17102IIED. In Liberia, a Nobel Laureate’s Problem. ON Monday, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was inaugurated for a second term. She is often depicted in the press as a postwar leader successfully rebuilding a country destroyed by decades of conflict. For her many admirable accomplishments, she recently shared the Nobel Peace Prize. However, unbeknown to many outside Liberia, Mrs. Chinese company demolishes Cambodian forest to build casino.
Africa land deals lead to water giveaway. Passengers in a pirogue observe how Fulani herders cross the Niger river with their cattle on the outskirts of Mopti, Mali.
Situated at the confluence of the Niger and Bani rivers, Mopti is the market centre for the region. Photograph: Florin Iorganda/Reuters Millions of people will lose access to traditional sources of water because of "land grabs" in Africa, according to a report on Monday that looks behind the scramble for farmland in Africa. The report: Squeezing Africa dry: behind every land grab is a water grab, shows how land deals, covering millions of acres of fertile land, also pose a threat to Africa's fresh water systems. "If these land grabs are allowed to continue, Africa is heading for a hydrological suicide," said Henk Hobbelink, co-ordinator of Grain, a group that backs small farmers. Rural Land Grabs.