Tenure Rights Research Articles

Towards a Greener Future: Scaling Up Agroforestry for Global Sustainability

The current world faces several challenges, including climate change, an exponentially increasing population, the loss of biodiversity and environmental concerns which necessities the adoption of the sustainable nature-based solutions such as agroforestry. Agroforestry is the intricate integration of trees, crops, and livestock on the same piece of land management unit that helps to restore the ecosystem, improve soil health, thus combating the environmental degradation. Moreover, agroforestry has also emerged as a potential tool that bridges the ecological preservation, while increasing or at least maintaining the productivity of the whole agroecosystem. Agroforestry is a contemporary food system that relies primarily on natural inputs, leading to the creation of more sustainable and resilient landscapes. Simultaneously, agroforestry systems reduce the soil erosion, and increases the accumulation of organic matter, hence established a closed nutrient cycling which sustain the agricultural production for longer duration. Simultaneously, agroforestry systems are effective in enhancing food security, diversifying farm income and strengthening the resilience of community to climate change thus empower the farmers and provide an opportunity to combat poverty. However, there are numerous constraints including clear land tenure rights, market infrastructure and linkage, and lack of the traditional knowledge which influenced the adoption of agroforestry systems at global level. This immediately need to be addressed by implementing flexible legislation (such as National Agroforestry Policy 2014 adopted by India), capacity building and community involvement, value chain development and payment for ecosystem services. Overall, it is crucial to adopt low-carbon perennial agroecological practices like agroforestry in order to increase the CO2 abatement rate, improve the food, nutritional and livelihood security of smallholder farmers and contribute to a more environmental friendly and sustainable future.

Evaluation of ventilation and indoor air quality inside bedrooms of an elderly care centre

Ventilation and indoor air quality are important factors that affect the health of the elderly. The purpose of this study was to find effective ventilation design measures for improving ventilation and air quality in typical two-bed bedrooms in elderly care centres (ECCs). Mixing ventilation (MV), displacement ventilation (DV), zone ventilation (ZV) and stratum ventilation (SV) were analysed with twelve scenarios to find the most effective ventilation design solutions including six scenarios with curtains between the beds and six scenarios without curtains between the beds. Airflow distribution, CO2 concentration, ventilation efficiency and health risk assessment were adopted for discussion. SV was found to be an effective method for improving air quality in the ECC bedroom while also taking into account the needs and rights of elderly residents, such as privacy. Comparing scenarios with and without curtains between beds under same types of ventilation, scenarios without curtains showed a slight (≤8%) decrease in CO2 concentration in the pillow area. However, this could increase virus transmission risk and compromise elderly privacy, so it is not recommended. Regarding the scenarios with curtains between the beds, the contaminant removal efficiency (CRE) of scenarios using SV was increased by 2.58, 3.22 and 2.12 times compared to the scenarios using MV, DV, and ZV respectively. Additionally, the health ratio (HR) of SV was reduced by 46.3 %, 53.7 %, and 41.7 %. Hence, it is recommended to install curtains between the beds and apply SV in ECC bedrooms. This study can be used as a guide for systematically designing ventilation systems in ECC bedrooms. Furthermore, collaboration among environmental engineers, designers, policymakers, and the wider community is essential to develop sustainable indoor environments for the elderly.

Land Tenure Security and Households’ Food Security Nexus: Implications for an Improving Land Governance in Iringa District, Tanzania

