Document Type: Progress Reports

PEACE BUILDING AND POLITICAL CONTEXT

November 24 marked the signing of the new peace agreement between the government of Colombia (GOC) and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Signed 53 days after the referendum in which a slim majority of Colombian citizens voted against ratifying the peace accords, this new agreement was the result of intense negotiations that included several initiatives promoted by the political opposition. On December 1, Colombia’s Congress countersigned the agreement, and implementation commenced, surrounded by political controversies and operational complications. In the coming months, the guerrilla group is expected to fully disarm and initiate its transformation into a legal political party. Amidst an agitated political scenario, President Santos received the Nobel Peace Prize for his perseverance and will to end the 50-year conflict that has affected Colombians across the country, particularly those in rural areas.

Recent institutional reforms creating new entities to address the post-conflict implementation challenges are now starting their execution phase, giving way to the design of new policies and processes to respond to point one of the peace agreement (regarding comprehensive rural reform), which was only slightly modified in the new signed version. USAID’s Land and Rural Development Program (LRDP) remains committed to preparing Colombia for peace, which hinges on regional governments and entities being able to implement an integrated approach to rural development that embraces strengthened land rights and the restitution of land for families located in post-conflict regions, thereby facilitating sustainable livelihoods. To this end, we have achieved key milestones this quarter that contribute to the program’s overall objectives and that support the GOC in its post-conflict goals, enhancing Colombia’s capacity to mobilize resources to remote regions that have been neglected for decades.

Together with a territorial approach to peace building and rural development that includes strong community participation—a method being supported by the program through the design of the PDET model—the GOC must also engage in an innovative and effective illicit crop reduction policy if it hopes to successfully implement the peace accords. Although not part of LRDP objectives, and recognizing the general lack of illicit crops in LRDP’s municipalities, this issue is central to the rollout of integrated rural development and land policies in Colombia. As stated in a recent article by experts from Fundación Ideas para La Paz, “In a few weeks, the press will report on a new historic peak in [illicit] cultivations. The overlap between this increase and the start of the Trump era in the US is expected to result in great pressure for Colombia.” The GOC can respond to this either through a rapid and unsustainable strategy for illicit crop substitution or by making structural changes to improve state presence and to support communities engaging in voluntary eradication. The development of a comprehensive land tenure policy, especially regarding land formalization, is critical to the success of an innovative approach to illicit crop substitution. LRDP will provide the National Land Agency with recommendations for adjusting the massive formalization methodology designed by the program in year 3 so that it contemplates the presence of illicit crops.

KEY ADVANCES

LRDP achieved an important milestone this quarter by helping the Land Restitution Unit (LRU) prepare its Inter-Institutional Strategic Plan, which provides a roadmap for the GOC in terms of solving the large number of pending land restitution claims between now and 2021. This plan, which was submitted to the Constitutional Court, recommends how the GOC can adapt its restitution policy with regard to areas that are home to illicit crops. In addition, as part of our effort to help the LRU streamline restitution processes, we completed evidentiary material for ethnic restitution cases in Cesar and Meta on behalf of indigenous Yupka and Sikuani communities.

Property registration files are arguably the backbone of Colombia’s land-related processes, as they not only indicate a property’s location, type, and transaction history but also can reveal fraudulent owners. This information is essential for reducing tenure insecurity, land inequality, and conflict.

In our effort to enhance local governments’ capacity to address land formalization, we finalized the design of the municipal formalization plan for Santander de Quilichao (Cauca), which provides a formalization roadmap for 33,000 land parcels, consistent with the area’s ethnic and geographical diversity. Our solid relationship with the mayor, coupled with his conviction of the importance of inter-institutional linkages for the successful implementation of land policies, has resulted in a coordinated strategy for formalization and restitution processes at the local level. Furthermore, we advanced toward the implementation of our massive formalization pilot in Ovejas (Sucre) by organizing active interactions between key entities involved and convening technical discussions for the integration of this activity with the government’s multipurpose cadaster initiative. Alongside these efforts, we continued strengthening our relationship with and assistance to the National Land Agency so that it can manage the very complex challenges ahead in terms of meeting the government’s land formalization goals.

This quarter, we initiated one of the program’s largest activities aimed at facilitating the implementation of Colombia’s rural reform and multipurpose cadaster: the digitalization of property registration files housed by the Superintendence of Notary and Registry (SNR). Over one million files from 17 public registry offices will be digitalized, providing electronic access to property registry information for 20% of the country’s territory. Although this activity has faced major setbacks due to the sensitivity of the information and strict custody protocols, it is poised to have an enormous impact on the efficiency of Colombia’s land registry and to considerably decrease the illegal manipulation of property files, a major factor fueling land tenure insecurity, land inequality, and conflict.

As part of LRDP’s public-private partnership (PPP) strategy, which integrates land and rural interventions at the regional level, a new beekeeping school was established in Cesar. In November, 83 beekeepers graduated from the school, equipped with improved capacity and technical tools to generate sustainable livelihoods for their families. This is just the beginning of a promising project that will mobilize national and regional resources to benefit ethnic and campesino communities in the area. Likewise, in Montes de María, 123 cacao producers and representatives from public and mixed institutions participated in trainings conducted by Fedecacao and the National Company of Chocolates as part of the commitments made through the regional cacao PPP that seeks to improve productivity and product quality of the crop. LRDP is working closely with the Rural Development Agency to facilitate its involvement in prioritized PPPs, maximizing the impact of our support and engaging this new entity at the regional and local levels through tangible investments.

INTEGRATED APPROACH TO LAND AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

This quarter, we consolidated our efforts to integrate the program’s four thematic components and proposed concrete examples for strengthening such an integrated approach in years 4 and 5, as discussed during the Strategic Review Session held in Villavicencio (Meta).3 With PPPs as a cross-cutting activity to enhance the livelihoods of restituted families and promote land formalization to improve the delivery of rural public goods, we are working to guide the GOC at the national and regional levels toward this approach in order to ensure the sustainability of rural development interventions.

The USAID Tajikistan Land Reform and Farm Restructuring Project (LRFRP) consolidates the gains achieved under the previous project and focuses on building the capacity of Government of Tajikistan (GoT) stakeholders to take ownership of the land tenure reform process. Specifically, the project strengthens the capacity of the Tajik Government to introduce progressive land legislation and policies based on “freedom to farm” principles; enhance farmers’ awareness of land-related rights through training, legal assistance, and public outreach efforts; and provide technical training on land rights issues to local government officials, judges, public prosecutors, and defense advocates to promote fair administration of land tenure laws.

