Contains introduction; global – a new threat to poor people’s land – biofuels, older threats, decentralisation; regional � ten years ago, regional land policy review, 2006-7, donors, governments and civil society, the policy-implementation gap, decentralisation, your research programme – DLRSA; conclusion. Argues that since policy engagement at the national level in the past decade has not brought too many successes, more might be achieved in future at the decentralised local level.

A book containing 10 chapters covering post-conflict land in Africa, Rwanda, Kenya, Nigeria, Namibia, Botswana, Ghana.

Includes background to the National Land Policy workshop, discussions with civil society, and key issues arising during the workshop (the role of chiefs, the sale of customary land, and the sale of land to foreigners). Contains what next? and a postscript on the Ministry of Lands’ assessment and position one month after the workshop.

This workshop brought together 75 delegates from governments, NGOs and research institutions and universities from all over Africa. Report covers consultation, process, legislation, tenure, titling, race in Southern Africa, donors, the World Bank, corruption, the future.

Contains recognise and strengthen customary rights starting with statutory recognition; community rather than individual titling must be further explored as an option; women’s land rights remain weak under customary tenure but formalization is not necessarily the answer; custom or rights for women is a false dichotomy; supporting women’s collective action is key; political leadership and evidence from research are needed to transform policies and practices; technical tools to secure land rights require wider policy and institutional support.

Comprises background and research objectives, literature review, research methodology, research findings, conclusions and recommendations. Believes that local authorities should be sensitized to the urgent need to bring sustainable and just resolution to intra-household disputes as there is a tendency for these to result in violence against women disputants. Dispute resolution bodies may be more successful if they adopt mediation approaches and work with men to understand why gender equal land rights can serve their interests as well.

Research sought to evaluate the determinants of urban land markets, to analyse trends in urban land markets and values, and to assess impacts of urban land prices and policies. Concludes that if current land policies are not reformed there is a risk of increased negative impacts on the poor and more low-income people will be exposed to displacement to areas away from the urban centres which could cause social instability and an increase of informal settlements in suburbs.

Includes land issues in South Africa, Participatory Action Research, PAR in action, toolkit of activities. Addresses obstacles to land reform in the Breede River Valley, Western Cape, and how to strengthen local capacities and create awareness of rights.

Report of a Conference at the University of Manchester. Summarises papers by Phil Woodhouse on ‘African Enclosures – the Default Mode of Development’ and Camilla Toulmin on ‘Identifying a Research Agenda for the Reform of Land Tenure’ and the discussions on them. Argued that we cannot assume that poverty reduction or equity will emerge from vesting power over land with local communities and their leaders. Conflicts over resources will be exacerbated by decentralisation. Conflicts between indigenous and outsider communities are now widespread.

Recent UNRISD research finds that the new generation of land tenure reforms introduced in the 19990s is not necessarily more gender equitable than earlier efforts, even though women’s ability to gain independent access to land is increasingly on the statutes.

A practical guide focusing on investigating accountability and accountability politics in the context of the current global rush for land and other natural resources. Purpose is to provide practical information to rural communities in Mali, Nigeria, Uganda and South Africa, that they can use in collective action and engagement strategies aimed at strengthening their tenure of land, fisheries and forest.

Rwanda has provided a picture of promising change for improving gender equalities in land rights. This report draws upon extensive qualitative field research in 20 sectors of Rwanda to examine the current state of gendered rights to land in practice. Among Rwandan communities, there is now widespread knowledge of laws granting gender-equal rights. More and more women are receiving inheritance and inter-vivos gifts and are increasingly receiving these in equal shares, while formally married women are exercising greater decision-making power over land held jointly with their husbands.