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In Defence of Melanesian Customary Land

1 Apr 2010

In April 2010 AID/WATCH published In Defence of Melanesian Customary Land, a collection of papers from Melanesian groups and academics on customary land and the affects of land reform.

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Tribes in Agony: Land, Development, and Politics in Solomon Islands

3 Mar 2010

A common complaint of some outside developers and other business entrepreneurs working in Melanesia is that Solomon Islanders, like many other groups in the Pacific, are very difficult to deal with when it comes to the issue of land. This difficulty, they argue, has to do with the fact that land is owned not by one person only but by clans or by people who believe they belong to the same genealogy. More often then not, the developers complain, the outcomes are negative, and time is wasted on what outsiders perceive to be meaningless genealogical talk.

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Land Justice in Timor-Leste

1 Feb 2010

The La’o Hamutuk Bulletin Vol. 11, No. 1-2. Land is a key building block in Timor-Leste's development process. Land provides daily needs such as shelter, food and fuel. Ten years after the popular referendum, Timor-Leste still has to decide on the fundamental principles and goals of its land system. Without this, there is limited vision to guide the land laws, regulations, services and bodies necessary to address confusion over land ownership. The land system develops ad hoc and without proper planning. Timor-Leste needs a more cohesive and inclusive process if we are to resolve current land issues and protect people's land rights.

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Risky Business Shining a Spotlight on Australia’s Export Credit Agency

1 Dec 2009

This report shines a spotlight on Australia’s official ‘government owned’ export credit agency— the Expor t Finance and Insurance Corporation (EFIC). It aims to generate much needed debate about the policies of EFIC and its role in supporting extractive projects in developing countries.

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Australian Overseas Development Assistance and the rural poor: AusAID and the formation of land markets in the Asia-Pacific

1 Nov 2009

Dianto Bachriadi, October 2009. Critiques the focus of Australian overseas development assistance particularly the over-riding commitment to the national interest which includes the promotion of Australian business and financial interests. As a leading donor in SE Asia and the Pacific Bachriadi argues this commitment has fuelled the push for changes to land markets in order to advance capitalist development and not distributive land policies, and so doubts remain as to whether Australia’s aid intervention will ever make any significant positive contribution to poverty reduction.

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