land rights

On the map: More than 150 cases of airport-related injustice and resistance

Rose Bridger maps , , , , , ,

Since founding of the project in 2018 more than 150 cases, in 63 countries, have been documented on the EJAtlas Map of Airport-related Injustice and Resistance. The interactive map documents a diversity of injustices and community actions to protect human rights and the environment.

EJAtlas Map of Airport-related Injustice and Resistance
The EJAtlas Map of Airport-related Injustice and Resistance brings together more than 150 cases, in 63 countries.

Around the world airport projects generate conflicts relating to land acquisition, displacement of people, destruction of ecosystems, pollution and noise. The Map of Airport-related Injustice and Resistance, an online interactive feature map, brings together over 150 case reports, in 63 countries, of socio-environmental conflicts. Community opposition arises in response to different types of airport projects. Passenger-oriented airport projects aiming to increase tourism include Fainu Airport in the (Maldives), Aeropuerto International de la Zona Sur (Costa Rica), Malindi Airport (Kenya), Tulum Airport (Mexico) and Chinchero Airport (Peru). Examples of opposition to expansion of private jet facilities include Farnborough Airport (UK) and Owen Roberts Airport (Cayman Islands). Conflicts arising from cargo airports include Liège Airport (Belgium), Ebonyi Airport and Ogun Cargo Airport (Nigeria), expansion of Porto Alegre Airport (Brazil) and Suai Airport (Timor-Leste) serving oil platforms off the coast. Military airports facilities triggering socio-environmental conflict include Camp Saga (Japan) and Airstrip expansion in Ocala National Forest (USA). Examples of allocation of large sites for aerotropolis (airport city)) projects leading to land disputes include Nijgadh Airport (Nepal), Kertajati Airport and New Yogyakarta International Airport (NYIA) (Indonesia), KXP AirportCity (Malaysia), Bhogapuram Airport and Aerocity, Shivdaspura Aero City, Mohali Aerotropolis and Andal Aerotropolis (India), a second airport on Jeju Island (South Korea), New Phnom Penh Airport (Cambodia), Anambra Airport City (Nigeria), Vernamfield Aerotropolis (Jamaica), Nadzab Airport Redevelopment Project (NARP) and Airport City (Papua New Guinea), Bishoftu International Airport and Mega Airport City (Ethiopia) and Solidarność Transport Hub (CPK) (Poland).

Forcible evictions and conflicts escalating to violence

Forced evictions for airport projects can be sudden and brutal, with bulldozers arriving and demolishing people’s homes and farmland. In January 2021 over 100 families were forcibly evicted for expansion of Douala Airport (Cameroon); houses were bulldozed and protesters teargassed. In August 2022 more than 300 houses on land around Kasompe Airstrip (Zambia) were demolished and victims were not provided with alternative land. Beginning in February 2021 about 800 households were impacted by moves to evict them for rehabilitation and modernisation of Mbuji-Mayi Airport (DRC); a number of buildings deemed ‘unathorised’ were bulldozed. Hundreds of people were displaced when more than 100 houses were demolished to make way for Muhammadu Buhari Airport Nigeria). In October 2015 the state government sent in bulldozers to clear farmland for Ekiti Airport (Nigeria) before discussions on compensation with farm owners. There are instances of escalating conflicts between affected communities and state forces resulting in deaths and injuries, including The Sanrizuka struggle over Narita AIrport (Japan), a proposed airport on the Arial Beel wetlands (Bangladesh), Mieu Mon military airport and a proposed airport and residential complex in Hai Phong (Vietnam), New Pokhara Airport (Nepal), Obudu Airport (Nigeria) and Lombok Airport (Indonesia). Local organisations opposing construction of Creel Airport (Mexico) denounced the death of an indigenous leader, days before a planned demonstration at the site, as a state crime. One of the most serious human rights violations occurred in Atenco in 2006, related to New Mexico City Airport; two young people were killed and 26 women were tortured and raped.

Destruction of forests and other ecosystems

Site clearance for many airport projects obliterates wildlife habitats and can entail large-scale destruction of ecosystems. Acquisition of farmland is a major factor in many cases, such as Pacific Airport (El Salvador), Karad Airport (India) and Mandalay Airport (Myanmar). One of the most serious cases of deforestation in Sri Lanka occurred in the area where Mattala Airport was subsequently constructed and the stalled Nijgadh Airport in Nepal raised the prospect of 2.4 million trees being felled. Forests were felled for Istanbul Airport (Turkey), Mopa Airport (India), Fortaleza Airport (Brazil) and the abandoned site of Sagarmatha Airport (Nepal). Tea plantations were bulldozed for construction of a greenfield airport in Silchar (India). Land reclamation for coastal airports also destroys ecosystems. Expansion of Noonu Maafaru Airport (Maldives) was temporarily halted as land reclamation threatens loss of a large area of lagoon and places sea turtles and other marine species at risk. Land reclamation for construction of Hoarafushi Airport (Maldives) triggered significant concerns over coastal integrity and ecosystem disruption. Mangroves in Manila Bay were cut for Bulacan Aerotropolis. New Mexico City Airport was halted after construction works destroyed a large swathe of wetlands, only for the project to be relocated to Santa Lucia. Successive phases of expansion on El Prat Airport (Spain) have encroached on the Delta del Llobregat wetlands. Construction of Vlora Airport (Albania), within the Vjosa-Narta Protected Landscape, endangers the habitat of many bird species.. Construction of Northwest Florida Beaches Airport (USA) on wetlands caused a decline in habitat and water quality. Sanya Hongtangwan Airport (China) was halted for over two years due to concerns over land reclamation impacts on protected dolphins.