Summary of Quarterly Achievements

• Project representatives presented LRFRP goals and an overview of planned activities at a FTF/T partners meeting.
• The project team established a platform for dialogue through official letters between the project and Presidential Apparatus, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Agriculture, State Committee on Land Management, and Geodesy.
• Conducted an analysis of TV, radio, and newspaper outlets for LRFRP public outreach activities in the Khatlon Region.
• Conducted a survey of existing training materials related to land reform to ensure consistency and accuracy with respect to current legislation.
• Developed the Year 1 work plan, performance monitoring and evaluation plan (PMEP), and grants manual.
• Established main project office in Dushanbe.

The “LAND UPDATE” is an electronic newsletter produced by the Ethiopia Land Administration to Nurture Development (LAND) project. The LAND project works at the national and regional levels of government to further improve the legal and regulatory framework related to land tenure and property rights and thereby support the Government of Ethiopia’s and USAID’s goal of increasing economic growth, particularly agricultural sector growth, improving rural resiliency, and improving governance. LAND uses a variety of activities to strengthen capacity of land administration and land use institutions. In addition, LAND supports activities focusing on securing rights to community lands, strengthening capacity of community members to manage their natural resource assets.

LAND Implementation to Commence in Afar Regional State

LAND began consultations with Afar National Regional State and stakeholders on ways of supporting the regional government in securing pastoralists land use rights. At the first consultation meeting held from April 30 – May 1, 2015, H.E. Ato Ismail Ali Sirro, President of the Afar Regional State said, “Despite our region’s immense potential for crop farming and the existence of various natural resources and large number of livestock, the people of our region could not benefit from these resources due to natural and man-made problems as well as lack of appropriate land administration and land use plans.” According to the President, the region hasn’t conducted demarcation, registration, and certification of communal grazing lands due to lack of experienced and trained manpower. He added that the lack of recognition of pastoralists’ land use rights resulted in mismanagement and degradation of communal lands and a decline in livestock productivity.

In 2014, LAND built the capacity of the region’s Environmental Protection and Land Administration and Use Agency by sponsoring three of its staff to a Master’s Degree in Land Administration and Management at the Institute of Land Administration in Bahir Dar University. This coming year, two more staff will join the program and one of them is female. LAND also provided short term trainings on land use planning and rural land laws. Currently, support is being given in revising the region’s land expropriation, valuation and compensation guidelines.

LAND is embarking on piloting demarcation and certification of pastoral lands in selected sites of the Afar National Regional State. The main objective of the new intervention is to assist the regional state government to formalize the land use rights of pastoral communities and give recognition to and strengthen the community land governance entities that would manage their rangeland and its natural resources.

Appreciating LAND’s plan, the Vice President of the region H.E. Ato Awol Arba, said, “We have land administration and use policy and law as well as guidelines for their implementation. What we haven’t done is implementing them. Therefore, I appreciate the idea proposed by the LAND project to pilot selected woredas for communal land certification.”

LAND is recruiting a regional coordinator for the region and making preparations to conduct rapid appraisal in the selected sites for the pilot. It will also continue consultations with stakeholders to pave the way for successful intervention in the region.

Grant Issued for Research in the Land Sector

LAND began releasing grants to the finalists of LAND competitive research and development grant scheme, which has a total value of over $600,000. LAND announced the grant program in July 2014 and in response, 32 concept notes were submitted. LAND’s review and evaluation committee selected 14 concept notes from 12 institutions to move to the next cycle of developing full proposals.

Subsequently, six applicants made it to the final stage and have signed grant agreements with LAND.

The institutions represented by project leaders and principal researchers were given orientation on the terms and conditions of the awards as well as grant administration processes prior to commencement of project implementation. During the orientation, Dr. Solomon Bekure, LAND COP, stated that there was limited research conducted in the land sector in Ethiopia. LAND’s Competitive Grant scheme is the first step towards helping bridge the gap. The result of such research can evidently inform policy makers and land administration and use professionals as well as other concerned stakeholders. USAID Senior Agricultural Policy Advisor, Dr. Zemen Haddis made significant investment in the land sector, providing comprehensive support in all regions. The main objective of investing in land is to ensure land tenure security. He stressed that the research findings should not be shelved as reports, rather they need to be made widely available to stakeholders to bring about practical changes.

A half-day training was also organized for the grantees’ financial, procurement and administrative staff on standard financial management and administrative requirements of USAID grants.

LAND’s research grant scheme is established to promote research excellence and to nurture and develop a research network and peer cooperation in the land sector among universities and research organizations. Operations of ETHIOLANDNET by Bahir Dar University to engage in the promotion of research and exchange of information among universities, government organizations and research institutions is one of the grants approved under the scheme.

The next round of LAND competitive research grant scheme is expected to be announced before the end of the year.

Gender Mainstreaming Training for Draft Lawmakers

LAND organized a two-day gender mainstreaming training for 19 members of the Ethiopian Women’s Land Rights Taskforce on 21 to 22 April 2015 in Bishoftu. Similar trainings were also arranged for 6 members of the drafting committee for amending the rural land administration and land use proclamation no. 456/2005 and five members of the drafting committee for the proposed Oromia pastoral land administration regulation on 23 and 24 April 2015 respectively in Bishoftu. Ms. Hirut Girma, from Landesa and Ms. Rene Giovarelli, from the Center for Gender and Resource Equity (CGRE) in the US, who were assisted by Ms. Medhanit Adamu, LAND’s Gender Specialist, conducted the training. LAND’s Property Right Lawyer, Mr. Abebe Mulatu, gave an overview of the law making process in Ethiopia during the one day trainings designed for the drafting committee members.

LAND is currently assisting the Ethiopian government in drafting and amending rural land laws at the federal level. The gender mainstreaming training was organized to ensure that Ethiopian land laws recognize and protect women’s land rights and a gender sensitive approach is adopted as an integral part of the drafting and amending processes.

Even though the Ethiopian Constitution and land laws recognize women’s right to acquire, administer, control, use and transfer property, women remain significantly less likely to access, use and control land. The land they have access to is often of poorer quality and consists of smaller plots. LAND believes that effectively protecting women’s rights include providing capacity development training on women’s rights and gender mainstreaming methods to lawmakers. The trainings are intended to strengthen the capacity of those involved in drafting of laws by providing practical skills in gender analysis and raising their awareness of women’s land rights. The training is also aimed to equip participants with knowledge and skills to assess the strengths, gaps, and inconsistencies in existing land related laws; assess best practices in women’s land rights; and identify potential entry points for redressing the identified challenges.

