This report is an extended analytical essay, on the perverse outcomes of statist interventions into customary land management practices over a huge area that has been managed sustainably and productively by Tibetan pastoralists for 9000 years. Building on the many reports on sedentarisation, and removal of pastoral nomads from their pastures, this report takes a wider perspective, seeking to understand how the current collapse of the pastoral mode of production came about, and what the future prospects are for the depopulating pastoral landscapes of the Tibetan Plateau.

'In Somalia, land issues are particularly complex. Those involved in both policy and practice need to understand this complexity better if durable political solutions are to be identified and property rights for individuals and communities secured. Lee Cassanelli explains the complex nature of land use, as well as the concept of ‘home’ in the Somali context. His paper is food for thought for all those interested in land reform.'