This study was conducted to determine the contribution of the Certificate of Customary Rights of Occupancy (CCRO) to farming households’ food security in the Iringa District Council. Particularly, the study aimed to determine the influence of land tenure security on the food situation of households, the influence of land tenure security on food consumption, and the influence of land tenure security on the source of food for households. The study was guided by the institutional theory and the theory of access, these theories linked the study to the existing body of literature. The study adopted a quasi-experimental research design where villages that received CCRO were considered as the treatment group of the study and those villages without CCRO were categorized as the control group for the study. The study decided to adopt the Propensity Score Matching method for constructing a comparison group. The total sample size for this study was 400 households, with equality divided between the two villages, with and without CCRO. The study used a systematic random sampling approach to select a sample size of 400 households from the targeted population. The study employed a mixed methods approach whereby both qualitative and quantitative data were collected through questionnaires and interviews respectively. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics using IBM SPSS for quantitative data, while qualitative data was analyzed using a content analysis approach. The study found that those households with CCROs show a high score of food consumption compared to households without CCROs, this indicates that CCROs enhance food security in households. This was supported statistically by regression results and bivariate outcomes that illustrate the significance of CCROs ownership in improving the food situation of households between households having CCROs compared to those that haven’t. Furthermore, the study found that there is a difference in food consumption patterns between households with CCROs and those without CCROs. The study concluded that land tenure security has a great impact on the food security of households in the Iringa district, also, it was concluded that CCRO ownership contributes to improving the food situation of households enhancing their capacity to access diverse food groups. The study recommended that government and local government authorities develop policies and strategies that are tailored and applicable to agriculture development and land ownership to improve land governance structure that allows land registration easy.

Addressing extreme urban heat and energy vulnerability of renters in Portland, OR with resilient household energy policies

Extreme heat is the deadliest weather-related hazard in the United States, contributing to more than 700 excess deaths per year. Heat is only growing more dangerous due to climate change and urban heat island effects. This paper addresses energy burden and urban heat island effects of a heatwave in Portland, Oregon in 2021. Barriers unique to non-homeowners have left Portland renters 2.5 times less likely than homeowners to have air conditioning. Renters spend 0.7% more of their incomes on energy than homeowners on average and renters in the hottest quartile of census tracts spend 1.3 times more of their incomes than homeowners in the coolest tracts. Renters are more likely to live in the hotter areas of the city. East Portland in particular bears the brunt of the heat exposure and energy burden. Policies addressing energy utility costs and upgrading renter-occupied buildings appear less frequently in recent plans, which suggests Portland may be overlooking tenant rights and access to air conditioning. Nonetheless, a few key local programs are emerging to overcome the split-incentive problem and protect renters. Policy actions with potential impact include tenant rights and access to air conditioning, directed clean energy funds, climate resilient building standards, and community resilience centers.

Sexuality of people 60+ in care institutions - theoretical approach and directions for future research

The article focuses on the sexuality of people aged 60+ in care institutions. We characterise the ageing process of this group in psychosexual and social terms. A review of the literature and legal documents concerning the functioning of the care system for older people, including both public and private social welfare homes, was presented. The analysis of previous Polish and foreign research allowed us to verify the extent to which the sexual rights of residents are respected. In addition, we pay attention to the substantive preparation of employees of 24-hour care facilities, especially in the case of unwanted sexual behaviour. We also consider the situation of older non-heteronormative people and the possibility of their sexual expression within the framework of formal long-term care. We identify four areas of future research: (1) comparative analysis of 24-hour public and private facilities in terms of respecting residents’ rights to privacy and intimacy; (2) examining how the provisions in legal acts are understood and implemented by employees of care institutions in the context of working with sexuality; (3) getting to know the competence of employees to plan interventions and support in the area of residents’ sexuality, as well as checking whether the C. Archibald (1994) model of action can be applied in Polish institutions; (4) describing the functioning of elderly non-heterosexual people in nursing homes.