Land Administration to Nurture Development (LAND) Contact: info@etland.org Tel: 251- (0) 116 631 129 , 251- (0) 116 630 832

The USAID Property Rights and Artisanal Diamond Development Project (PRADD II) supports governments to implement mining best practices in Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea, and promotes good governance of the mining sector at the international level through the Kimberley process (KP), the international mechanism that prevents rough diamonds from fueling conflict. The program—a $19 million five-year joint USAID/European Union initiative—is a follow-on project to PRADD, USAID’s former flagship mining project that was implemented from 2007–2013 across Central African Republic, Guinea, and Liberia.

The objective of PRADD II is to increase the number of alluvial diamonds entering the formal chain of custody, while improving the benefits accruing to diamond mining communities. Artisanal miners labor under archaic and difficult working conditions and live in extreme poverty, often receiving less than 9% of the retail price of the stones they extract. Poverty prevents miners from acquiring the licenses required to operate within the law, the equipment necessary to increase their gains, and the assets needed to diversify their livelihoods. Not surprisingly, miners often become incentivized to mine quickly, sell fast, and rapidly move on to new sites. These practices have devastating economic and environmental consequences, negatively impact export revenues, and prevent compliance with the Kimberley Process.

USAID’s Property Rights Program (PRP) is a four-year activity that aims to address the property rights challenges and to develop a plan for the stabilization of the property rights regime in Kosovo. The program will work in partnership with the Government of Kosovo (GOK), selected municipalities and other relevant local and international stakeholders. USAID has allocated $8.5 million for the implementation of the Property Rights Program.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Summary of results for the reporting period and key achievements.

Objective 1: Better Coordination and Policy Priorities

A final MOU between the EU-funded Support to the Civil Code and Property Rights (CCPR) project and the PRP setting out arrangements for cooperation and coordination was signed on behalf of participants, Tetra Tech ARD and GIZ IS and witnessed by the USAID Mission Director on December 12, 2014.

Obtained agreement with the Division of Planning and Coordination at the Ministry of European Integration that the PRP should guide coordination to develop the National Property Rights Strategy and that this would in no way interfere with Ministry of European Integration activities. This division within the Ministry of European Integration is charged with coordination and development of policy priorities and donor coordination activities in the property sector under Regulation No. 4/2011.

Worked with the Director of the Department of EU and Policy Coordination at the Ministry of Justice to organize a high-level Property Rights Stakeholders meeting, as part of an effort to establish a Property Rights Sectorial Working Group (SWG) that will provide the institutional platform to ensure formal coordination among all property rights stakeholders.

Agreed with the CCPR that the PRP will specifically identify constraints and obstacles faced by the courts and/or the parties to proceedings related to property cases, and will look for ways to revise procedures and practices to improve the court system with regard to property rights.

The PRP subcontracted the Civil Rights Program in Kosovo (CRP/K) to conduct legislative analysis and prepare a report regarding legislation affecting minority communities including issues of religious properties and challenges to accessing justice in the courts. Draft reports were submitted by CRP/K in late December and are under review by the PRP.

Objective 2: Improved Court Procedures Related to Property Claims

The PRP engaged a Court Management Consultant from Tetra Tech DPK to provide short-term expert consultation to develop customized assessment tools to assist the Kosovo Judicial Council (KJC) to assess and analyze current court processes related to the adjudication and processing of property claims.

PRP, together with Kosovo Judicial Council (KJC) and the Basic Courts of Ferizaj, Gjilan, and Gjakova used the tool to assess the extent to which applicable legislation, judicial practices, and case processing procedures constrain efficient adjudication of property rights in courts.

Objective 3: Enhanced Women’s Rights to Use Property in Practice

The PRP took an active part in launching the National Campaign, under the Patronage of the President of the Republic of Kosovo, to Improve Gender Equality in the Property Registration “For our Common Good”.

The PRP engaged a Behavior Change Communications Expert from Tetra Tech ARD to deliver training of trainers for the PRP Communications and Public Outreach Manager and the Gender and Property Rights Specialist to build their capacity in BCC methods. The Behavior Communication Expert also provided the PRP with training materials for the training of the CSOs under the USAID Engagement for Equity (E4E) program.

The PRP engaged a gender expert consultant to conduct a legal review of all relevant legislation, develop a process map of the inheritance process identifying administrative procedures that enable exclusion of women from inheritance proceedings, and to provide analysis of the cultural issues and power dynamics between women and men that prevent women from exercising their property rights.

The PRP took part in the organization of and presentations at three workshops on the financing of women’s businesses and the role of women’s property rights in the process with Crimson Finance Fund; Gjakova on October 10, 2013 with 32 owners of women’s businesses; Gjilan on November 25, 2014 with 62 women’s businesses participating; and in Peja on December 10, 2014 attended by over 100 local women’s businesses.

Objective 4: Improved Communication, Access to Information and Understanding of Property Rights

The PRP engaged an expert consultant to conduct a series of interviews with Kosovo Cadastral Agency (KCA), Municipal Cadastre Offices (MCOs), Civil Registries, notary offices, and relevant officials in the municipalities of Vushtrri, Istog, Gjakova, Shterpce, Ferizaj, and Gjilan and Fushe Kosova to identify needs, capacity of existing systems, and procedures employed to obtain, manage and share data and to make preliminary suggestions for the use of USAID Government to Government (G2G) funding to support activities with municipalities to improve the sharing of property related information to assist courts to more efficiently adjudicate claims and facilitate market transactions.  The consultant’s report was submitted to USAID.

The “LAND UPDATE” is an electronic newsletter produced by the Ethiopia Land Administration to Nurture Development (LAND) project. The LAND project works at the national and regional levels of government to further improve the legal and regulatory framework related to land tenure and property rights and thereby support the Government of Ethiopia’s and USAID’s goal of increasing economic growth, particularly agricultural sector growth, improving rural resiliency, and improving governance. LAND uses a variety of activities to strengthen capacity of land administration and land use institutions. In addition, LAND supports activities focusing on securing rights to community lands, strengthening capacity of community members to manage their natural resource assets.

