Post Type: Article

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.

According to this New York Times article, one police officer was killed and dozens of people were injured on February 26 when villagers protesting land seizures clashed with security forces in Maubin, Burma. The protesters claim they were never compensated when their land was confiscated and sold to a wealthy businessman 17 years ago. According to Lt. Col. Tot Shwe of the police, “it is an old problem, but now it has exploded.”

Recent positive political reforms have granted Burmese citizens, journalists, and civil society organizations greater freedom to debate contentious issues – including land tenure and resources rights – and this protest is the latest event to highlight the visible tensions over the rights to land and natural resources in the country. In November, protests over the expansion of a copper mine turned violent and, according to the BBC, “between 20 and 30 protestors, many of them Buddhist monks, were injured, some with severe burns after the camps were set alight”.

Addressing these issues is essential for reducing conflict and promoting peace and economic growth in Burma. As we noted in a previous commentary about the tensions between various stakeholders over land, mineral, and other resource rights as the country undergoes significant political reforms, the USAID Land Tenure and Property Rights Division is preparing to undertake an assessment with the intent of helping the Government of Burma assess tenure and property rights challenges and identify potential opportunities for addressing them.

On February 22, the South Sudan Council of Ministers passed the USAID-assisted draft Land Policy with minimal amendments. The Land Policy will now head to the National Legislative Assembly for review. While much work remains to be done, this event marks a notable step on South Sudan’s path toward developing institutions and policies for effective land governance.

As a newly independent country facing continuing conflict over land and resources, developing a clear, efficient and equitable land policy framework that will reduce conflict and promote peace and economic growth is critical for South Sudan. Lack of clarity and legal protections for land use has affected investment, economic development, and conservation efforts in the country. It has also contributed to local conflict, including disputes over large-scale land acquisitions and grazing rights.

Since 2008, USAID has assisted the Government of South Sudan to develop a draft land policy. USAID’s Sudan Property Rights Program conducted extensive public consultation and research to inform the development of a draft land policy, as well as provided support to build the capacity of the Southern Sudan Land Commission. The draft land policy provides guidance for legislation impacting land tenure – specifically through public, community and private land tenure systems – with the aim of improving the security of citizens’ rights to land under South Sudanese law. The policy serves as a framework to amend existing laws and provides guidance for drafting future legislation. On February 18, 2011, the Sudan Property Rights Program formally handed over the final draft of the Land Policy to the Southern Sudan Land Commission.

While the Sudan Property Rights Program ended in 2011, a follow-on project, the Sudan Rural Land and Governance Project, is currently helping build capacity for land governance institutions that promote property rights, mitigate conflict, and improve tenure security.

Artisanal mining – a livelihood for an estimated 20 million people around the world – has historically not been an area where USAID and other donors have invested substantial resources. While a wide range of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) practices occur throughout the world, the exploration, extraction and trade of diamonds have become increasingly viewed as controversial due to purported links with rebel movements, environmental destruction, and child labor.

USAID’s Property Rights and Artisanal Diamond Development (PRADD) project in the Central African Republic, although coming to a conclusion under the Property Rights and Resource Governance (PRRG) Task Order after more than five years of implementation, has changed this perception in many ways. The PRADD program began as a pilot in 2007 in the Central African Republic pioneering a property rights approach to better monitoring of the artisanal diamond mining sector and improving livelihoods in ASM communities. The results from this approach and the overall impacts of the project have been altogether positive as illustrated in the final quarterly report now available.

Over the past three years, legal diamond production in PRADD’s longstanding areas of intervention has increased 450% compared to 21% for the rest of the country. During the same time frame, more than 650 mining sites have been rehabilitated and converted to other economic uses resulting in increased incomes and food security. Although the current project is coming to an end, many of the innovative and integrative approaches utilized under PRADD will be continued and expanded under an upcoming successor program creatively titled PRADD II.