Beyond ownership: assessing diverse housing typologies and policy interventions for affordable housing in Dilla, Ethiopia

AbstractThis research addresses global housing crisis, a secondary city of Dilla in Ethiopia as a case study. This study seeks to fill the empirical knowledge gap in popular housing typologies and tenure types in urban development in the Global South outside metropolitan areas. Drawing from an in-depth study of 18 households, the focus is on housing choices of middle- and low-income households in a secondary city of Dilla, Ethiopia. Such cities so far have been less in the focus of researchers, compared to capital regions. The studied housing types are tenures of homeownership, private rental and a rent-free model as housing types, with informal arrangements playing a role in the last two types. Our study underlines the necessity of not only acknowledging, repairing and formalizing the existing semi- and informal housing developments but also of proactively planning for peripheral housing developments and future expansion, a strategy with broader applicability to the region and the Global South. Such anticipating measures include the development of water and energy infrastructure, land earmarking for much-needed public rental housing, and the establishment of robust tenant rights through legislative foresight.

Integrating assessments of secure tenure rights and co-management for small-scale fisheries in seafood sustainability ratings systems: two new scoring methods for FishSource's sustainability assessments

Integrating assessments of secure tenure rights and co-management for small-scale fisheries in seafood sustainability ratings systems: two new scoring methods for FishSource's sustainability assessments

The EU Settlement Scheme: Footprints in quicksand

Part of an accelerated trend to integrate algorithms in immigration decision-making, the UK's EU Settlement Scheme relies on automated data checks as an essential and mandatory step in the application for UK residence. In this article, I engage with the literature on datafication and algorithmic accuracy to showcase algorithmic inaccuracy within borders in regard to the allocation of residence statuses and rights. I argue that, while the EUSS uses big data to create a data double of the ‘desirable’ migrant, even applicants within this category experience mismatches. Some EU+ Citizens on linear residence and career trajectories were initially offered pre-settled status and had difficulty proving their entitlement to the full status, while others, who did not qualify for settled status, obtained it nevertheless. The analysis is based on in-depth interviews with high skilled applicants, and experts on the EUSS, exposing that footprints are not evidence per se. Instead, the outcomes are decided by an opaque algorithm that is not retained and disappears as easily as footprints in quicksand.

The occupation of self-employment in South African informal micro-enterprises

Introduction: Self-employment, in which individuals work for themselves in a small business or microenterprise to earn an income or generate a salary, has been encouraged to facilitate employment opportunities in South Africa. However, participation in self-employment within the community served by professionals such as occupational therapists is limited by many factors, including effective government initiatives, such as implementing the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) policies. To enable individuals and community participation in this type of work for those with occupational dysfunction, mainly persons with disabilities, professionals such as occupational therapists need to understand the structural, contextual and occupational outcomes related to self-employment. Based on the Framework for Occupational Justice, this study explored the occupation of self-employment in microenterprises in the low-resourced urban community of Alexandra Township.
 Method: A quantitative descriptive non-experimental design study was used to identify informal microenterprises in the community using a transect walk and community mapping. Structured interviews were conducted to complete a questionnaire with key informants (service providers and business owners) who provided perceptions on factors that impacted the occupational outcomes of microenterprises.
 Results: Structural and contextual factors from the participants' experience resulted in unjust occupational outcomes, which indicates that occupational rights, particularly participation, choice and balance, were negatively affected by the lack of opportunities, such as jobs. Occupational marginalisation and imbalance were reported since many businesses lacked adequate and appropriate space for trade. Some business owners, however, reported just occupational outcomes related to the occupational right for meaningful occupation in providing a service to the community and financial income to support themselves and their families.
 Conclusion: Occupational therapists need to play various active roles in raising the consciousness of unjust occupational outcomes and support for just occupational outcomes that are achieved in engagement in self-employment in informal microenterprises.
 Implications for practice
 Occupational therapists should take note of the factors and occupational outcomes of being self-employed identified in this study and consider the roles they could play in expediting success in this occupation for clients. Occupational therapists could assume:
 
 A collaborative role, such as referring and working with various key role players or sectors in the interest of sourcing and providing opportunities for skills development for those entering self- employment, particularly in entrepreneurial training. This may include working with the government (e.g., Department of Labour and Small Enterprise Development Agency), private sector (e.g., yes4youth), other professions (social workers and industrial psychologists) and organisations for persons with disabilities (e.g., Disabled People, South Africa
 