Negative impacts from airport construction and operation

Airport construction can have serious negative environmental and health impacts on neighbouring communities. Residents living in the midst of earthworks for Navi Mumbai Airport were injured by flying rocks from blasting works and suffered high levels of dust pollution. Dust pollution from sand mining for expansion of Cheddi Jagan Airport (Guyana) and earthworks for Long Thanh Airport (Vietnam) posed risks to respiratory health. Komo Airport (Papua New Guinea) and Pakyong Airport (India) are notable instances of the use of enormous volumes of aggregates for construction causing unstable ground and landslips. Operational airports expose neighbouring communities to pollutants emitted by aircraft and high noise levels. Severe noise and vibrations from Hmeimim Airbase (Syria) led some residents to flee their homes. Communities concerned over impacts from a proposed cargo facility at San Bernardino Airport (USA) formed a broad-based coalition. Ultra-fine particles and noise pollution from Schiphol Airport (the Netherlands) reduces life expectancy of people in the area surrounding it. Major jet fuel leaks from Kirtland AFB and Red Hill Bulk Storage Facility in Hawaii are documented and a new facility supplying aviation fuel to Vancouver Airport (Canada) brings the risk of polluting the Fraser River. Drinking water in Ronneby and Uppsala (Sweden) and the City of Newburgh (USA) has been contaminated with PFAS (polyfluoroalkyl substances) ‘forever chemicals’ originating from military bases. Disused airports can trigger conflict over alternative uses for abandoned sites. A proposed dig-out port on the Durban Airport site (South Africa) would displace farmers cultivating the land. A campaign emerged to stop private development on the former Hellinikon Airport site (Greece) and create a metropolitan park instead. Disputes over ownership of land allocated for the abandoned Oba Airport (Nigeria) led to protests and violence.

Invitation to participate in mapping project

The airport conflict mapping project began in 2018 and is constantly evolving as case reports are added and updated. All the cases are fully referenced, include photos and other graphics, and are reviewed by EJAtlas moderators. The EJAtlas platform enables analysis of several codified variables including environmental, social and health impacts (visible or potential), forms of mobilisation and actors, project details such as investors and financing, policy and legislative drivers and conflict outcomes. A July 2025 analysis compared airport-related cases with all EJAtlas cases across ten sectors (4,592 at the time of writing). Contributors to the Map of Airport-related Injustice and Resistance include journalists, activists, academics, citizens and the EJAtlas team. More participation is welcome. If you would like to contribute and need guidance on how to add and update cases send an email: airportconflictsmap@gmail.com

Syria: Plan to convert Mezzeh Airport into private aviation hub sparks protest

Rose Bridger land rights , , , , , , , ,

Government plans to convert Mezzeh Airport into a hub for private aviation sparked protest over land expropriation dating back many decades and suspicions of mass graves on the site. An “aviation community” surrounding the airport, with hotels, business premises, residential development and commercial complexes, is planned.

Aerial imagery of Mezzeh Airport and Al Moadamyeh
Mezzeh Airport and Al Moadamyeh (Muadamiyat al-Sham). Aerial imagery 7th February 2026

On 1tth September 2026 dozens of residents of Muadamiyat al-Sham (also known as Moadamyeh), al-Sabboura, Qudsaya, and the Kiwan area of Rural Damascus, a province surrounding Syria’s capital city, gathered to demand repeal of expropriation laws and resolution of the status of land that has been confiscated by successive governments over many decades. The protest was triggered by government plans to convert Mezzeh Airport, a military air base less than 8km southeast of Central Damascus and immediately northeast of the town and agricultural lands of Moadamyeh, into a hub for private aviation. The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) had announced preparations to reclassify the airport as a civilian facility focused on private and executive aviation; removal of debris and infrastructure works on the site had already begun. Protesters expressed concerns that their land ownership rights would be disregarded and suspicions that there are mass graves within the airport site which could be disturbed by construction works, destroying evidence needed for identification of victims. A protest organiser said that residents possess documents proving their rights to the land. Land records issued by the Muadamiyat al-Sham municipality indicated that Mezzeh Airport had been built on about 276 hectares of land belonging to hundreds of citizens. Moadamyeh resident and real estate expert Moataz Sawan said the Mezzeh Airport land is part of a wider pattern of expropriation for military and government purposes, with up to 85% of the town’s 4,450 hectares seized since the 1970s. He said the original landowners of the Mezzeh Airport site did not receive fair compensation and Syrian law stipulates return of expropriated land to its original owners if the designated public purpose ceases or changes.

