International Yearbook of Soil Law and Policy 2020/2021

This book presents an important discussion on land tenure rights for the effective implementation of sustainable soil management provisions. It investigates a variety of aspects, such as the clash of modern and traditional tenure concepts, forms of illegal or illegitimate land acquisition, and the preconditions for legal and legitimate investments. In addition, the book analyses the challenges to ensuring secure land tenure rights in Africa and in Germany. Lastly, it provides information on the role of women in this context.

This fifth volume of the International Yearbook of Soil Law and Policy is divided into four parts, the first of which deals with various aspects of the theme “Land Tenure Rights and Sustainable Soil Management”. The second part covers recent international developments, the third part presents regional and national reports, and the fourth discusses overarching issues. Given the range of key topics covered, the book offers an indispensable tool for all academics, legislators and policymakers working in this field.

The “International Yearbook of Soil Law and Policy” series discusses central questions in law and politics with regard to the protection and sustainable management of soil and land – at the international, national, and regional level.

- Part I Land Tenure Rights and Sustainable Soil Management. - Clash of Modern and Traditional Tenure Concepts: An Overview. - Mutually-Reinforcing Transgressions of Justice in Large Scale Land Acquisitions in the ‘Public Interest’. - Soil Steering Law in Germany. - Quantitative Targets, Tradable Planning Permits and Infrastructure Cost Calculators: Examples of Instruments Addressing Land Take in Europe. - Regulating Large-Scale Farmland Investments in Low Income Countries (‘Land Grabbing’): Appraising Different Modes of Transnational Governance. - Land Use Policies as Drivers of Land Cover Change in Cameroon. - The Protection of Soil Under Cameroonian Law: The Place of Investors. - Sustainable Land Management Through Social Innovation in Land Tenure. - Part II Recent International Developments on Soil Governance. - UNCCD COP 14: Mirroring Soil and Land’s Growing Relevance at the Interface of Climate and Biodiversity; Discussion Focus on Drought and Land Tenure. - Assessment of the African Union, FAO, and UNCCD Roles in Enhancing Soil Governance in Africa Through the Lens of Agriculture Policy Actions. - Part III Regional/National Reports. - Options for Tackling the Challenges of Effective Management of Soils in Africa. - The European Green Deal: Progress for Soil Protection?. - Soil Protection Legislation and Policy in South Africa: An Overview. - Soil Protection Governance in Iran. - Part IV Cross-cutting Issues. - Sustainable Soil Management Threats Resulting from the COVID-19 Pandemic. - Soil and Land Stewardship: An Action Perspective for More Soil Care and Protection?. - Innovative Phosphorus Governance: How to Address Recurring Regulatory Shortfalls—The Example of Germany, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. - SoiLEX, The New Tool of the Global Soil Partnership to Strengthen Soil Governance. - Soil Protection, Food Security and the Nexus Between Climate Governance and Trade in Agriculture.

Harald Ginzky, German Environment Agency, Dessau, Germany

Elizabeth Dooley, Agriculture and Food Development Authority, Teagasc, Fermoy, Ireland 

Irene L. Heuser, IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law, Kleinmachnow, Germany 

Patricia Kameri-Mbote, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya

Robert Kibugi, University of Nairobi, Faculty of Law, Nairobi, Kenya

Till Markus, UFZ, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany 

Oliver Ruppel, Stellenbosch University, South Africa, Faculty of Law; Research Center for Climate Law, University of Graz, Austria