This 30 minute webinar we examines land tenure and property rights in Kosovo and explores USAID’s recently updated Land Tenure Country Profile for Kosovo with Dr. Maureen Moriarty-Lempke, the country profile’s primary author.
Join the discussion live on Wednesday, November 9 at 9 am EST (3 pm Kosovo Time GMT+2) and connect using the form below to submit a question or on Twitter using the hashtag #countrybycountry.
Here are the recent land tenure and resource management media items:
Here are the recent land tenure and resource management media items:
Here are the latest land tenure and resource management media items:
Here are the latest land tenure and resource management media items:
Join the discussion by answering the four questions below, sending a question or comment to the panel, or tweeting using #legitlandrights.
Question 1:
In a small rural community there are 35 households of settled farmers. These farmers and their families have been in the area for several generations. Twice a year, a pastoralist clan moves through the area, following a traditional migration route. The pastoralists have always worked with local chiefs and leaders to negotiate access to the local water source as well as access to harvested fields. Neither the farmers nor the pastoralists have any documentation of their rights over the land at issue. An investor arrives and would like to negotiate to lease some of the land that the farmers and pastoralists both use.
In this case, who has legitimate rights: the farmers only; the pastoralists and the farmers both; or no one, given that there is no documentation of rights?
Question 2:
A family of 5 people was forced, along with many others, to leave their home during a civil war. This family had acquired the rights to their home under a previous regime which favored the family’s ethnic group over another ethnic group. They have documentation to show that this transfer took place. During the conflict, the family members relocated to an internally displaced persons’ camp. While the family was living in the camp, another family moved into their home, living there for over five years, considering this home their own, this family made repairs to the house, planted a small farm, and sent their children to local schools. After a peace accord was concluded, the new government began a process to resolve land conflicts associated with the war.
In this case, who has legitimate rights: the displaced family; the family that took up residence during the war; or is it unclear in this case who would have legitimate rights given the convoluted history of the property?
Question 3:
A government, in an effort to conserve biodiversity, decides to create a new national park. This government endorsed the VGGT. The boundaries of the new park were identified using satellite imagery. When park officials arrive in a portion of the park to conduct an animal head count they encounter local indigenous people. These people explain that they have traditionally used the land to hunt, collect medicinal herbs, honey, and some firewood. The park officials tell these people that they believe the land is probably state/government land and therefore local indigenous people have no claim to the land or the resources on the land.
In this case, who has legitimate rights: the indigenous peoples; the government, because that the land was demarcated; or the government because the state’s biodiversity concerns outweigh the legitimate land rights of the indigenous people?
Question 4:
A developer has legally purchased land from a government where there is currently a city slum. The developer was informed by officials that the land was vacant at the time of purchase, but upon visiting the land finds that hundreds of people are currently living in the slum. The developer plans to invest in the land which will lead to greater economic growth within the city, However, these slum dwellers have already been pushed off of rural lands that were also used without their consent. Moreover, many occupants of the slums have been there for many years and have nowhere that they can go if the slums are destroyed.
In this case, who has legitimate rights: the developer because they purchased the land; the slum dwellers; or is it unclear, this case should be determined through the courts?
How Tajikistan’s Youth are Changing the Way We Look at Land Rights
Originally appeared on Medium.
On a sunny day in June at the Financial and Economic Institute in Tajikistan’s capital city of Dushanbe, a class full of energetic young law students discusses the day’s lesson. To the southwest of the capital, in a small rural village in Khatlon Province, high school seniors tell personal stories about helping their community. Sixty-five miles apart, the students are discussing the same subject: land rights. The enthusiasm in both classrooms is impossible to ignore.
The subject of land rights is a new addition to the students’ curriculum. As part of the U.S. Government’s Feed the Future initiative, USAID’s Land Reform and Farm Restructuring project has helped support this effort by establishing the course materials, which include a textbook and a fact-sheet on ways to resolve common land disputes.
Adults may not always recognize how influential youth can be. But in Tajikistan, USAID knows that youth often serve as a bridge of information, helping their families understand and adopt new practices.
View the full photo essay on Medium.
Lessons from a Decade of Land Certification
Originally appeared on Exposure.
In Ethiopia, where over 80 percent of the population lives in rural areas, having secure rights to land and other resources is critical. Especially for women.
For decades, farmers and other landholders lacked land tenure security because of frequent land seizures and redistributions.
This insecurity meant farmers had few incentives to make investments for fear that their land would be taken away before they could reap the benefits.
This led to declining agricultural productivity, food insecurity and hunger.
Read the full photo essay on Exposure.
For women in Colombia, new land brings a new beginning
Originally published on Exposure.
Many abandoned their land under the threat of extreme violence, leaving their possessions, homes, and farms behind. Luz Esmeralda, a 52-year-old mother of two, was one of them.
Luz and her family enjoyed a peaceful, happy life on their farm, until conflict swept through their community. Luz clearly remembers the day armed soldiers appeared on her property.
“When the guerrillas came to our village, they told us to arm ourselves and join their ranks, or leave. They stole our cattle, machinery, everything. We were forced to leave our land. It was very very hard.”
Luz and her family traveled from town to town, searching for a place to call home. Eventually they landed in Meta—a region of Colombia known for its rich pasture land. In town, Luz met other displaced women, many of whom were female farmers with agriculture skills that were not being put to use. Like Luz, they were desperate for work, shelter, and income.
Luz was determined to find a way to lift these women out of poverty, and refused to let war, displacement, and poverty be the storyline that defined their lives. She knew they had the collective skills they needed to start and grow a successful farming business. The women banned together under the leadership of Luz Esmeralda, and AgroEmpo—a farming association of 21 war widows—was born.
USAID has issued a Request for Information/Sources Sought Notice for conducting market research to identify potential sources capable of providing support services and solicit advice, knowledge, and best practices from organizations interested in participating in USAID’s technical assistance within the Land and Resource Governance (LRG) sector. Instructions on how to provide comments are contained within the Notice. Responses are due by June 30, 2016.