A specialised commercial and investment hub

A few days before the protests, announcing the reclassification and development of Mezzeh Airport, Mustafa Khairallah, head of the GACA media department, made various assurances regarding the impacts and purpose of the project. He said the surrounding environment, noise levels, air traffic levels and various related legal and community issues would be considered and that the project intended to serve the public interest, developing the country’s civil aviation system according to approved standards and recommended practices. GACA president Omar Hosari said the project aimed to diversity Syria’s aviation services and create a specialised commercial and investment hub, based on a vision balancing economic, social and environmental considerations. He said the private aviation model had been implemented in many other countries in the region, highlighting Dubai Executive Airport, the dedicated private jet facility at Al Maktoum International Airport, also known as Dubai World Central (DWC). According to Oman Hosari, the Mezzeh Airport development project extends beyond aviation supporting facilities; it is the focal point and initial stage of a bigger project referred to as an “aviation community” including hotels, business facilities, aviation training institutes, residential development and commercial complexes surrounding the airport. An “aviation community” sounds inclusive but a hub for private jet owners and users, with its no doubt luxurious terminal, hotels and shopping malls, will be an inherently exclusive development, reserved for a privileged elite. Luxury private jet facilities are totally inappropriate when so many citizens lack essentials including clean water, adequate shelter and energy. The proportion of people living in poverty increased from 33% before the conflict to 90% in 2025, while extreme poverty rose six-fold from 11% to 66%. Development around the airport, providing a foothold for investors amid heightened land expropriation grievances, risks exacerbating social fragmentation.

Expansion of Damascus International Airport

Authorities have stated that development of Mezzeh Airport will complement and reduce operational pressures on Damascus International Airport, Syria’s main airport located about 25km southeast of central Damascus. Yet major, fast-paced expansion of Damascus International Airport is underway. In November 2025 the General Authority of Civil Aviation and the government signed final concession contracts for development, construction and operation of the airport with a consortium led by UCC Holding of Qatar with participation of Cengiz İnşaat and Kalyon İnşaat of Turkey, and Assets Investments of the United States. Implementation of the project had already begun including construction of a second terminal. Valued at USD4 billion, the airport project is one of the largest investments in the country’s history. Completion of Terminal 2 and redevelopment of Terminal 1, scheduled for completion by the end of 2026, will increase Damascus International Airport’s passenger capacity to 6 million annually. While this would be a more than fourfold increase compared to the 1,392,699 passengers handled in 2025 it is only 500,000 more than the airport’s highest recorded passenger numbers, 5.5 million, in 2010, the year before the civil war began. Subsequent stages of expansion entail major capacity increases. The first phase of a a third terminal, aircraft stands, cargo centres, logistics facilities and commercial infrastructure intends to raise passenger capacity to 16 million per annum. Upon completion of Terminal 3, plus a duty-free zone and catering outlets, the final capacity is anticipated to reach 31 million annually. A five-star hotel adjacent to the airport will have 200 premium rooms. The project portfolio of the Damascus Airport hotel architect, H’Collective, includes various luxury beachfront hotels and residences, a palace in Paris Saint-German and Ithaafushi Private Island in the Maldives. As with Mezzeh Airport, development of Damascus International Airport is hardly a recipe for social cohesion.

Plans for ‘eco-luxury and tourism’ destination surrounding Bugsuk Airport

Rose Bridger Tourism , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A plan for an ‘eco-luxury and tourism project’ encompassing nearly half of Bugsuk Island is the latest of a series of projects triggering a 50-year struggle for recognition of ancestral land and water rights.

Satellite imagery of Bugsuk Island, Balabac municipality, Palawan province, 27th October 2024. Bugsuk Airport and other facilites are indicated.

In 1974 indigenous Pala’wan, Molbog and Cagayanin people were expelled from Bugsuk Island, part of the Balabac Municipality off the southern tip of Palawan, the westernmost point in the Philippines. An article by Indigenous Peoples’ Rights International (IPRI), based on an interview with Jomly Callon, President of the Sambilog-Balik Bugsuk Movement (Association of Indigenous Peoples and Small Fishers from the Southernmost Tip of Palawan), an indigenous people’s group, outlines a 50-year history marked by projects, facilitated by a series of policy decisions, taking the place of agricultural and fishing livelihoods. The land was awarded to Danding Cojuangco, Chief Executive of San Miguel Corporation (SMC), one of the Philippines’ largest business and industrial conglomerates, who established a nursery for hybrid coconut trees. In 1979 Cojuangco, in partnership with a French businessman, Jacques Branellec, formed the Jewelmer International Corporation which established a pearl farm in ancestral waters. Sambilog was formed in the year 2000 in response to land grabbing and reducing access to fishing grounds, working to gain recognition of ancestral land and water rights. They made an application for a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) which has still not been approved by the government. Indigenous people’s access to traditional fishing grounds was eroded further in 2005 when, without consulting indigenous people, the Balabac municipality was declared a ‘protected marine eco-region’, prohibiting indigenous people from fishing in their traditional fishing grounds. In 2014, following Sambilog protests in Manila calling for return of their lands through the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms (CARPER) the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) issued a Notice of Coverage over agricultural lands for distribution to the people of Bugsuk Island. But DAR did not implement its decision to return the land to those affected by displacement.

