Poor nations will suffer most from climate change, in part because of heavy reliance on climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture and fishing. Up to 30 per cent of Namibia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), for example, depends on the environment. Ironically, poor nations have contributed least to climate change. Namibia was estimated to be a net carbon dioxide sink in 1994 due to uptake by trees.

Almost two decades after independence Namibia’s land reform shows positive results and is guided by fair laws, but bureaucracy, slow progress in transformation of land ownership and unclear criteria for expropriation are overshadowing successes. Government plans to spend 370 million dollars over the next 12 years to acquire 10,3 million hectares of commercial farmland to resettle 6,730 families by 2020.

Kalahari Bushmen who were evicted from their land by the government of Botswana’s former President Festus Mogae have condemned African billionaire Mo Ibrahim and his Foundation for giving Mogae their ‘Achievement In Africa Leadership Award’. The Award will be given to Mogae at a ceremony in Alexandria, Egypt, on Saturday 15 November.

In the run-up to the November 16 legislative elections in Guinea-Bissau, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), publishes today a mission report entitled Guinea-Bissau: A Detrimental Environment to the Work of Human Rights Defenders.

This 47-page report documents how ZANU-PF has compromised the independence and impartiality of judges, magistrates and prosecutors and transformed the police into an openly partisan and unaccountable arm of ZANU-PF. The report also documents how police routinely and arbitrarily arrest and detain MDC activists, using harassment and detention without charge as a form of persecution.

In a case that looks set to again highlight the legal and reputational risks associated with environmental damage arising from alleged corporate negligence, oil giant Shell will this week be served with a summons compelling representatives from the company's Dutch HQ to respond to accusations that its operations have caused environmental damage in Nigeria. Four Nigerian citizens, together with campaigners from Friends of the Earth Netherlands and Nigeria will file the lawsuit in the The Hague on Friday.

Following pressure from Survival International, De Beers says it has stopped operations on the land of the Kalahari Bushmen in Botswana because those it consulted, including Bushmen living inside the reserve, did not agree with its plan to explore for diamonds near a Bushman community.

Climate experts and ministers in West Africa have committed to coordinating national efforts to fight climate change, at the conclusion of an Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) meeting in Benin’s economic capital, Cotonou, on 22 October. Benin’s UN Development Programme representative, Edith Gasana, told participants “no country will be able to handle the struggle alone.”

A combination of political flux, higher food prices and the failure of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) - after 14 years of power - to achieve any meaningful redress of apartheid's most emotive legacy is forcing the land issue to the top of the national agenda, a few months ahead of South Africa's fourth democratic elections.

The Land Question (LQ) was one of the core issues behind the protracted war between the Government of Sudan and the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement/Army in the southern regions of the country. This paper looks at the LQ and some aspects of the policy and institutional challenges with reference to emerging land issues in South Sudan. The paper provides a brief overview of the background to the conflict with reference to its natural resource dimension before discussing the post- Comprehensive Peace Agreement situation regarding the LQ in South Sudan.

The oil interests of Angola, Brazil and Portugal could pave the way for former Spanish colony Equatorial Guinea to become the ninth member of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) two years from now, despite the country’s poor human rights record.

Survival International has criticised the Mo Ibrahim Foundation for awarding its 'Achievement in African Leadership' prize to Festus Mogae, the former president of Botswana who oversaw the eviction of the Kalahari Bushmen from their land. Festus Mogae's government evicted the Bushmen from their ancestral land in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in 2002, and banned them from hunting and gathering.

Two men have been sentenced to 25 years by a court in Abidjan following 500 tons of toxic waste which was dumped by a ship Probo Koala in 2006. It was chartered by a Holland oil trader Trafigura. The company said management and government reached a 150 million euro out of court settlement.

The petroleum potential of Africa, a key contributor of oil barrels to thirsty markets, is beginning to look dimmer because of the credit crunch and a host of endemic challenges. Certainly, Big Oil's continental land grab will continue. Countries such as Angola and those around the Gulf of Guinea continue to lease tantalizing exploration blocks in the deep waters off the Atlantic coast.

Launched by Panos London, an international development non-governmental organisation, Desert Voices is a collection of stories and testimonies of how climate change affects individual lives in Ethiopia and Sudan. Compiled and published online, the radio and print testimonies of individuals, produced by journalists, aim to show the long term impact of desertification for the African region.

Published by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), this 544-page report highlights the opportunities presented by the world's natural resource base to support development and the objectives of the African Union (AU) and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). The report, which is the second in a series of Africa Environment Outlook reports, underscores the need for sustainable livelihoods, and the importance of environmental initiatives in supporting them.

Nigeria’s government is to pass new laws to overhaul the country’s oil and gas sector before the end of the year, ramping up the pace of reform in spite of fears among Western majors that the changes could cost billions in profits. Umaru Yar’Adua, the president, hopes the new law will form the foundation for a revival of an industry where attacks on pipelines and constraints on investment have fuelled a growing sense of crisis among energy companies.

In previous issues Amandla! introduced a feature called ‘It’s the Economy Stupid, echoing former US President Bill Clinton. We are of the view that coming to terms with the economic situation is crucial to successful political strategy. We also did this in the firm belief thateconomic turmoil globally and nationally was going to impose itself onthe political situation. The current global financial crisis, which hasbrought the financial system virtually to its knees, is a both cause and symptom of a deeper systemic crisis of capitalism.

The Zambezi is one of the most heavily dammed rivers in Africa. More than 30 large dams have already been constructed throughout its basin, at great cost to local people and wildlife. These impacts have been particularly harsh in Mozambique, where the giant Cahora Bassa Dam displaced tens of thousands of people, and severely degraded downstream floodplains and fisheries.

Uganda is well endowed with natural resources and some 24 per cent is at present under forest cover. However, as in most Africa countries, Uganda’s forests are in decline. Mount Elgon forest was gazetted under the Forest Department from 1938. The status was changed to a National Park in 1993. Its management was transferred to the wildlife authorities. This report assesses impacts of the change in legal status on people's livelihood by means of a modified household economic model.