Public Law Regulations on Household-Increasing Remodeling Projects

The public law regulations for remodeling projects were introduced to improve residential environments through the development and maintenance of multi-family housing, and to prevent low-quality reconstruction projects. Remodeling projects were initially focused on preserving and managing multi-family housing, and so did the “household-increasing remodeling,” which was introduced to activate remodeling projects. Notwithstanding, nowadays, household-increasing remodeling projects are more akin to reconstruction projects because they involve the reconstruction of new apartments and, simultaneously, a comprehensive reconstruction of housing complexes. Despite similarities, remodeling projects are governed by the Housing Act and subject to weaker public law regulations, while reconstruction projects are governed by the Act on the Improvement of Urban Areas and Residential Environments and subject to stronger regulations. To initiate a household-increasing remodeling project for increasing household numbers by 30 or more, it is necessary to secure project plan “approval”; if the household number increase is less than 30, it is necessary to secure a “permission”. The “permission” relates to building management activities, whereas an “approval” involves a comprehensive assessment of the residential area in light of urban planning. Remodeling projects are also examined differently based on whether they affect the entire housing complex. Still, distinguishing the procedure for project initiation based on the increase in household numbers may not be rational and can lead to regulatory arbitrage. Traditionally, remodeling projects involved minimal changes in property ownership because the residents came back to their remodeled houses. This led to less attention being given to post-project rights, and although the Housing Act mandates the establishment of a “plan to alter rights” for household-increasing remodeling projects, it fails to establish the details. As household-increasing remodeling projects are becoming more similar to reconstruction projects, the uncertainty has intensified regarding resident rights assignment. These uncertainties can lead to disputes among residents regarding the content of plans to alter rights. Currently, there is a need for more detailed legal regulations to enable the reasonable assignment of rights among residents regarding newly constructed buildings and their land. This can foster efficiency in the use of these buildings and land in remodeling projects.

Towards a sustainable business model for rubber agroforestry in Indonesia

Agroforestry systems, particularly rubber agroforests, are crucial for Dayak communities in Indonesia, providing economic benefits and vital assets for their livelihoods. Two common types in Simpang Dua sub-district are tembawang (traditional fruit gardens) and rubber agroforests. Both have flourished for generations but they now face threats of conversion due to declining rubber prices and the oil palm boom. Tembawang is considered more resilient due to better protection of tenure rights under local customary law and its greater provision of socioeconomic benefits. In some instances, rubber agroforests are only maintained because of their deep rooted social and cultural importance, but they have potential to still be economically valuable. Rubber agroforests can provide a diversified income, offering resilience against volatile rubber markets, and although oil palm provides higher income in the short term, rubber agroforests can provide higher income over the entire system cycle. Long-term financing is essential to improve yields and product quality, to support smallholder rubber agroforests, but obtaining this type of financing is difficult. Obstacles include low rubber prices, poor-quality latex, a lack of productivity of agroforestry crops and low attention from investors, financiers, and markets. Non-commercial financial support, including technical support, could help strengthen farming practices and market-based instruments, including carbon payments, could help stabilise farmers' income. The expansion, however, of large-scale oil palm plantations has shifted the rural labour force from rubber smallholders to plantation workers. Efforts to address these challenges include the establishment of a rubber processing and collective marketing unit, UPPB, to improve market access and prices for smallholder farmers. Founded in 2022, the unit aims to arrange collective marketing and provide technical capacity for farmers to meet the specifications of Standard Indonesia Rubber. By aggregating rubber slabs, farmers can earn up to 25% higher prices than individual farmers, but irregular supplies from farmers and low prices are affecting their success. Despite facing challenges, local farmers' groups remain resilient in organising themselves to improve their systems with the support of NGOs. Commitment from government and private sector stakeholders is additionally needed to further promote sustainable and inclusive rubber agroforestry businesses.