After Cojuangco’s death in 2020 Ramon Ang took up the role of CEO of SMC. Bugsuk Airport (also referred to as Bonbon Airport) was built by SMC to support the coconut plantation. In February 2022 Jose Alvarez, Governor of Palawan, speaking about Bugsuk Airport and a Philippine Air Force (PAF) facility in Barangay Catagupan being ‘crucial to the transformation of Palawan’s southernmost region as a new tourist haven‘, said the coconut plantation had failed but that Bugsuk Airport was still under development with the runway already operational and used by people travelling to Balabac. Satellite imagery of Bugsuk island shows Bugsuk Airport, an airstrip near the southern tip of the island that is being developed for the PAF and a helipad. In 2023 the DAR revoked the Notice of Coverage that was issued in 2014 and under which the land would be returned to its original owners. The reason given for the cancellation was that the area is unsuitable for agriculture. Callon, countered this, explaining that residents were cultivating the land, growing many types of vegetables and fruit trees.

Environmental Impact Statement and Master Plan for resort taking up half the island

Bricktree Properties Inc., a subsidiary of SMC, plans to construct various so-called ‘eco’ tourism facilities surrounding Bugsuk Airport. Bricktree’s presentation at a public scoping event held in Bugsuk Community Center, Bugsuk Island on 25th May 2023 contains a timeframe for 2023-24 which includes access road clearing and construction, tree cutting, land clearing, construction of campsites, perimeter fencing and soil compaction. A number of ‘identified environmental impacts’ includes ‘Land tenurial issues and incompatibility with existing land use’, ‘Potential lost (sic) of fish related livelihood and conflict on the access/navigation of locals’ along with potential changes in water quality, water competition and dust from land clearance. The Environmental Impact Statement Summary for the Proposed Bugsuk Island Eco-Tourism Development Project, prepared for Bricktree, contains maps of the proposed site and a Proposed Master Plan comprising serveral zones taking up much of the south of the island along with a port on the northern tip.

Proposed Master Plan including airport and zones for eco-tourism, forest tourism, coastal resort, industrial, commerical, residential, recreation, port facilities, agriculture and a road network. Screengrab from Environmental Impact Statement Summary, Proposed Bugsuk Island Eco-Tourism Development Project, Bricktree Properties Inc.

The Environmental Impact Statement Summary states ‘The Proposed Project aims to be an eco-luxury leisure and tourism destination governed by sustainable development principles’. A project schedule from 2023 to 2038 is indicated. The project location spans two barangays (districts) – Bugsuk and Sebaring – and the estimated total project land area is 5,567.54 hectares (nearly half of the 11,900 hectare island). Supporting infrastructure plans include power generator, solar farm, water supply primarily from Bugsuk River Lagoon, wastewater and sewage management, telecommunications, materials recovery facility, landfill and beach front maintenance on the Bonbon beach shoreline. The area earmarked for structures, roads and other facilities is 1,141.84 hectares, with the remaining 4.425.7 hectares consisting of areas for future development, open spaces and leasable space. A map of the Proposed Master Plan shows various zones centred around the airport and airport facilities and connected by a road network:

  • Eco-tourism area immediately to the south of the airport
  • Resort development on the southeast coast
  • Two forest / tourism areas
  • Four commercial areas
  • Low density and high density residential areas
  • Recreation area
  • Light industrial area
  • Employee facilities
  • Agriculture zone
  • An area for port facilities on the northern tip of the island

Tinig ng Plaridel, the official student publication of the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication, challenged the statement in the document that resolutions endorsing the proposed project without objections were obtained from Barangay Bugsuk in September 2023, saying that hundreds of locals oppose the project.

Intimidation and harassment of Mariahangin residents

During the 1974 expulsion of indigenous people from Bugsuk Island the people of Mariahangin (also spelled Marihangin), a small 38 hectare island north of Bugsuk Island, resisted; the eviction was stopped and people remained on the island. But 50 years later Mariahangin residents say the presence of armed men is pressurising them to leave. On 27th June 2024 DAR officials arrived on Mariahangin, to inform residents that their homes would be demolished to make way for an eco-luxury tourism project covering over 5,000 hectares in Barangay Bugsuk. Just two days later, early in the morning of 29th June 2024 16 unidentified armed guards arrived on Mariahangin Island. On 13th September a group of indigenous people from Mariahangin Island arrived in Manila to campaign for land reform, the return of the 10,821 hectares of land awarded to Cojuangco in 1974, for the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples to process their CADT application and to raise awareness of the 50-year struggle. The group included an 18-year old witness to the presence of armed men in Mariahangin in June who said a man wearing black headgear and a black mask had pointed a gun at him.

Satellite imagery of Mariahangin Island, 27th October 2024

SMC denied involvement in the shooting incident and stated it has no connection with anyone involved in the incident and does not own any property holdings on Mariahangin Island. Yet, as reported by Bulatlat, residents claim that SMC does have an interest in Mariahangin Island and, in 2023, presented families with a ‘resettlement programme’, increasing an initial offer to P400,000 (USD6,852) per family to leave their ancestral land. In September 2024 the Philippine Misereor Partnership Incorporated (PMPI), a network of more than 230 social development and advocacy groups, expressed deep concern over human rights violations faced by the Molbog and Palaw’an communities arising from a land grabbing case. Mariahangin residents’ representatives, supported by the National Federation of Peasant Organisations (PAKISAMA) presented testimonies to the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) reporting reported ‘alarming incidents, including threats at gunpoint to force them out of their ancestral lands and intrusive surveillance and intimidation that profoundly disrupt their daily lives and livelihoods’.

