Reference guide on infrastructure set against land governance
The past years Both ENDS and its partners have witnessed a surge in large infrastructure projects including dams, mines, highways, airports, ports, land reclamation, canals and urban renewal projects. Yet, the land assigned to these projects is often inhabited and used for agricultural purposes. Therefore, land governance issues play an important role in these infrastructure projects. Worldwide some 15 million people are displaced annually through infrastructure projects, a number which is expected to rise as investments in infrastructure are increasing.
Infrastructure and land governance issues
We do not see infrastructure in itself as necessarily negative. Infrastructure is closely related to socio-economic development. As the Habitat agenda III stresses, many people worldwide have a serious lack of access to adequate infrastructure. So when does infrastructure become problematic?
In countries where the rule of law is weak and people do not have security of tenure, eminent domain (the right for states to acquire property against the will of its owner in order to fulfil some purpose of general interest) can become a dangerous tool. Eminent domain in itself is necessary, otherwise it would hardly be possible to construct a road for example. The tension is in what exactly justifies expropriation for a public good: How is the project implemented in relation to human rights? What is the quality of participation? The quality of compensation? Also: for whom is the infrastructure? What alternatives are there for implementation in a way that is more responsible?
Knowledge gaps on land governance
Both ENDS, together with our local partners, aims to prevent land rights violations in infrastructure projects. Yet, we see that knowledge on infrastructure and land governance falls short in many cases. In order to learn from and get inspired by other cases and understand how international frameworks and guidelines try to protect land rights, we have set up this reference guide: a list of must-reads on land governance and infrastructure. We hope that it will help both civil society organisations on the one hand, and investors, companies and governments on the other hand, to increase their understanding of local land governance issues that may arise in infrastructure projects.
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Reference guide on infrastructure set against land governance
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Event / 26 January 2026Civic space at the frontlines
Environmental Defenders and the Role of International Trade and Investment Policy
Both ENDS invites you to an interactive dialogue with experts from the UN, policy, academia, and civil society on environmental defenders and international trade. Together, we will explore how citizens, policymakers, academics, and activists can defend civic space and support those on the frontlines of environmental and human rights struggles. With a focus on the Netherlands’ role in international trade and investment policy, and drawing on the experiences of activists from the Philippines, the event aims to foster solidarity and identify strategic priorities to better protect environmental defenders amid the global crackdown on civic space
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Dossier /Agua Zarca: indigenous fight against dam costs lives
Indigenous Hondurans are resisting the construction of the Agua Zarca hydrodam. Their fight has cost several lives, including that of Berta Cáceres. After considerable public pressure, Dutch development bank FMO withdrew from the project.
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Dossier /Gas in Mozambique
In 2011 one of the world’s largest gas reserves was found in the coastal province of Cabo Delgado, in the north of Mozambique. A total of 35 billion dollars has been invested to extract the gas. Dozens of multinationals and financiers are involved in these rapid developments. It is very difficult for the people living in Cabo Delgado to exert influence on the plans and activities, while they experience the negative consequences. With the arrival of these companies, they are losing their land.
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Dossier /Export Credit Agencies: Who pays the price?
Both ENDS calls on the government only to provide export credit insurance to sustainable projects that cause no social and/or environmental damage in the countries where they take place.
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Dossier /Indigenous communities threatened by Barro Blanco dam in Panama
The Barro Blanco dam project in Panama, which has Dutch financial support, is causing indigenous lands to disappear under water. Both ENDS is working to protect the rights of indigenous communities living near the dam.
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News / 27 November 2025Communities and International Consortium Present Community-Led Plan for Nature-Based Adaptation to Sea-Level Rise in Coastal Bangladesh
Local communities in the southwestern coastal region of Bangladesh—together with an international consortium including Uttaran, CEGIS, and Both ENDS—have presented a community-led plan to confront climate change and accelerating sea-level rise through nature-based adaptation. The People’s Plan for Upscaling Ecosystem-Based Adaptation outlines a scalable strategy rooted in local ownership and generations of lived experience. At its centre is Community-Based Tidal River Management (CBTRM), a proven approach that reduces waterlogging, raises land elevation, and restores ecological balance by working with natural tidal and sediment dynamics.