What Makes Gentrification Wrong? A Place-based Account

Abstract Through an analysis of the moral relationship between people and place, this paper offers a new view of the wrongful character of gentrification, which is pluralistic, locating the wrong in the non-fulfillment of three place-related rights: rights to a home, rights of residency, and place-based rights to a community. By focusing on the multiple ways that people are connected to place, we offer a more complete and systematic account of place-related rights that is not only able to make sense of people’s lived experiences of the harms of gentrification but is also able to address standard criticisms, which have been made of other key accounts of the wrong of gentrification.

Land as a common resource: fostering rural social sustainability in the face of fragmentation and rural social sustainability in Bade, Yobe State, Nigeria

This study examines the impact of land fragmentation on rural sustainability in Bade Local Government Area, Yobe State, Nigeria. The goal of the research is to comprehend the extent and nature of land fragmentation in the area, assess its effects on rural sustainability indicators, and propose sustainable land use strategies. A cross-sectional research design was employed for this study, utilizing a questionnaire survey to gather qualitative and quantitative data. Descriptive statistics and a farm budget model were used to analyze farmers’ socio-economic characteristics, land fragmentation patterns, and indicators of rural sustainability. The study discover that a significant number of farmers possess land sizes between 2 and 4 hectares, indicating a high level of land fragmentation. The majority of farmers acquired land through either inheritance or purchase even though limited access to land is also observed due to rental and government allocation practices. This study highlights the importance of sustainable land use practices for rural sustainability. Addressing land fragmentation requires policy interventions that promote land consolidation and agricultural mechanization. Enhancing access to land and secure land tenure rights can attract investment and improve productivity. The study recommends policy interventions and support mechanisms to mitigate land fragmentation and foster sustainable rural development in the area. In conclusion, this study underscores the significance of sustainable land use practices in enhancing agricultural productivity, reducing poverty, and improving the well-being of rural communities.

Landlord opposition to rent control and the politics of class monopoly rent

Housing costs have soared in the United States and beyond in recent years, leading to growing calls for rent control among tenant rights advocates and legislators. This push to enact rent control has been met with substantial opposition by landlord associations, an opposition which is mobilized by long-standing arguments by economists rooted in neo-classical economic principles. The article extends existing criticism of one particular facet of this opposition: the argument that rent control will only worsen any housing crisis as rents increase due to landlords actively reducing supply. We argue that this argument amounts to the pursuit of something that mainstream economists have long ignored or disavowed to counter-act the intended purpose of rent control: class monopoly rent. By drawing on evidence from the statewide rent control legislation passed in Oregon in 2019, we engage with scholarship on the sociology of housing markets and Marxian rent theory to reveal that landlords acting as a collective voice through landlord associations to advance this argument effectively constitutes the discursive deployment of class monopoly power as a political strategy to lobby against tenant rights proponents. As such, we argue that landlords effectively engage in a “politics of class monopoly rent” which functions as a discursive weapon against tenant rights activists and low-income renters otherwise held captive in unaffordable housing markets. We offer this article as a resource for tenant rights activists and legislators who must inevitably confront this opposition in the process of mobilizing rent control legislation.

Occupational injustice across species

ABSTRACT COVID-19 and the prospect of a sixth mass extinction, among other crises, have underscored the urgency of recognizing humans' ethical and ecological entanglements with the more-than-human world. In light of these entanglements, this article brings together theories of occupational justice with those of animal rights in order to stimulate further discussion toward the development of a multispecies theory of occupational justice. First, a precedent and basis for nonhuman occupational rights is established in Martha Nussbaum’s capabilities approach. Second, Sue Donaldson and Will Kymlicka’s political theory of animal rights is invoked as a lens through which to understand how various types of nonhuman animals are differentially at risk for experiencing four occupational injustices: occupational deprivation, alienation, displacement, and apartheid. The article concludes that a commitment to multispecies occupational justice changes how science is practiced. Implications for occupational science and adjacent design sciences are explored, as well as directions for future research and political work.

