Agricultural investment contracts and forestry projects can be complex, with complicated provisions that are difficult to understand. To assist non-lawyers in better understanding agricultural investment contracts, such as those available on OpenLandContracts.org, CCSI has developed a Guide to Land Contracts: Forestry Projects. This Guide, prepared by International Senior Lawyers Project staff and volunteers in collaboration with the Columbia… read more
By Sandeep Dixit and Abhijit Sharan
May 24, 2017
In this blog post, Sandeep Dixit and Abhijit Sharan write on the drought in the Indian state of Jharkhand that has caused more than 20 million farmers to suffer. In effort to correct the state’s dependence on rain-fed agriculture and input modern farming practices, the Centers for International Projects Trust in New Delhi has collaborated with Ranchi’s Birsa Agricultural University to work on construction of small ponds (called “dobhas”) under its Sustainable Agriculture and Farmers’ Livelihood program.
Date: April 26, 2017, 9:00am-10:00am EST
Location: Webinar
This briefing note, co-authored with the Danish Institute for Human Rights and the Sciences Po Law School Clinic, outlines a new approach to conducting human rights impact assessments (HRIAs) of business operations or projects, which brings together project-affected people, the company, and other stakeholders to jointly design and implement an assessment. The aim of this… read more
This discussion paper, co-authored with the Danish Institute for Human Rights and the Sciences Po Law School Clinic, proposes a new approach to conducting human rights impact assessments (HRIAs) of business operations or projects, which brings together project-affected people, the company, and other stakeholders to jointly design and implement an assessment. The aim of this… read more
Date: January 30, 2017 12:10-1:10pm
Location: Columbia Law School, Jerome Greene Hall, Room 546
By Sam Szoke-Burke
December 20, 2016
In this blog post, Sam Szoke-Burke describes how governments using land for large-scale projects must consider both the greater public benefits as well as the needs of the people who reside on and utilize the resources of the land. The risks of land expropriation include: an excessive demand on public resources, ruins to property and disruption to investment projects, and damage to government reputations. Therefore, both domestic and international human rights law must be considered.
In November 2016, CCSI sent a submission to the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) regarding its draft revised Environmental and Social Policy Statement (ESPS). CCSI’s input focused on two discrete issues that CCSI has been working on: (1) contract transparency for natural resource and infrastructure projects, and (2) redress for harms in the context of… read more