Strengthening the Capacity of Ethiopian Mapping Agency

LAND is supporting the Ethiopian Mapping Agency (EMA) to operate its continuously operating reference stations (CORS) to service the growing demands for geospatial information such as maps, satellite images and geodata sets for land surveying and GIS applications in Ethiopia. EMA has been providing geospatial information and managing the country’s fundamental geo-information data sets. It has a plan to expand the existing geodetic network in order to respond to the pressing needs of private and public sectors for accurate and real time multi-purpose spatial data, using CORS, and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS).

For instance, the Land Administration and Use Directorate (LAUD) of MOA is overseeing the surveying and registration of 50 million rural parcels in the second Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP-II). Applying such effective technology is essential to conduct accurate parcel boundary, demarcation, surveying and registration of rural land, which enhances land use rights security, and generate rural land information that will be used for multiple development purposes in both rural and urban areas.

The use of CORS enables increasing the level of accuracy of data obtained by various GPS technologies. Previously, EMA had established four CORS with assistance of USAID and made data from these stations available to the public through the national geodetic survey (NGS) website. However, not all the CORS were fully operational due to internet problem and limited capacity of EMA to manage them. LAND provided technical assistance by a local consultant to rehabilitate the CORS. The four existing CORS in Addis Ababa, Dire Dawa, Jimma and Gondar have now become fully operational and begun streaming raw data continuously into the server located at EMA.

In addition, the consultant was tasked to build the capacity of EMA staff and support preparation of a project proposal for CORS geodetic network development in Ethiopia. Accordingly, the CORS training was jointly organized by LAND, EMA and MoA, for 20 staff to build their capacity in establishing, maintaining, troubleshooting and operating CORS infrastructure and providing online positioning user service. The training was given at the Institute of Geophysics, Space Sciences and Astronomy (IGSSA) of Addis Ababa University (AAU), from 1st December 2014 to 6th January 2015.

The CORS training also included a practical exercise of setting up CORS which increased the number of CORS stations in the country by two. Setting up the CORS on the roof of IGSSA building was successfully completed during the training and had started streaming data. His Excellency Ato Selishi Getahun, State Minister, Ministry of Agriculture gave the CORS trainees a certificate of participation at a graduation ceremony held on 8 January 2015. The ceremony was also attended by Mr. Cullen Hughes, Deputy Director of Economic Growth & Transformation Office at USAID/ Ethiopia, Ato Sultan Mohammed, Director of EMA, Ato Tigistu G/Meskel, Director of MoA Land Administration and Land Use Directorate and Dr. Solomon Bekure, LAND COP.

EMA plans to establish 30 Zero-order, 75 first order, and about 10,000 second and third order geodetic control points and 12 COR stations. Moreover, it needs to coordinate outputs from CORS operated by other institutions such as universities and development projects. Currently there are 30 CORS operated by Addis Ababa University and one CORS by Bahir Dar University, which were established for teaching, learning and research purposes. The trained staff will enable EMA operate its CORS and provide services.

Yared Agidew was among the trainees. After receiving advanced diploma in surveying, he has been working as a surveyor for the last six years. Currently he is a team leader and is often assigned to manage projects at the various government ministries. He said “I received a number of trainings before but this one excels as it covers everything from the scratch. I learnt how control stations are coordinated and work together in harmony. It advanced my knowledge of surveying and answers the questions I have had for long. For instance we use 10 degree as GPS elevation mask and I have been doing that for six years, but it is only now that I understand why.”

He said he would apply the knowledge from the training and brief his team and other colleagues on CORS. Like other trainees, Yared expressed his appreciation for the trainer, Dr. Elias Lewi, for his excellent and comprehensive delivery. He added, “Learning from an Ethiopian trainer helped me have practical and contextual knowledge as he drew concrete and relatable examples and experiences.”

LAND will continue to support EMA with a refresher course for staff and providing technical assistance in preparing a long-term project proposal for densification of the CORS network in Ethiopia so that EMA will be able to provide countrywide coverage of online positioning user services (OPUS).

Formation of a National Taskforce on Women’s Land Rights

Although the 1994 Ethiopian Federal Constitution ensures that Ethiopian women have equal rights as those of their male counterparts, women in Ethiopia still face obstacles to secure their land rights due to limited awareness of women’s land rights and inadequate participation of women in land related processes in many parts of the country. And yet, there is no women’s group working on policy issues related to women’s land rights. LAND supported the establishment of a task force on women’s Land Right to bridge this gap.

The objective of the Taskforce is to deliberate on women’s land rights issues in order to inform formulation and implementation of land policy and legislation in Ethiopia. It will identify customary, legal and regulatory constraints affecting women’s rights to access and use land and make recommendations to policy makers and legislators on how they could be addressed. As a voice for women’s inheritance and land rights, the Taskforce will review and comment on forthcoming laws and regulations and make recommendations to ensure that the laws are in place and implemented to promote the realization of women’s land rights.

The Taskforce has 20 members representing various sectors including the Ministries of Agriculture, Justice, Women, Children and Youth Affairs, Federal Supreme Court, Oromia Pastoral Development Commission, USAID/Ethiopia, UN/WOMEN, LIFT and PRIME projects and civil society groups such as the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association. In addition, it has professionals with land administration and legal background as members.

The Taskforce took its first step with an inception workshop that was held on 5 -6 February, 2015 in Bishoftu town in which 19 people (7 of whom were men) participated. Women’s Affairs Directorate of Ministry of Agriculture was selected as the Chair of the taskforce and Ministry of Women, Children and Youth Affairs as Vice Chair. The draft memorandum of understanding and a work plan were discussed.

In addition, the Taskforce established a “Women Land Desk” within the Ministry of Agriculture, Women’s Affairs Directorate to serve as a technical resource for both the ministry and the Taskforce. Institutionalizing the desk within the Ministry of Agriculture, is believed to sustain the work and the impact of the taskforce in the future.

In addition, participants were briefed on the context of their engagement in the land policy and legislation reform process, and provided with an overview on some of the most critical issues of women and other vulnerable groups in exercising their land rights. Experiences of similar task forces in Rwanda and Liberia were also presented.

