My heart aches for all those who have lost their loved ones from the tragedy facing Kenya today as the death toll nears 100. Heavy rains have lashed Kenya in recent weeks, causing widespread flooding that has displaced thousands, destroyed infrastructure, and devastated livelihoods. In the interest of student and staff well-being, the Ministry of Education has announced a delay in school re-opening. While these seasonal floods are not uncommon, the severity of this year's event highlights a crucial issue: our relationship with land.

As part of a scoping study titled Land Governance for Climate Resilience: A review and case studies from LAND-at-scale projects headed by Richard Sliuzas, Emeritus Professor, University of Twente, IOM explored how climate plays a role in the UN-led Saameynta Joint Programme in Somalia. In this context, climate change is increasingly recognized as a multiplier of insecurity and fragility, where climate-related sudden and slow-onset disasters are driving people to leave their land and migrate. While migrating allows people to find alternative livelihoods and enhance their climate resilience, it can also be associated with instances of maladaptation to climate change. As such, this case highlights durable solutions in climate-driven urban sprawl in Baidoa.  

Communities in developing countries are increasingly exposed to the effects of climate change. Although they contribute little to greenhouse gas emissions, many communities are at the forefront of climate change and the associated extreme events. They are faced with events that undermine their food security, such as droughts and floods, but also increased pressure on land due to climate-induced migration. In this session, we delved into the nexus of climate change and land governance.

Building solutions for long-term sustainable livelihoods in urban contexts

The 13th Annual LANDac Annual Conference is taking place in person next week in Utrecht, Netherlands, for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began. All the conference sessions will also be accessible online to registered participants. LANDac brings together land governance stakeholders from around the world who might not otherwise meet, including academic researchers, the private, civil society, and policy makers.

This What to Read digest introduces three recent articles that take a different view on urban Africa. The publications refer to innovative ways to secure tenure in cities, obstacles to urban agriculture, and bring insights into the agency and opportunities of urban refugees.

Abraço ao Cemitério do Povo Negro escravizado, em Santa Luzia, MG. Foto: Alenice Baeta

Urban Green Spaces (UGS) are vegetated open spaces that provide a multitude of ecological functions that are essential for the physical and mental well-being of the citizens as well as for the urban environment. However, land is an extremely competitive resource in cities that are struggling to sustain the ever-growing urban population and UGS are constantly under threat of urban encroachment. Even the well spread out cities are pressured to densify by the more commonplace ‘sustainable dense urban neighbourhood’ approach that in turn, increases the pressure on open spaces such as UGS.