Training volunteers to help their communities defend their land rights has proved an effective approach for promoting land justice in Tanzania.
Despite progressive provisions on gender equality in Tanzania’s land laws, women have little representation in land allocation decisions, including meetings of village councils and village assemblies. Mainstreaming gender in local regulations can help to address this problem.
Three separate ‘on my mind’ articles by Professor Mbilinyi: Making National Land Policy inclusive and people-centred; In whose interest will this National Land Policy be?; Questions about the National Land Policy, 2016. Draft NLP just released for external consultation. Shares the views of other researchers.
Land is in no doubt the most important asset in the lives of Kenyans. It is a factor of production which is core to the economic activities of this country. The advent of settlers and colonialism in East Africa placed land in a high level of importance than before. It is not a unique situation for Kenya.
In Cambodia, the majority of the population is still composed of smallholder family farmers. 54% of the total labour force is employed in agriculture. They have access to 3.6 million ha of land, representing 19% of the country’s total land. The rest is divided between large scale economic land concessions (12%), public forests and protected areas, unclassified areas and some infrastructure.
Despite progressive provisions on gender equality in Tanzania’s land laws, women have little representation in land allocation decisions. Mainstreaming gender in local regulations can help address this problem.
Land has been and remains a politically sensitive and culturally complex issue for Kenya. Kenya’s history with regard to the land question is characterized by indications of a breakdown in land administration, disparities in land ownership, tenure insecurity and conflict.
Public land is a resource that should be effectively managed in the public’s best interest in line with provisions of the Constitutions of Kenya and the Land Act. The management framework governing land use and development decisions on public land should ensure protection and sustainable management of the land.
While the guarantees provided in the Katiba mark an extraordinary achievement for women’s land rights, many more steps are needed to reach gender-equitable land ownership in Tanzania. Mama Ardhi members therefore continue to advocate for additional changes in policy and practice that will bring about real transformation for women, their children and society as a whole.
Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) have the potential to benefit both people and wildlife in Tanzania. But are Tanzanian communities earning enough from WMAs to want to protect the wildlife that live on their land? This policy brief addresses this question by examining two WMAs in the Tarangire ecosystem and looking at their performance and revenue streams.