Workshop on Land Expropriation, Valuation and Compensation Practices

Land Administration and Use Directorate of Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) and the LAND project jointly organized a workshop on land expropriation, valuation and compensation practices in Ethiopia on the 12 – 13 of March 2015 in Adama town. The main purpose of the workshop was to discuss the experiences of the regional states and city administrations and make recommendations to improve the policy implementation frameworks. In 2005, the Federal Government of Ethiopia issued

Expropriation of Lands for Public Purposes and Payment of Compensation Proclamation No. 455 to harmonize the different methods and practices of regional states in land taking, valuation of property and payment of compensation. The Government issued implementing regulation No. 135 in 2007 and the regional states were given the power to issue their own guidelines to implement these laws. However, only Amhara and Tigray regional states have issued their guidelines and there has been variation in implementation of the law not only from region to region, but also within the region across different land takings.

Ato Tigistu Gebremeskel, Land Administration and Use Directorate, MoA, stated that the workshop is organized to share regions’ experiences in implementing the law and discuss issues such as reasons behind the variation in the implementation of the law and what issues that were not anticipated cropped up.

The two-day workshop drew 58 participants (six female) from federal ministries (Agriculture, Urban Development and Construction, Federal Affairs, Justice and Women, Children and Youth Affairs), regional states (Amhara, Beneshangul-Gumuz, Gambela, Oromia, SNNP, Somali, Tigray, and Harrari) and Dire Dawa City Administration, and representatives of academia and research organizations (Bahir Dar, Haramaya, Mekelle and Hawassa universities, and Ethiopian Agricultural Research Institute) and other stakeholders. Most of the participants had been involved in implementing the regulations on land administration and practicing valuation and compensation in different parts of the country. Ato Tigistu remarked that “the key outcome of the workshop is providing evidence-based policy recommendations.”

Appreciating the representation of the various relevant stakeholders, Dr. Zemen Haddis, from USAID, said, “The land expropriation, valuation and compensation workshop can be seen as a good example of LAND’s joint work with practitioners, policy makers and academic institutions. Bringing all stakeholders to this workshop is a good start and USAID will strengthen its support for such joint discussions.”

Dr. Solomon Bekure, stated that the workshop was timely and provided a rare opportunity of discussing the experience gained in implementing the regulations and providing suggestions for improvement. He shared the international experiences on land expropriation valuation and compensation in his presentation.

He emphasized that the international best practice principle is that the compensation and assistance given to displaced people by expropriation should restore their standard of living to what it was before expropriation. Whenever possible, their wellbeing should be better off than it was before expropriation. Prior to the workshop, regional states and the city administration of Dire Dawa conducted assessment on the implementation of proclamation No. 455 in their respective jurisdictions and they presented the outcome of their assessment

at the workshop. Dr. Daniel Ambaye of the Institute of Land Administration, Bahir Dar University, presented a synthesis of the experiences of the regions outlining their similarities, differences and gaps. The presentations were followed by group and plenary discussions. Reccomendation were made to amend the expropriation laws; improve the expropriation, valuation and compensation procedures; improve modes of compensation; ensure proper rehabilitation of affected people; establish appropriate institutions for validation and compensation; and conduct training and capacity building of implementation agencies.

The “LAND UPDATE” is an electronic newsletter produced by the Ethiopia Land Administration to Nurture Development (LAND) project. The LAND project works at the national and regional levels of government to further improve the legal and regulatory framework related to land tenure and property rights and thereby support the Government of Ethiopia’s and USAID’s goal of increasing economic growth, particularly agricultural sector growth, improving rural resiliency, and improving governance. LAND uses a variety of activities to strengthen capacity of land administration and land use institutions. In addition, LAND supports activities focusing on securing rights to community lands, strengthening capacity of community members to manage their natural resource assets.

Journey to Improve Pastoral Land Use Rights

Pastoralists’ livelihood is under immense pressure from climate change, population growth and expansion of other land uses such as development of public and private irrigated agriculture, establishment of wildlife reserves, encroachment of farming by smallholders in the highlands and expansion of townships. The growing pastoral population is being squeezed into shrinking rangelands, resulting in overstocking and degradation of the range resources. Secure land rights of pastoralists as well as those of farmers is guaranteed under the Ethiopian Constitution. However, while the land use rights of farmers are secured via land registration and certification, this has not been done for pastoralists. 

Farmers are the owners of their land use rights and can rent out their land holdings and derive income from it. They are consulted in case their landholdings are needed for public purposes and compensated accordingly. Currently, pastoralists do not benefit in similar fashion nor are their land use rights secured. There are many instances whereby their land has been allocated to other uses without their consent and in some cases without compensation being paid for the land they lose, thus increasing their land use right insecurity.

At the invitation of the Oromia Region Bureau of Rural Lands and Environmental Protection (OBRLEP), LAND is providing technical and financial assistance to pilot ways and means of securing pastoral land use rights in Borana and Guji zones. A Regional Oromia Pastoralist Advisory Committee (ROPAC) has been established to advise and facilitate implementation of planned activities of LAND as well as those of a sister USAID supported Pastoral Resiliency Improvement through Market Expansion (PRIME) Project that is implementing interventions that are designed to improve pastoralists’ access to markets and improve their livelihoods. Members of the ROPAC are the Ministry of Agriculture (Directorates of Rural Land Administration and Use and Directorate of Pastoral Development), OBRLEP, Oromia Pastoral Development Commission, Oromia Pastoral Association and representatives of the LAND and PRIME projects and their supervisors from the USAID/Ethiopia Mission. The ROPAC was formed in February 2014 and has been meeting on a quarterly basis. Decision was made by the ROPAC to form similar committees in Borana and Guji zones called zonal Oromia pastoralist advisory committees (ZOPACs). In addition to the representatives of the organizations in the ROPAC, zonal administrators and pastoral community leaders are also included in the ZOPACs.

A field visit of ROPAC members to Borana and Guji zones was arranged by the LAND and PRIME projects from 27 October to 5 November 2014. The purpose of the visit was four-fold. First, it was intended to bring together the regional and zonal OPAC members to know one another better and to make formation of the committees’ official. Second, it was essential to discuss the terms of reference of the OPACs and how they work together to achieve their common goals. Third, it was deemed necessary to create a common understanding among all the stakeholders on the objectives and activities of the LAND and PRIME projects and how the participation of the government agencies and the communities they represent feature in the implementation of both projects. Fourth, it was considered important to visit the field and discuss with pastoral community leaders and government officials on their opinions about pastoral land use security and rangeland resources administration and management.