On 2nd December 2024, contradicting Bugsuk residents’ assertion of their land rights, SMC reiterated its stated legal ownership of 7,000 hectares of titled properties on Bugsuk Island, saying that the titles had been held since original issuance during redistribution of agricultural land in 1974, predating the 1997 Indigenous People’s Rights Act. Earlier that day, nine indigenous Sambilog leaders began a nine-day fasting and praying event outside the DAR headquarters in Quezon City to amplify the 50 year land struggle of indigenous Bugsuk Island communities. They pointed out that Mariahangin land is agricultural – seaweed farming is the main source of residents’ livelihoods, followed by corn cultivation – so therefore the land should be returned to them under the provisions of the 1998 Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law which states that all public and private agricultural lands are encompassed by the coverage for distribution to the people. An ILC Asia (International Land Coalition) statement in support of the seaweed farmers of Mariahangin Island raises concerns over loss of mangroves in a country particularly vulnerable to climate disasters and notes that mangroves on Bugsuk Island have already been cleared to make way for a 20km white sand beach.

In February 2025 Mariahangin residents refuted government dismissal of their allegations of harassment, land grabbing and restriction of access to fishing grounds. Residents said police and people suspected of being SMC representatives attempted to enter the community on 18th and 20th November and that armed guards had been stationed about 500-500 metres from Mariahangin. One resident said, “People there can barely earn a living because they’re constantly guarding against those armed men at the edge of the island.” Residents guarding the area reported threats from armed guards. Fishermen said guards were blocking access, seizing their equipment nad harassing them, with some being hit with paddles and illegally detained. One fisherman said his boat had been destroyed. On 5th March 2025 The Guidon reported that eight Mariahangin residents had been subpoenaed over allegations of assault and an individual received a subpoena for alleged cyberlibel. residents described these legal proceedings as part of “a pattern of relentless harassment” amidst their long-running land dispute with SMC over ancestral land on Bugsuk Island.

New book – Contested Airport Land in Asia and Africa

Rose Bridger land rights , , , , , ,

A new book draws attention to accelerating airport development in Asia and Africa, elucidating many factors underlying the political sensitivities frequently surrounding greenfield development, airport expansion and airport cities. Contested Airport Land: Social-Spatial Transformation and Environmental Injustice in Asia and Africa, edited by Irit Ittner, Sneha Sharma, Isaac Khambule and Hanna Geschewski, is published by Routledge.

Following a conceptual introduction and overview chapter in-depth case studies give nuanced insights into the complex socio-economic, political and administrative dynamics of seven airport projects: the suspended Nijgadh Airport (Nepal); Mattala Airport (Sri Lanka); Yogyakarta Airport (Indonesia); a critical review of airport land contestations in India focussing on Jewar and Dehradun airports; the airport reserve in Abidjan (Cote d’Ivoire); Durban Aerotropolis (South Africa) and Isiolo Airport (Kenya).

You can listen to a conversation with three of the co-editors on an episode of The Channel podcast from the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS) at Leiden University, hosted by Benjamin Linder.

Contested Airport Land: Social-Spatial Transformation and Environmental Injustice in Asia and Africa

Dara Sakor Airport serves tourism zone taking up 1/5 of Cambodia’s coastline

Rose Bridger Cambodia , , , , , , , , , , , ,

In November 2023 Cambodia’s State Secretariat of Aviation (SSCA) announced that construction of Dara Sakor Airport (Cambodia’s fourth international airport after Phnom Penh Airport, Siem Reap Airport and Sihanouk Airport) was in its final stages. Dara Sakor Airport has been built to serve a gigantic tourism-oriented economic zone, the 451 square kilometre Dara Sakor project encompassing about one-fifth of Cambodia’s coastline. The Dara Sakor developer, Coastal City Development Group Ltd., calls the project ‘Coastal City’ and its website has pictorial maps indicating the many components of the project such as Dara Sakor Airport, a resort, tourism zone, golf courses and a port. The China-Global South Project reflected on the Dara Sakor project in 2023. Of all the anticipated infrastructure only the airport was completed. Yet the project continued with ‘considerable support from the government’. BBC reporters visiting Dara Sakor in September 2023 described unfinished roads and buildings as a stark contrast with ‘dazzling brochures for potential investors’.

Pictorial map of Dara Sakor project including tourism zone, resort, golf courses, development zone and Dara Sakor International Airport. Source: Coastal City Development Group Ltd.

Thousands of people have been forcibly displaced from their homes for the Dara Sakor project, losing their farming and fishing livelihoods. There have been many protests against eviction and inadequate compensation, in many instances met with repression. Unrest dates back to the inception of the project in 2008 when 360 sq km of land in the Botum Sakor and Kiri Sakor districts in the Koh Kong Province was reclassified as state-owned land. A 99-year lease contract was signed with Union Development Group (UDG) of China. Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (Adhoc) reported that affected communities were not consulted about the project, some only becoming aware when officials arrived to measuring land. In 2011 the project site grew to 451 sq km when UDG was granted an additional 91 sq km land concession to develop a water reservoir and hydropower. During 2011 UDG began dismantling and burning down some villagers’ houses and destroying productive trees.

