Land Tenure
Overview
Land tenure represents one of the most significant challenges for successfully implementing integrated land use initiatives. Land ownership and use rights are central to land use planning, but not all initiatives operate in places where all stakeholders have secure property rights. While an integrated land use initiative will not have the resources or capacity to bring about land tenure reform on its own, it should take the existing context into consideration and work toward developing practical solutions to land tenure challenges, such as improving the cadastre systems by using technology to reduce the cost of registration, and strengthening conflict resolution mechanisms.
Key Elements
Best Practices
SUPPORT ONGOING TENURE REFORMS: Identify ways the initiative can help the government plan and implement land tenure reform.
ENGAGE STAKEHOLDERS: Hold consultations with stakeholders to understand the current land tenure systems and determine interventions that take these systems into account; ensure that stakeholders know their rights.
ENHANCE USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: Adopt technology that can help implement land tenure reform; train stakeholders to use this technology.
Resources
Exploring Property Rights and Tenure in Integrated Landscape Management: A Scoping Study from the Landscapes for People, Food and Nature Initiative
This study explores the work of 12 organizations in land governance and property rights innovations. These organizations include CIFOR, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the CGIAR Program on Collective Action and Property Rights (CAPRi), the Global Land Alliance, the International Land Coalition (ILC), Landesa, the Land Portal/Foundation, Oxfam International, Rights & Resources Institute, and the United Nations (UN) Habitat's Global Land Tool Network (GLTN). Most of these organizations are actively engaged with local communities to explore context-specific solutions related to land tenure. They are carrying out research and testing new approaches to improve land governance and gender equality, and to promote collective action.
Authors: Louise E. Buck, Sara J. Scherr, Barbara Chami, Melissa Goldman, Ted Lawrence, Jefferson Mecham, Ellen Nevers, and Ryan Thomas
Available at: https://ecoagriculture.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Exploring-Property-Rights-and-Tenure-in-ILM-June-2019-webfinal.pdf
Understanding, Preventing and Solving Land Conflicts: A Practical Guide and Toolbox
This guide provides tools to analyze, address, and prevent land conflicts.
Author: Babette Wehrmman Available at: https://landportal.org/library/resources/understanding-preventing-and-solving-land-conflicts-practical-guide-and-toolbox