Three major meetings and discussions were held during the visit. The first one was held in Hawassa town for the ROPAC members on October 27, 2014. LAND staff briefed the meeting on the: (i) Purpose of the ROPAC field visit; (ii) Importance of securing pastoral land use rights; (ii) International experience in securing pastoral land use rights; (iv) Ethiopian experience in securing communal land use rights; (v) Resource Mapping of Grazing Units in Borana and Guji zones by PLI-2 and PRIME projects; (vi) Assessment of Customary Rangelands Governing Entities in Borana and Guji Zones; (vii) Preliminary findings of an assessment of customary administration and management of rangelands in Oromia Region, a joint study by the Institute of Pastoral and Agro-pastoral Studies of Haramaya University and LAND; (viii) The LAND and PRIME projects and their planned interventions in Borana and Guji zones.

The second meeting and discussion took place at Yabello town on October 29 and continued on October 30, 2014. This was a joint meeting of ROPAC and ZOPAC members. A briefing similar to the one in Hawassa but much shortened was given to the newly formed Borana ZOPAC members and on the roles and functions of the ROPAC and ZOPACs. The Chief Aba Gadda of the Borana, Guyyo Gobba, and his successor-designate as well as Aba dheedas of all the five Borana grazing units attended the meeting. A field visit was made to the two Dheedas where community elders explained how they administer and manage their rangelands and the problems they face. Participants had an opportunity to visit a Borana deep well, a crater, a dumping ground, and a wildlife sanctuary. The third meeting was held at Negelle Borana town with the Guji ZOPAC. A briefing similar to the one at Yabello town was given to members of the Guji ZOPAC. Again Aba Dheedas of all the grazing units in the Guji zone attended the meeting.

The ROPAC field visit gave pastoralists a forum to articulate their demand for securing their land use rights to the regional government representatives.

In the discussions held in both Borana and Guji zones, pastoral community elders repeatedly questioned why government is taking long to certify pastoral lands and when it will actually happen. One of the leaders, Konsicha Huqa, said “our request for certification of pastoral land use rights has been ignored for a long time. We have no security or guarantee unless we are granted this right. We are really suffering because of lack of land rights protection, and there are times when we clash with investors as things are not going in the right direction.”

Mr. Aman Muda, Deputy Head of Oromia Rural Lands and Environmental Protection Bureau, addressed concerns of elders in Borana and Guji, “both the Ethiopian constitution and the regional and federal land proclamations contain articles that recognize pastoral land rights. Therefore, it should not be perceived as if there are no provisions that respect pastoralists’ rights. The problem is with implementing the existing laws on the ground. We started land use rights certifications in the highland farming areas and now we are starting in the lowland pastoral areas.” He added, “Certification has the advantage of securing pastoral land use rights and minimizing conflicts. If it is not done very carefully, land certification can lead to a disastrous outcome. However, if it is done properly and with utmost care, it can have huge benefits.”

There are experiences of certifying communal lands in the highlands. However, the LAND project is the first to initiate such an effort of securing pastoral land use rights in Ethiopia. The stakeholders recognize that the process is challenging and need caution and the full participation of all stakeholders, i.e. federal, regional and local government officials, community elders and development project staff, to work together in unison to bring about the desired result.

The trip was successful in achieving its objectives. It was observed that pastoralists’ have very strong demand for land use right certificates similar to those given to farmers and a consensus was reached on the need to implement the program of pastoral land use rights, registration and certification. LAND will continue to closely work with ROPAC and ZOPACs to facilitate securing pastoral land rights. A technical workshop, which brings together officials and experts from OBRLEP is already scheduled for the beginning of January 2015 to discusses and agree on the way forward.

Ethiopian Land Research and Development Network launched

The Ethiopian Land Research and Development Network (ETHIOLANDNET) was established and launched on 25 November 2014 at Bahir Dar University to close gaps in land administration and development research. Dr. Bayile Damte, President of Bahir Dar University, Dr. Amsaya Anteneh, Advisor to the President of the Amhara National Regional State and Mr. Gary Linden, Acting Director of USAID/Ethiopia Mission, were the keynote speakers at the launch. Dr. Tesfaye Shiferaw, Vice President of Bahir Dar University gave the closing remarks.

Despite the vast contributions of land to Ethiopia’s socio economic growth, the country does not have sufficient fieldbased evidence informing formulation of policy and development in the land sector. In addition, there is a limitation in archiving research and development works related to land and making them easily accessible. These challenges call for a forum, where findings of research and development efforts on land are discussed, debated and published. Hence, Ethiopian universities, research institutes, government and non-government organizations formed ETHIOLANDNET to address such gaps by promoting and disseminating research on land tenure, land administration and land management in Ethiopia.

ETHIOLANDNET will work to promote and disseminate research outputs on land to address development of the country and the largely rural population. Housed at Bahir Dar University, the network will also serve as a national repository of data and research findings on the land sector.

In his opening remarks, Acting Mission Director Gary Linden noted the significance of the research network for enhancing land governance: “The success of this network, of your work, will be measured when research results inform the development or the reform of land policies in keeping with the goals of the national Growth and Transformation Plan. I urge you all to seize this opportunity to contribute to learning and the development of this great country whose economic, social and peaceful transformation will advance with able, sustainable, and equitable governance of its vast land resources.”

Founding members of ETHIOLANDNET comprise many of the leading academic and research institutions in Ethiopia: Bahir Dar University; Haramaya University; Hawassa University; Mekelle University; Addis Ababa University; Ethiopian Development Research Institute (EDRI); Ethiopian Economic Professionals Association; Forum for Social Studies (FSS); Ethiopian Land Administration Association; Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research; Federal Ministry of Agriculture and The Federal Ministry of Urban Development and Construction.

The network conducted its general assembly prior to the official launch, when the members signed the Memorandum of Association and elected the Executive Committee, which includes Woldiya University (Ato Said Hussein) Chair, Hawassa University (Dr. Alemayehu Regassa) Vice Chair, Bahir Dar University (Dr. Tadesse Amsalu) Secretary and Haramaya University, the Institute of Agricultural Research, Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Urban Development and Construction as members.

ETHIOLANDNET is open for admission to new members and associate members of Ethiopian and non-Ethiopian institutions, associations and other networks engaged in research and development in the land sector.

Summer Course for Land Administration Professionals

There are only a couple of universities in Ethiopia that offer graduate curriculum in Land Administration and Land Use. One may wonder how the country meets its large demand of professionals in the land sector. Well, it does not. Because of this shortage the federal and regional agencies of land administration have employed other professionals mostly in the fields of agriculture and natural resources to fill this void.