A key protest took place in February 2014 when about 140 people blocked the road to UDG’s offices leading to a clash with 40 UDG security guards and six soldiers carrying AK-47 rifles. Kiri Sakor District Governor said district authorities had ordered about 100 families to vacate their land for the Dara Sakor project’s hotels, golf courses and an airport. By September 2014 5,791 people had moved to a relocation site where they lacked access to former farming and fishing areas and suffered many problems including poor quality housing damaged by wind and rain, limited water that did not meet national standards, lack of electricity and health care facilities. Reports of destruction of houses and productive trees emerged again in 2018. In april April Koh Kong Provincial Court heard testimony from 13 families claiming that 60 UDG guards had burned their productive trees, seeking compensation for loss of cassava, jackfruit, mango, rubber and coconut crops.

On 27th May 2019 about 20 residents protested in front of the Chinese Embassy in Phnom Penh, calling for resolution of the 11-year land dispute. A report by the Community Legal Education Center stated that 1,143 families were forced to vacate about 100 sq km of land in the first five years fo the project but many families had resisted and fought for rights to the land. Four villagers were detained for 12 hours on 29th September 2020, after camping outside Koh Kong Provincial Hall calling for action over the 12-year land dispute with UDG. A year later 1,333 families rejected compensation offers of between 1 and 3.5 hectares and said they would fight to remain on their land. Protests against compensation offers continues into 2022; some declined the offer as it was insufficient and the village the government wanted to relocate people to was 100 km away and lacked infrastructure.

In June 2023, just four months before SSCA’s announcement about construction of Dara Sakor Airport entering its final stages, there was yet another protest by people affected by displacement for the Dara Sakor project. A group of villagers involved in a Dara Sakor related land dispute attempted to travel to Phnom Penh to submit a petition at the Ministry of Justice, but were met with a police roadblock. Eleven villagers were arrested, forced into a truck, returned to Koh Kong and charged with criminal incitement. Radio Free Asia reported that authorities threatened further arrests after about 20 villagers gathered outside the offices where the 11 people were being detained. Human rights organization Licadho said the protesters had not caused any social disorder and that police had been sent to the the area where many of them lived.

For more information including references for all source material see the case study on EJAtlas, the world’s largest, most comprehensive online database of social conflict around environmental issues – Dara Sakor project, Cambodia.

Eviction of villages bordering Kilimanjaro Airport

Rose Bridger airport expansion , ,

In Tanzania state forces are forcefully evicting Maasai residents of eight villages bordering Kilimanjaro Airport. On 8th May 2024 it was reported that hundreds of homes have been demolished and cars with loudspeakers, escorted by armed police, warned residents to evacuate. Plans to expand the 460 hectare airport site to 11,447 hectares date back to 1985 and the government labels the lawful owners of the land as ‘trespassers’. For background information on the land dispute see EJAtlas: Kilimanjaro International Airport. Impacted communities and supporting organisations are calling for and immediate halt to demolition of homes, humanitarian aid including food and shelter to the hundreds of people rendered homeless and establishment of an independent enquiry into the land dispute.

Favourable ruling in Taoyuan Aerotropolis land expropriation case

Rose Bridger Uncategorized , , , , , , ,

Taoyuan Aerotropolis is the largest zone expropriation case in Taiwan. The plan for development centred around Taoyuan Airport, the largest and busiest in Taiwan located 40km west of Taipei, encompasses over 4,500 hectares. The megaproject is fraught with controversies, not least because it is estimated that at least 6,000 households will be impacted by land expropriation for the first phase, covering an area of 2,599 hectares. But expropriation for Taoyouan Aerotropolis will be constrained by a June 2023 ruling from the Taipei High Administrative Court. The Taiwan Association for Human Rights reported that a lawsuit calling for cancellation of Taoyuan Aerotropolis land expropriation obtained a favourable ruling with most of the plaintiffs winning their cases.

The 4,500 hectare Taoyuan Aerotropolis plan is centred around Taoyuan Airport and includes a third runway to the north

The lawsuit discussed issues of public interest, necessity and proportionality principles regarding land expropriation. Representing the legal team, Xiong Yiling (熊依翎) expressed gratitude for the court’s judgement which allows for preservation of the plaintiffs’ land and homes. In this case it was found that clients’ land was not expropriated for public interest or necessity. Lu Xueshin (呂學信), representing plaintiffs from both sides of Yugang Road, north of Taoyuan Airport where a third runway is planned, said that their community was not within the scope of Taoyuan Aerotropolis for many years. But they were forcibly included after residents in a neighbouring area petitioned for their inclusion. Lu Xueshin said the land is not needed to construct a third runway and was expropriated due to others’ private interests. Wu Mingzhe (吳明哲), representing Ziqiang Community plaintiffs located near the airport entrance, stated that the area was supposed to remain residential. However, without the knowledge of residents, a large group of other residents expressed their wishes to be included in expropriation plans. As a result a large area of the community was included in expropriation plans, in spite of a 2019 plan for preserving the Ziqiang community and a public hearing establishing that those who refuse to be expropriated can be excluded.

