Landesa has deepened its partnership with the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI), a coalition of NGOs who are committed to supporting local communities’ struggles against poverty and marginalization by promoting greater global commitment and action towards policy, market and legal reforms that secure their rights to own, control and benefit from natural resources, especially land and forests. In China, Landesa has just signed an agreement with RRI to collaborate on a project called Reforming China’s Legal Regime of Collective Forestland Takings.

The objective of the project is to conduct comprehensive research on laws and local conditions and produce recommendations on reforming China’s land takings system. Under the project, Landesa will conduct extensive research on regulatory takings, compensation for physical and regulatory takings of collective forestland, and distribution of such compensation when forestland is held as common resource property.

A report will be produced with proposed provisions, supporting arguments and rationale. In early 2012, the report will be shared with law and policymakers in China who are revising the country’s Land Management Law.