LAND started to work on closing this capacity gap sponsoring federal and regional experts to join the Institute of Land administration of Bahir Dar University (ILA/BDU) to be trained in land administration and land use planning at the masters’ degree level. The training is given in two summers and one take-home assignment. Forty-two experts (five are women) from the ministries of Agriculture and Urban Development and Construction, eight regional states eight technical vocational education and training institutes and the city administrations of Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa completed their first summer training in September 2014.

Mr. Biel Keat and Mr. Muhyadin Mohammed are among the experts who got the opportunity to join the program. Biel is environmental protection coordinator for Gambella region’s land administration and environmental protection agency. He has a B.A. degree in Global Studies with a major in international and political economics and minor in environmental journalism. He had worked for the Gambella town administration and region’s communications affairs bureau.

He said it was challenging to work as a grass root professional having only general conceptual information about land resources, “I had no idea when it comes to the specifics of land administration, land use planning and land valuation, what I had was oral information and it was not sufficient.”

Muhyadin is the land administration and use case team leader in Somali region livestock, crop and rural development bureau. He has a B.Sc. in natural resources management. He said the region doesn’t have experts trained in land administration, hence it hires professionals with natural resource management background instead.

In their first summer course, students covered courses including Urban and Rural Land Use Planning, Land Development, Land Administration, and Geographical Information System. They were given various group projects and assignments. They were also made to present the experience of their region in these fields. Reflecting on the program, Biel said “The program helps me a lot, I now feel like I am a land use planner; I know how land could be developed, administered and obtain added value from it. When I go back, I will put this into practice.”

Muhyadin also said “The program was well organized. I learnt good lessons, mainly on the importance of land administration and management for a country like Ethiopia where its main resource is land.”

It appears that in addition to lack of trained professionals, the regional states face similar challenge, the absence of land use planning in their regions. Biel explained, “Land use planning is missing in our region. We need a land use plan to develop the land. We have more than 1000 investors in the region and without a land use plan what we may end up doing is destroying the land resource.”

“If we don’t use land properly, the resource will be depleted. As the population is rapidly growing, they need food and shelter whose source is the land. My plan is to teach the community and the leadership at the regional level about the importance of land use planning.”

According to Muhyadin, his region has a different kind of challenge as land is controlled by clans and this type of landholding is affecting the way the land is developed. “We do not have local land use planning and we cannot copy the practice from other parts of the country as the context is different. There is no experience in land use planning in pastoral areas.”

Both Biel and Muhyadin agree that the challenges could be overcome by strengthening the land administration structure, and through public awareness raising activities. Muhyadin wants to strengthen his team so that they fulfill the modern land administration function using the lessons from the summer training program. He believes that the community will benefit from proper land use planning because it improves land tenure security, develop infrastructure, protect land from degradation and reduce conflict.

Biel argues that land administration needs to get better emphasis at the national level and it should have its own ministry. He also stressed on the gap between the state and customary law in his region. He said, “There is a need to bring politicians and the community together to discuss and reach consensus and experts like me can be mediators.”

LAND has been closely monitoring progress of the summer M.Sc. traiing program. Its staff visited ILA/ BDU and reviewed progress of the training program via discussions with ILA/BDU officials, instructors and the students. The team took up the various issues and improvement needs raised by the students with the teachers and senior management of Bahir Dar University that took immediate steps to rectify the issues.

LAND plans to support additional 42 experts in the 2015 summer intake. It also aims to increase the number of female candidates with more robust sensitization work with the regions.

The USAID Property Rights and Artisanal Diamond Development Program (PRADD II) supports governments to implement mining best practices in Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea, and promotes good governance of the mining sector at the international level through the Kimberley process (KP), the international mechanism that prevents rough diamonds from fueling conflict. The program—a $19 million five-year joint USAID/European Union initiative—is a follow-on project to PRADD, USAID’s former flagship mining project that was implemented from 2007–2013 across Central African Republic, Guinea, and Liberia.

The objective of PRADD II is to increase the number of alluvial diamonds entering the formal chain of custody, while improving the benefits accruing to diamond mining communities. Artisanal miners labor under archaic and difficult working conditions and live in extreme poverty, often receiving less than 9% of the retail price of the stones they extract. Poverty prevents miners from acquiring the licenses required to operate within the law, the equipment necessary to increase their gains, and the assets needed to diversify their livelihoods. Not surprisingly, miners often become incentivized to mine quickly, sell fast, and quickly move on to new sites. These practices have devastating economic and environmental consequences, negatively impact export revenues, and prevent compliance with the Kimberley Process.

The “LAND UPDATE” is an electronic newsletter produced by the Ethiopia Land Administration to Nurture Development (LAND) project. The LAND project works at the national and regional levels of government to further improve the legal and regulatory framework related to land tenure and property rights and thereby support the Government of Ethiopia’s and USAID’s goal of increasing economic growth, particularly agricultural sector growth, improving rural resiliency, and improving governance. LAND uses a variety of activities to strengthen capacity of land administration and land use institutions. In addition, LAND supports activities focusing on securing rights to community lands, strengthening capacity of community members to manage their natural resource assets.

Training of Trainers in Geographic Information System and Remote Sensing

LAND delivered a five-day Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote sensing training of trainers (ToT) for 14 federal and regional experts in Adama town from 14-18 July 2014. The training focused on concepts of GIS and remote sensing and their applications; data acquisition, analysis, management and presentation as well as interactive use of GIS and remote sensing softwares. Two of the trainees were experts from the Ministry of Agriculture’s Land Use and Administration Directorate and 12 were from eight regional Environmental Protection Land Use and Administration Agencies. The experts are expected to cascade the training to 10 land use and administration experts in their respective regions over the next couple of months. The regional trainees’ will in turn train zonal and woreda level experts.

Yemengist Teshome, one of the two female participants is MSC holder in GIS. She works for Amhara Region Environmental Protection Land Use and Administration Agency based in Bahir Dar. She has been working for the Agency for more than a year now. She said ‘the training gave me valuable input for the training that I am going to provide for zonal experts.’ She added ‘the GIS training that I am going to conduct will support land use planning activities’.