Yu Yicha (余宜家), Deputy Secretary-General of the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, said that the locations of the plaintiffs were excluded from the expropriation plan for many years, or neighboured almost identical lands not requiring expropriation, demonstrating that these areas do not need to be expropriated and keeping their land does not hinder construction of Taoyuan Aerotropolis. Futhermore, Taiwan’s land expropriation system, a system rarely seen in democratic countries, has been heavily criticised becasue of the large areas and numbers of households affected and violation of people’s housing and property rights. The Taiwan Association for Human Rights welcomed the Taipei High Administrative Court’s careful consideration of the serious infringement of people’s basic rights and a verdict marking a significant milestone in Taiwan’s land expropriation system. They urged the relevant authorities to review the Taoyuan Aerotropolis plan as a whole and negotiate with residents to return expropriated land.

The land expropriation case is one of five lawsuits relating to Taoyuan Aerotropolis, assisted by non-governmental organisations including Taiwan Association for Human Rights, Taoyuan Aerotropolis Anti-Forced Eviction, the Environmental Jurists Assoication and the Environmental Rights Foundation.

Demolitions for ‘airport zone’ (zone aéroportuaire Modibo Kéita), Mali

Rose Bridger land rights , , , , , , , , , ,

Mass evictions for an ‘airport zone’ next to Modibo Keita Airport, Mali’s main airport on the outskirts of Bamako, the capital city, began on 20th April 1995. Without warning, the government began bulldozing the Senou neighbourhood to make way for expansion of the zone. Demolitions continued for ten days and about 3,707 families, approximately 30,000 people, were forcibly evicted. Further waves of demolitions followed with many instances of land grabbing and speculation. Farmers were displaced for a fertilizer plant on the land in 2007-8 and in 2009 residents resisted instructions to leave the land. A drive to clear remaining communities began in 2021. Bulldozers arrived early in the morning of 14th January, in a major eviction drive covering 1,600 hectares; about 20,000 families in 11 neighbourhoods were impacted. About 800 evictees said they had permits to occupy the land and many affected people were left destitute without shelter.

zone aéroportuaire Modibo Kéita
Map showing zone aéroportuaire Modibo Kéita. Source: https://journals.openedition.org/eps/docannexe/image/7707/img-3.png

The ‘airport zone’ – zone aéroportuaire Modibo Kéita – is vast, extending over 7,194 hectares northwest of the airport. It was classified as a plot of land for airport company use in 1999. Residents contest government claims that their occupation of the airport zone is illicit; they have lived on the land for several generations. An inhabitants’ organization – Plateforme deshabitants de la zone dite aéroportuaire (PHZA) – has been established with active groups, sometimes holding different views about land management, in many affected villages. Women, some of them elderly, play a prominent role in resistance against eviction from the ‘so-called airport zone’. The land struggle is supported by l’Union des Associations et Coordinations d’associations pour le Dévelopement et la Défense des Droits des Démunis (UACDDDD), a national federation fighting the injustices of dispossession. Demonstrations and meetings about the airport zone have been attended by hundreds of people. In November 2021 an independent national commission of inquiry to investigate demolitions in the airport area was established.

For more information about the Modibo Keita airport zone evictions see the case report on EJatlas, the world’s largest, most comprehensive online database of social conflict around environmental issues: Modibo Keith airport zone, Mali

New Phnom Penh Airport land dispute enters fifth year

Rose Bridger Cambodia , , , , , , , ,

Disputes over land acquisition for New Phnom Penh Airport date back to 2018 when 2,600 hectares, in the Kandal Province, were allocated for the project. With an estimated cost of US$1.5 billion the development was described as one of the world’s largest airports by land area with an adjoining ‘Airport City’. The site is predominantly agricultural land and villagers were shocked by sudden news of the airport and the prospect of losing homes, land and livelihoods from farming and fishing. A series of protests between February and June 2018 involved hundreds of people, representing about 2,000 families, complaining of low compensation offers, intimidation during negotiations over land and encroachment onto communally held wetlands. By December 2019 foundations for the airport were being laid.

Protest continued into 2020. In June the Kandal Stung district governor said 2,000 plots of land were affected by airport construction and in August villagers from the Kandal and Takeo provinces whose farmland fell within the planned site petitioned the Prime Minister requesting a bigger payout from the airport developer. By May 2021 construction of New Phnom Penh Airport was reported to be 40% complete, with the terminal hall, airfield and 100 metre high control tower already in place. A State Secretariat of Aviation (SSCA) spokesperson said, “We are aware that the pandemic has disrupted many projects and the economy, but the construction of the airport in Kandal Province and other airport projects in the country have been on schedule.” The map below, dated 17th July 2021, shows satellite imagery of part of the airport site and communes impacted by land acquisition including Ampov Prey, Boeng Khyang and Kandork.

