Author: Amrit Bhandari

Last week, the World Bank’s 14th Annual Conference on Land and Poverty – which was sponsored by USAID along with several other organizations – brought together more than 800 participants from 90 countries, representing government, private sector, civil society, academia, and development partners. The large attendance from a diverse set of participants reinforces the increasing recognition that good land and resource governance is central to a variety of development objectives.

The theme of this year’s conference was “Moving towards transparent land governance: Evidence-based next steps”. Throughout the week, conference participants discussed tools and methods for improving transparency in land transactions, including: initiatives for open contracting and open data, developing a harmonized set of land governance indications, and implementing international agreements such as the Voluntary Guidelines (VGs) for the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries, and Forests in the Context of National Food Security. As we noted in an earlier commentary, Dr. Gregory Myers, USAID Division Chief, Land Tenure and Property Rights, chaired the opening session of the conference—Global Support to Voluntary Guidelines (VGs) Implementation—which discussed the rising demand for and support to implementation of the VGs. Throughout the conference, numerous endorsements and statements of support were made for the VGs as an essential tool for improving land and resource governance, highlighted by a statement from the World Bank and comments during the closing plenary by USAID Assistant Administrator, Eric Postel and Director General for Policy and Global Issues at the U.K. Department for International Development (DFID), Michael Anderson.

In total, the conference featured more than 200 sessions over three days, in which presenters shared their research and project results around:

• Securing land rights and improving land use at the grassroots;
• Adjusting laws and institutions to address urban expansion and governance;
• Innovative approaches towards spatially enabling land administration and management;
• Supporting a continuum of rights in a decentralized environment;
• Mobilizing the private sector to improve land governance; and
• Sharing benefits from exploitation of land- based resources.

Throughout the conference, participants used the Twitter hashtag #landrights to share information and discuss news and events. The USAID Land Tenure and Property Rights Division will continue to use this hashtag to discuss issues relating to land and resource governance in the future, we encourage interested parties to do the same and join the conversation.

As the World Bank’s Annual Conference on Land and Poverty convened this week, the World Bank Group released a statement recognizing the importance of secure land rights for a variety of development objectives and reiterating the World Bank’s commitment to improving land governance and promote environmentally and socially sustainable agriculture investments. According Dr. Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank Group, “securing access to land is critical for millions of poor people. Modern, efficient, and transparent policies on land rights are vital to reducing poverty and promoting growth, agriculture production, better nutrition, and sustainable development.”

With 53 active programs in 32 countries, representing a commitment of over $800 million, USAID and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) are also working to strengthen land and resource rights in order to foster economic growth, enhance food security, empower women, improve natural resource management, and reduce conflict. To learn more about USAID and MCC’s land tenure and property rights programs, see our newly-released primer.

In its statement, the World Bank also reiterated its support for the Voluntary Guidelines (VGs) on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security calling them “a major international instrument to inform specific policy reforms, including our own procedures and guidance to clients.” As we have noted previously, USAID welcomes the rising global support to implement the VGs. According to Dr. Gregory Myers, USAID Division Chief, Land Tenure and Property Rights, “the VGs are one of the most important tools developed by stakeholders to strengthen land governance systems. The USG remains committed to supporting implementation.”

By Dr. Gregory Myers, USAID Division Chief, Land Tenure and Property Rights

This morning, I had the honor, on behalf of USAID, to chair the first session of the World Bank’s annual Land and Poverty Conference, titled Global Support to Voluntary Guidelines Implementation. This conference has become the premier event on land and resource governance – it was standing room only at the opening session. This event’s growing attendance and importance highlights the increasing recognition that resource governance is central to alleviating poverty, promoting economic development, limiting conflicts, and protecting against the worst impacts of climate change.

In the last decade, the private sector, civil society organizations, host governments, donors and academics have committed to better understanding of and methodologies for increasing agricultural productivity across the globe. In 2012, G8 leaders at Camp David launched the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition. The New Alliance is a partnership between G8 governments, private companies and national governments toward making policy reforms to enable more investment in agriculture. Increasingly, the global community recognizes that good land governance is necessary for increased investment, and to mitigate against risks that could undermine productivity for all producers.

To that end, a number of global organizations have increasingly focused attention on the need to provide stakeholders with guidelines or principles for good land governance. Two of the most important efforts have been undertaken by the Committee for World Food Security: the adoption of the Voluntary Guidelines (VGs) for the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries, and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (which were adopted in May 2012) and the Principles for Responsible Agricultural Investment (RAI) (which are currently being developed). The process by which the Guidelines were adopted were in many ways unprecedented in their transparency, with participation from many civil society organizations, the private sector, multilateral institutions and more than 95 member states.

I was joined in opening session by Andrew Hilton, Patrice Talla, Francesca Romano, and Neil Pullar from the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO); and Christina Blank, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the FAO, IFAD and WFP.

