Razina is different.  Unlike most people in Madagascar, his skin is pale.  His hair is blonde and his eyes are a light shade of pink.  Razina has albinism.

He became aware of just how different he was at a very early age.  When he arrived at school for the first time, all the other children teased and harassed him.  The bullying continued throughout his time at school.  “They treated me as less than human, like a dog,” he recalls.

By Laura Meggiolaro and Charl-Thom Bayer

An important precondition for good land governance is to have good land data that can be used to make informed decisions, formulate policies, and develop plans and strategies for the public good. Without solid data, modern governments are limited in their ability to carry out their functions and deliver public services – including land administration services.

Large-scale land acquisitions have been increasing in developing countries following the 2007/8 high food price crisis. Countries with limited agricultural potential, like Gulf states, have been driving foreign acquisitions in developing countries. Many developing country governments see these investments as an opportunity to increase foreign direct investment and employment opportunities for rural communities.

When more than 1,200 land rights experts converge on the World Bank’s Washington, DC headquarters today for the 18th Annual Land and Poverty Conference, participants from government, civil society groups, private sector and donor agencies will focus on how they can use data and other evidence to reform land policies, identify strategies for expansion and find ways to monitor progress.

By Yuta Masuda and Brian E. Robinson

I’m sitting in a Mongolian yurt, listening to and trying to emulate Bataa’s* songs about love for the grasslands and the wide, treeless plains of the Mongolian Plateau. Our host sings with consuming passion. I might have brushed his enthusiasm off as a show two weeks ago. But after living and working in these grasslands, the feeling of freedom that comes from unobstructed, far-off distant horizon is infectious.