with an abundance of freshwater. Despite this fact, Palestinians do not have access to enough water to meet their daily needs or support their small farms. Although Israel’s illegal expansion into the Palestinian territories is commonly viewed as a land grab, the placement of Israeli settlements and the construction of the Separation Wall is also a strategic water grab.

A Darker Shade of Green Documents Critical Perspectives on REDD

Our friends at Global Forest Coalition and Global Justice Ecology Project have produced a new video entitled A Darker Shade of Green: REDD Alert and the Future of Forests. The 28-minute video documents opposition around the globe to controversial programs that claim to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) by putting forests into the carbon market.
 

Brazil’s water and energy mega-grab

“Anytime a new wall is built, hundreds of acres of forest and fertile land for food production is flooded. Anytime a new wall is built, a river dies. The death of the rivers is the end of our livelihood” - José Josivaldo, Movement of People Affected by Dams, National Coordination body member
 
The hugely profitable business of building dams has taken the Amazon region by storm. One hundred-forty new dams will be built in the Amazon in the next years. The lion’s share will be in Brazil, spurred on by its booming economy, but the Amazonian regions of Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Suriname, French Guyana and Guyana are also targeted by the industry.

Women in Africa and Asia Take the Lead to Address Climate Change

By Alicia Tozour

Today, Grassroots International honors International Women’s Day by celebrating the ongoing victories of our partners, grantees and allies in their promotion of a global social movement for women’s rights and climate justice.

Why We Must Occupy Our Food Supply

Our food is under threat. It is felt by every family farmer who has lost their land and livelihood, every parent who can't find affordable or healthy ingredients in their neighborhood, every person worried about foodborne illnesses thanks to lobbyist-weakened food safety laws, every farmworker who faces toxic pesticides in the fields as part of a day's work.

Successful Steps toward Food Sovereignty

From all corners of the world, small farmers, indigenous peoples and human rights activists have been percolating solutions upward to advance their rights to land, water and food. With 2011 behind us, Grassroots International celebrates some of the victories and inroads that took place last year, all with funding from Grassroots International and our supporters. Below are just some of the highlights.