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Dossier /Rights for People, Rules for Corporations – Stop ISDS!
Indigenous communities in Paraguay saw their attempts to regain their ancestral lands thwarted by German investors. In Indonesia, US-based mining companies succeeded to roll back new laws that were meant to boost the country’s economic development and protect its forests. This is the level of impact that investment treaties can have on social, environmental and economic development and rights. Why? Because of the ‘Investor-to-State Dispute Settlement’ clauses that are included in many such treaties.
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Dossier /Wetlands without Borders
With our Wetlands without Borders program, we work towards environmentally sustainable and socially responsible governance of the wetlands system of the La Plata Basin in South America.
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Publication / 17 November 2025
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Environmentally Just Practice /Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs)
About one in every six people, particularly women, directly rely on forests for their lives and livelihoods, especially for food. This shows how important non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and forests are to ensure community resilience. Not only as a source of food, water and income, but also because of their cultural and spiritual meaning.
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Letter / 14 November 2025
Letter: TPAC’s report “Final Judgement Detailed Research MTCS’’
A coalition of Malaysian and international NGOs has released a memorandum in response to the recent TPAC report on the Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme (MTCS). The organisations express serious concerns about the independence, quality, and credibility of the assessment carried out by the Timber Procurement Assessment Committee (TPAC).
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Dossier /Communities Regreen the Sahel
In various countries in the Sahel, vast tracts of land have been restored by the local population by nurturing what spontaneously springs from the soil and protecting the sprouts from cattle and hazards.
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Dossier /Global Alliance for Green and Gender Action (GAGGA)
GAGGA rallies the collective power of the women's rights and environmental justice movements to realize a world where women can and do access their rights to water, food security, and a clean, healthy and safe environment.
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Publication / 16 October 2025
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Publication / 16 October 2025
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Publication / 9 October 2025
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Dossier /Soy: trade in deforestation
The rising demand for soy is having negative consequences for people and the environment in South America. Both ENDS reminds Dutch actors in the soy industry of their responsibilities and is working with partners on fair and sustainable alternatives.
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News / 17 July 2025Both ENDS Calls on AIIB to Halt Forced Evictions in Mandalika
Together with Indonesian CSOs Both ENDS is calling on the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to intervene and direct its client, the Indonesia Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), and its borrower, the Government of Indonesia, to immediately halt this week's ongoing forced evictions in Tanjung Aan Beach and surrounding areas in Mandalika, Lombok.
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News / 16 July 2025Case Study: Women Advocating for Gender and Climate Justice in Burkina Faso
The Women Environmental Programme Burkina Faso (WEP BF or WEP) is leading the way in gender-just climate solutions, putting the power of advocacy directly into the hands of women farmers. “In Burkina Faso, women play a crucial role in food production and natural resource management, yet they continue to face systemic barriers to land ownership,” explains a WEP team member. “Despite legal provisions, deeply ingrained customary norms remain dominant, restricting women’s access to land as user rights only, which need to be mediated through male family members.” Without secure access to land, they face significant obstacles in sustaining their agricultural activities, improving local food security, and fully participating in their communities.
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News / 16 July 2025Case Study: Community Paralegals Defending Land Rights from Extractive Industries and Land Grabs in Mozambique
Across Mozambique, land represents more than just territory. It is the cornerstone of livelihoods, culture, and autonomy for many communities. When companies arrive, claiming large portions for mining, oil exploration or agribusiness, residents face significant challenges in asserting their rights. Mozambique’s Land Law (1997) grants communities user rights, ensuring they can occupy and use land for subsistence and cultural purposes.