New Phnom Penh Airport construction site, satellite imagery 17th July 2021

The land dispute escalated on 14th May 2021 when approximately 200 people who said their rice crops had been destroyed set up a protest camp blocking a road to the construction site. They set up tents and a few days later several of them surrounded a bulldozer and demanded proper compensation for their land and crops. Residents were still blocking bulldozers from clearing farmland in July and authorities warned journalists against covering the land dispute. On 7th September about 50 villagers attempted to block National Road 2 in protest against development of New Phnom Penh Airport. They were confronted by about 100 security officers but the standoff remained non-violent. Then police set up roadblocks to prevent villagers from inspecting land they had been displaced from. A representative of Kampong Talong village (shown to the south of the map) said villagers were being prevented from seeing land that had been seized for airport construction. They had ceased cultivating the land three years ago but economic hardship, due to business shutdowns during the Covid pandemic, had driven them to start farming it again as they had been left without other ways to survive.

On 12th September 2021 a ‘clash’ between about 100 protesters and about 400 police left 13 officers and an unknown number of protesters injured. Kandal provincial police dispersed the protests with teargas and about 30 people were arrested and detained. Nine of the arrested people were accused of violence – specifically being in possession of sticks stones and slingshots, hurling gasoline and burning tyres. In February 2022 a dozen excavators were digging up rice fields and wetland in Boeng Khyang and dozens of police and military officials were dispatched to ensure implementation of authorities’ instructions to carry out the works. The nine protesters charged with violence were acquitted in November 2022. At this time the number of villagers impacted by land acquisition increased; about 200 people demanded to know whether they would be joining the 300 families already being displaced for the airport. Numbers were sprayed in red paint on dozens of houses alongside the 94 canal, located about 5km from the airport site. Then in January 2023 residents affected by the airport development said company workers had instructed them to dismantle sheds housing animals, causing anxiety that their land might be cleared. Representatives of 460 families living around the airport project had requested land titles the previous month but received no response.

For more information about the airport land dispute see the case write-up on EJAtlas, the world’s largest, most comprehensive online database of socio-economic conflict related to environmental issues: New Phnom Aiport and Airport City, Kandal Province, Cambodia

Demolition of +300 houses on Kasompe Airstrip land

Rose Bridger Housing rights, land rights , , , , , , , , ,

On 20th August 2022, beginning at 2am, more than 300 houses built on land surrounding Kasompe Airstrip were demolished by officers from Chingola Municipal Council and the Zambia Police Service. The Council stated it had not allocated the land in question and the buildings had been erected without planning permission. Residents appealed to the government to find them alternative land and some of them attempted to resist the demolition, burning tyres and breaking the windows of bulldozers. A video of the demolition shows houses in plots of land with gardens and trees being bulldozed, as displaced people looked on.

Completed houses as well as houses still under construction were demolished. A number of residents retaliated against destruction of their homes, setting fire to two properties – a guesthouse and servants’ quarters – owned by Johnson Kang’ombe, Mayor of Chingola, whom they accused him of selling them plots of land at Kasombe Airstrip. Two suspects thought to be involved in the arson were apprehended and detained. A group of women protested chanting slogans including “The Mayor must go”. One evicted woman said that her aunt whose home was also demolished had collapsed with suspected high blood pressure.

In the aftermath of the demolitions the only help given to displaced residents was food aid and space in a camping site, provided by the Chingola District Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU). On 29th August it was reported that Chingola District Commissioner Raphael Chimupi had said that DMMU had given relief food items to 95 out of 98 families whose houses had been demolished. Chingola Member of Parliament Chipoka Mulenga visited affected residents and promised to help them, saying “I will do everything in my power to help resolve this issue, it is saddening to see a lot of houses demolished, which has left many families in the cold.” Mulenga said the government would provide alternative land to the victims of the demolition of 345 houses, but as of 27th September 2022 some people were still stranded with nowhere to relocate to.

Satellite imagery of an area at the eastern end of the Kasompe Airstrip runway, dated 26th July and 8th September, shows some of the buildings which were destroyed on 20th August 2022. Slide the bar between the images below to compare the area before and after the demolitions.

The land conflict, inustice and human rights violations related to Kasompe Airstrip is documented on EJAtlas, the world’s largest, most comprehensive online database of social conflict around environmental issues. Kasompe Airstrip is located on the eastern outskirts of the city of Chingola, in the Copperbelt Province, a mineral rich area that is the main copper mining region in Zambia. President of the Equity and Economic Party, Chilufya Tayali, said information had surfaced indicating that the demolition of the houses was not driven by the purported illegality of allocation on plots of land but by foreign interests in a mine near Kasompe Airstrip. Aerotropolis-type plans were mentioned in 2019 when the then Mayor of Chingola, Titus Tembo, said Chingola aims to become a city with Kasompe Airstrip being part of this agenda.

The Zambia Air Force (ZAF) denied allegations that it has influenced or pressured Chingola Municipal Council to demolish the houses on Kasompe Airstrip land. ZAF Director Public Relations Lieutenant Colonel Helen Chota said rumours were incorrect and that none of the other ZAF airstrips had been encroached. Yet the day after the demolitions, on 21st August 2022, it was reported that ZAF Commander Lieutenant Colon Barry had alerted citizens to more house demolitions across the country, saying houses and other structures built within 500 metres of airport infrastructure would be demolished and that building civilian structures on or near airports is a threat to national security.