Yemengist believes that land use planning is relevant for the community as it leads to prudent use of natural resources for sustainable development. She intends to further develop her knowledge of GIS and remote sensing software by using the Internet. She said ‘It is gratifying for me to transfer my skills and The ToT approach is one of the key instruments used by LAND to build the capacity of land administration officials at the federal and regional levels. Mulugeta Assefa LAND knowledge to others.’

BogaleTerefe is a Land use expert and Land Use Case Team Coordinator at the Ministry of Agriculture’s Land Use and Administration Directorate. He said the training gave him new knowledge on how to make watershed delineation, contour maps, drainage pattern and prepare land use and land cover maps using Global mapper and Google satellite map down loader. In his capacity as a Land Use Case Team Coordinator he said ‘I will support, coordinate, facilitate and monitor the regional staff who have taken the trainings to train their staff when return back to their regions.’

LAND provided the GIS and remote sensing training to build the analytical capability of land administration and land use planning professionals engaged in land resources survey and land use planning. The ultimate objective is to have efficient and cost-effective land use planning methodology throughout the country. Creating such local capacity enables technical assistance for the community, which leads to improved and sustainable land use practices and optimized economic benefit.

Land Legislation through a Gender Lens

LAND brought administration officials, judges and women’s affairs experts together in the Southern Nations, Nationality and People (SNNP) Regional state for consultations on the strengths and weaknesses of existing land policy and legislation in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment.

The participants stressed that formal laws, customary practices and Sharia law contribute to women’s limited access, use rights and control of land in SNNPR. It appears that although the existing regional land law is non-discriminatory and provides for equal rights for women, it has been largely ineffective as it operates in a predominantly gendered social, economic and cultural context.

In places where the customary structure dominates, women seem to have little or no means of claiming or inheriting land. According to the participants, inheritance remains the principal form of land acquisition in most parts of the region. However, since inheritance practices are patrilineal: women can only access land through their male relatives. After marriage, women do not inherit their husbands’ use rights. When their husbands die the use rights are passed on to their in-laws.

The participants made the following suggestions in relation to laws and enforcements:

• Implement existing (revised) land laws and conduct dissemination and education programs across society.
• Amend existing laws to contain explicit provisions stating the land rights of women and to prevent conflicts with other laws such as family law, civil code.
• Improve law enforcement through monitoring the implementation of laws and strengthening the capacity of the judicial sector and those working at grass root level.
• Most importantly increase women’s involvement at each stage of the policy and decision-making process to promote equality and make their voices heard.

One of the key problems related to women’s land rights in the region is women’s lack of awareness on their legal rights. On top of this, society and leaders too are largely unaware of the benefits and importance of providing access to land for women. Thus, participants underlined the need for education programs at all levels of the society i.e. from leaders to local communities. It is important to raise awareness not only on the available legal frameworks but also on the negative consequences of restricting land rights of women.

Furthermore, it was pointed out that legal dualism between formal, religious and customary law require more research. Research on this topic could help harmonize land laws with other laws of inheritance and marriage. It was also mentioned that cross-institutional cooperation is essential to protect and promote women’s land rights in the region. As a result, representatives from Women’s, Children, and Youth Affairs Bureau, Bureau of Justice and Environmental Protection Land Use and Administration Agency agreed to work closely and hold informal meeting to discuss on pressing gender issues. A similar consultation workshop is scheduled to be carried out in Wukro town of Tigray Regional State in August 2014.

Forming ETHIOLANDNET

Establishment of the “Ethiopian Land Research and Development Network” (ETHIOLANDNET) is underway. LAND created a platform for development agencies, research institutes and universities to discuss the formation of an informal collaborative network that promotes and facilitates land related information exchange and research in Ethiopia. It was agreed that the Institute of Land Administration of Bahir Dar University (ILA/BDU) will be the secretariat of the network.

LAND assisted with drafting of the memorandum of association (MoA) that governs the activities of the Network. Potential member organizations held their second preparatory meeting in LAND’s office in Addis Ababa on 14 July revised and approved the draft MoA.

They also endorsed ETHIOLANDNET as the network’s acronym. International and bilateral agencies working on land related development and research will be invited to become associate members. The inaugural meeting of the general assembly of ETHIOLANDNET is planned to take place in October 2014 in Bahir Dar.

LAND’s Grant Scheme in Progress

LAND is promoting land-related research via its LAND Grant Scheme (LGS) that aims to advance knowledge on causal linkages among Land Tenure Security, Food Security, Natural Resources Management and Economic Growth. It is expected that research findings will provide evidence-based inputs for policy and decision makers in land administration.

The broad thematic areas identified for funding research under the LGS are:

• Rural Land Transaction;
• Land Scarcity, Fragmentation and Landlessness;
• Land and Water Resource Related Conflict and Dispute Resolution;
• Land Administration and Governance;
• Land Use Dynamics (impact of urbanization on natural resource and livelihoods);
• Watershed Management and Community Mobilization;
• Participatory Natural Resource Management, Climate Change, Vulnerability and Resilience in pastoral and agro pastoral areas.

Participants were given orientation on the LAND Project and the aim of the LGS and how it fits into achieving the objectives of the project. They were guided through a package of information and guidelines on how to successfully prepare the full-fledged proposal and the procedures that will be followed in implementing the research and its supervision thereof.

The institutions were given one month to prepare and submit their grant application proposals. All of them have submitted their proposals that are currently being reviewed by the LGS Review Committee. Announcement of the successful grantees will be made at the end of September 2014.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Property Rights and Artisanal Diamond Development II (PRADD II) project supports governments in implementing mining best practices in Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea, and promotes good governance of the mining sector at the international level through the Kimberley Process (KP), the international mechanism that prevents rough diamonds from fueling conflict. The program—a $19-million, five-year joint USAID/European Union (EU) initiative—is a follow-on project to PRADD, USAID’s former flagship mining project that was implemented from 2007 to 2013 across Central African Republic, Guinea, and Liberia.

The objective of PRADD II is to increase the number of alluvial diamonds entering the formal chain of custody, while improving the benefits accruing to diamond-mining communities. Artisanal miners labor under archaic and difficult working conditions and live in extreme poverty, often receiving less than nine percent of the retail price of the stones they extract. Poverty prevents miners from acquiring the licenses required to operate within the law, the equipment necessary to increase their gains, and the assets needed to diversify their livelihoods. Not surprisingly, miners often become incentivized to mine quickly, sell fast, and quickly move on to new sites. These practices have devastating economic and environmental consequences, negatively impact export revenues, and prevent compliance with the Kimberley Process.