As the panelists discussed today, in the year since the Voluntary Guidelines were adopted, numerous organizations have recognized the importance of this tool as a means to promote more critical thinking about which policies make the most sense for improving resource governance. For my part, I am pleased to note that the G8 last year, under the U.S. Presidency, took a leading step forward in supporting implementation of the VGs, and a broad-based consultation process and pilot use of the RAI. This year, under the U.K. Presidency, we will see further progress supporting the VGs and RAI.

In the last year, bilateral and multilateral donors, CSOs, foundations, universities and others have worked hard to socialize the VGs, and FAO specifically has taken on the difficult task of awareness raising among stakeholders, and especially host-governments. There has been a dramatic increase in public discussion through social media about the VGs—in many ways these have become “The People’s Voluntary Guidelines.”

This morning, the panelists discussed the increase in demand for technical assistance to implement the VGs. They also noted, with increasing demand for implementation of the VGs, there is a concomitant need to build local capacity to administer land governance systems. Moreover, the panelists also discussed specific capacity-building tools, modalities, and software solutions intended to provide guidance, operational suggestions, and technical support toward implementation.

A few of the key points from the session included:

• The VGs provide an effective and realistic framework for improving land governance, strengthening access and rights, enhancing food security.
• FAO is receiving an increasing number of requests for technical assistance to implement the VGs, to date 22 countries have expressed a need.
• Successful implementation efforts will require engagement, collaboration, dialogue, and capacity building.
• There are important capacity building tools and technologies (including SOLA) being piloted to support the implementation process.
• Further review and refinements of these capacity building efforts will improve implementation.
• The RAI Zero Draft will be published in the coming days (by 15 April at the latest), the inclusive consultation process starts in May and we encourage all workshop participants to engage directly or through their constituencies in the consultation process.

I want to thank the panelists for an interesting and informative opening session and I am looking forward to the rest of the conference.

As attention to the central role land governance plays in economic growth, food security, and sustainable development continues to increase, recognition of the Voluntary Guidelines (VGs) for the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries, and Forests in the Context of National Food Security’s importance as a framework to guide effective laws and policies continues to rise. Workshops on the VGs have recently been held in Rwanda and Cameroon, with representatives from governments, civil society, and the private sector from around 20 countries attending each event. These workshops provide an opportunity for participants to learn more about the VGs, to identify ways to improve governance of tenure, and to propose ideas for implementation of the guidelines. The next meeting is scheduled for the week of April 22-25 in Amman, Jordan.

The US Government (USG) is committed to working with the international community to support implementation of the VGs – as well as the resource governance priorities identified by the G8 – as a strategy for improving food security, economic growth, and sustainable development. According to Dr. Gregory Myers, USAID Division Chief, Land Tenure and Property Rights, “the VGs are one of the most important tools developed by stakeholders to strengthen land governance systems. The USG remains committed to funding work that will support implementation.”

Along with raising awareness of the VGs, the focus of the international community is on identifying opportunities for implementation of the guidelines. In February, over 60 participants attended an expert meeting organized by the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) as part of the UN Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (UN-REDD) in order to identify prioritized actions for improved legal frameworks and opportunities for cooperation between government bodies and civil society. As the meeting’s background paper points out, land and forest tenure are intrinsically linked to the debate on carbon rights and the equal sharing of benefits at national and local levels in all national REDD+ programs. REDD+ provides an opportunity to achieve sustainable forest management and to strengthen the resource rights of local communities and indigenous peoples. International donors, governments, and civil society organizations working to address these issues should continue to look to the VGs for guidance and best practices.

Click here for more information on the VGs from USAID.

On March 14, the Haiti Property Law Working Group released Haiti Land Transaction Manual, Vol. 1: A how-to guide for the legal sale of property in Haiti. This manual is an important step in the reconstruction efforts in Haiti following the devastating 2010 earthquake, which have been greatly impeded by weak land administration systems and the resulting disputes over land and property. The new manual will help Haitians, international donors, and civil society navigate the country’s complex bureaucratic legal system. The manual was developed by Architecture for Humanity, Habitat for Humanity International, local legal experts, and the Haitian government.

As this paper points out, the challenges Haiti’s land administration system posed to the disaster response and reconstruction efforts highlight the importance of addressing land tenure issues and clarifying and strengthening property rights in order to increase resilience to natural disasters, climate change, and economic shocks.

Click here for more information on land tenure and property rights in Haiti from USAID.

This article discusses how one group is contributing to critical thinking about how the Voluntary Guidelines for the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries, and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGs) are implemented. The Future Agricultures Consortium (FAC) – an Africa-based alliance of agricultural research organizations – is both tracking implementation of the VGs and launching a study that will, among other things, investigate the multiple pressures toward the commercialization of land and the resulting impacts on land rights in Southern Africa. The project will also examine how land users, governments and other authorities are responding to land transactions.