Speaking Racism – Raciolinguistic Frontiers, Worth and Belonging in the Governing of Refugees in Norway

ABSTRACT This article explores the role that language requirements for residence and citizenship play in delineations of worth and belonging in the governing of refugees in Western Europe after 2015. In the past two decades residence and citizenship rights for migrants have increasingly become conditional on formalised language requirements. While language requirements embed promises of inclusion and opportunity, this framing skirts the ways in which they legitimate and reproduce racially charged inequalities. Based on rich ethnographic data from Norway, this article investigates how refugees encounter, perceive, and contest language requirements. By mobilising Kamran Khan’s notion of ‘raciolinguistic borders’ alongside Ann Laura Stoler’s notion of ‘interior frontiers’, I explore how language requirements are heard to ‘speak racism’. I argue that a political geography of language provides a timely and needed contribution to the geopolitical toolbox, and more specifically, to geographical explorations of the racial taxonomies of contemporary European border regimes.

Дарение жилого помещения с сохранением за дарителем права проживания в нем. Возможно ли такое? (Часть третья)

If a person owns a residential premises, such a person at any time can donate this residential premises. However, in practice, the question often arises about the admissibility of a gift agreement with the preservation of the right to live in such a room for the donor. The author, analyzing various norms of civil and housing legislation, expresses his point of view, and also shows the legal nature of the right of residence of the donor indoors.

Perceived Land Scarcity and Its Effects on Traditional Tenure Rights in Rural Zambia

This study reviews the present escalating land pressures and their effects on traditional tenure rights in rural Zambia. The paper examines the evidence from qualitative as well as quantitative research design using in-depth interviews, key informants, and Focus Group Discussions. Owing to the scarcity of experimental studies, the review of empirical work is based mostly on observational studies, which compared Chamuka chiefdom located in Chisamba and Shimukunami chiefdom found in Lufwanyama district systems of traditional land administration. The study used χ2 test to analyze data to determine if perceived land scarcity had a significant impact on change under traditional land governance. Some evidence of positive relationships between traditional land management and perceived resource scarcity exists. It was, therefore, concluded that policy support for customary land governance has the potential to contribute to improving land use and reducing perceived land pressures in rural communities.

Migrant Reception Centres and Coercive Social Control: Rule by Legal Uncertainty?

Large-scale accommodation for refugees and migrants is often approached from a humanitarian angle, examining the reception conditions on the ground. However, scholars have long shown how such care-providing spaces are also sites of social control. A close examination of the legal framework of an accommodation centre for migrants in Spain, the CETI of Melilla, finds that beyond the content of the law, it is also necessary to examine the nature of the laws framing refugee camps to understand how social control is exerted. While hard law provides a vague legal basis, the reception centre is primarily governed by a patch-work of rapidly evolving soft law emanating primarily from the executive branch. Social control in the form of coercion is facilitated by the law, but not in the form of a strong punitive legal framework, as may be expected. Instead, an effective restriction of the rights of residents is enabled through legal uncertainty.

Urban ground leases: a cross-country comparison

ABSTRACT The ground lease is a form of land tenure where the property rights are split between the lessor (landowner) and the lessee (land user). Additional ground lease features, such as the obligation to pay ground rent, depend on factors including the legal framework and lessor requirements. Ground lease features can lead to interpretation problems for ground leaseholders and even valuers, such as misunderstanding the extent of ground rent review. This paper examines location-based differences in order to highlight ground lease variability across countries. The term ‘ground lease’ is effectively a catch-all term for a tenure type that can display considerable differences depending on the location. Recognition of potential ground lease pitfalls and how ground leases differ across jurisdictions is necessary in an increasingly connected world. This paper advocates for uniform international ground lease terminology that more completely explains the extent of tenure rights of each ground lease.