FAC will work in five countries (Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, and Namibia) to document the land deals and their effects, develop recommendations for policy, and inform advocacy.

FAC will be well-served to also consider the impacts of all large-scale land transactions (both domestic and international) in the countries under review, and to interview the private sector firms engaged in large-scale land transaction in these countries to include their views on the impact of secure resource governance (e.g., property rights) on their investments.

ASM-PACE, a partnership between the World Wildlife Fund and Estelle Levin Limited to address the environmental impacts of artisanal and small scale mining (ASM) in some of the world’s most important ecosystems, recently featured an excellent blog by Terah de Jong, Chief or Party of USAID’s Property Rights and Artisanal Diamond Development (PRADD) project in the Central African Republic.

De Jong argues that holistic policies and programs – those that account for unique contexts and motivations and address underlying incentives – have the greatest chance of increasing productivity, reducing poverty, mitigating environmental impact, and preventing conflict in artisanal mining communities. The PRADD program has been instrumental in demonstrating the importance of incorporating economic development into ASM foreign assistance programs, an achievement that was highlighted by the adoption of the Washington Declaration at the latest plenary meeting of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.

As we noted in an earlier commentary, USAID will continue and expand the PRADD program under an upcoming successor program, PRADD II

As we noted in a commentary earlier this week, land tenure insecurity poses significant financial risks to investors. It also negatively impacts food security, economic growth, and natural resource management. Governments, multi-lateral organizations, donor agencies, and civil society are focusing greater attention on improving land tenure security. The private sector has also become increasingly cognizant of the financial risks of tenure insecurity and the importance of incorporating land tenure in strategic risk analysis. AEGIS Advisory, a consultancy that specializes in assessing and adjusting businesses’ exposure to strategic risk, recently published a strategic risk alert titled Agribusiness in Africa – land tenure risk. The report notes that “as outside businesses look for more land to exploit, the risks of land tenure disputes increase, leading to greater operating costs or, worse, the prospect of operations being suspended altogether.”

Aegis Advisory and Integro Insurance have also developed an index to quantify the level of strategic risk in the 40 largest emerging markets. As we have noted, an accepted and standard indicator for good land governance would help quantify risk and measure best practice.

Following adoption of the Voluntary Guidelines (VGs) on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security in May 2012 and as the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) approaches negotiations for the Principles for Responsible Agricultural Investment (PRAI) – as well as other global discussions taking place such as Millennium Development Goals and post-2015 Development Agenda that focus greater attention on creating better land tenure security to promote food security, increased economic income, and better natural resource management – it is becoming increasingly apparent that the global community requires an accepted and standard indicator for “good land governance” that can be used to measure best practice.

For a discussion on the impacts of tenure insecurity for smallholders see Land Tenure Property Rights and Food Security: Emerging Implications For USG Policies and Programming.

For impacts on the large-scale investors see The Financial risk of Insecure Tenure: An Investment View, by the Munden Project for the Rights and Resources Initiative.

For a discussion of land rights and agricultural productivity, see this issue brief from Landesa.

The Earth Security Initiative’s recent paper, The Land Security Agenda: How Investor Risks in Farmland Create Opportunities for Sustainability, highlighted potential financial risks and suggested a “Land Security Index,” which could form the basis for a good land governance indicator.

This newly-revised research paper from USAID discusses the key issues, opportunities, and recommendations for strengthening the land and resource rights of Indigenous Peoples (IP). Despite occupying 20 percent of the world’s territory, IP often have weak claims on land and resource rights – which are frequently challenged by rising demand for land, increasing population pressure, and global climate change – and are among the most vulnerable groups in the world. IP comprise one-third of the world’s poor and live an average of 20 years less than the nonindigenous population. Securing rights to land and other natural resources is essential for projects, laws, and policies that aim to improve human development outcomes for these populations.

Policy makers seeking to improve the livelihoods IP and reduce land-related conflict should consider the following recommendations for strengthening land and resource rights of IP:

• Support locally generated efforts to strengthen indigenous peoples’ land and natural resource rights
• Incorporate collective tenure into land policy as an appropriate alternative for indigenous peoples
• Avoid creating conflicting claims
• Work with conservation organizations to enhance recognition of and respect for indigenous peoples’ land tenure and resource rights
• Build support for indigenous peoples’ land and natural resource tenure into REDD+ and other global climate change investments
• Integrate indigenous peoples’ land tenure and resource rights into related food security, livelihood, and governance programs
• Support indigenous customary tenure, access, and allocation of water rights in policies and projects

To apply these strategic recommendations most effectively in any local situation, it is essential to maintain awareness of evolving land issues of indigenous peoples at global and national levels.