In the context of the global land rush, some portray large-scale land acquisitions as a potent threat to the livelihoods of already marginalized rural farming households in Africa. In order to avoid the potential pitfall of studying a particular project that may well have atypical effects, this paper systematically investigates the impact on commercial farm wage incomes for rural smallholder households of all pledged investments in the agricultural sector in Zambia between 1994 and 2007.

This report was commissioned by UN-Habitat to review the laws and land tenure of a selected number of southern African countries. It involved the appointment of country specialists who researched and produced country chapters for their respective countries namely, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia and Zambia. A regional expert was appointed to produce a regional overview to serve as a source document for the country reports, as well as provide overall coordination of the project. The project was carried out over a period of roughly one year, which began in March 2004.

Analysis of land allocation strategies in irrigated agriculture schemes in West Africa yields lessons which can guide the design and implementation of current and forthcoming projects. Allocation of insufficient land makes the main purposes of large dam projects – to combat poverty and to increase national cereal production – more difficult to achieve. Research by the Global Water Initiative (GWI) at three dam project sites in West Africa shows that the area of land allocated per family is usually about 1 hectare (ha).

The aim of the study was to identify potential constraints to mutual resource utilization in the bordering areas of Nyangatom and to identify and develop participatory mitigation measures to resource utilization problems based on community and government proposals. The study employed Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and Key Informant Interview (KII) to collect the primary data. 1 FGD and 2-3 FGDs were held in each kebele. Livestock production is the major source of livelihood followed by crop production in the district.

The Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries is currently developing a project in conjunction with the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR) to create Agri-parks in locations throughout South Africa. These Agri-parks aim to involve smallholders and local producers in the entire process of agriculture to address both food security and poverty. The Department hopes to fight issues such as the 14 million hungry South Africans, unused potential farmland, and the inequality between private agricultural business and the people.

The Road Selection Model was developed for the purpose of transportation improvement in informal settlements that minimises demolition of houses and compensation costs required in roads widening. The need of the model was to guide and support decision makers on challenges of widening narrow roads for accessibility and mobility improvement as part of upgrading informal settlements.

Flexibility in dwelling units allows for easy and economical physical change and adaptation of spaces for the changing circumstances and needs of the dwellers over the life of the dwelling. However, the knowledge on how dwelling units in multi-family housing respond physically and programmatically to the changing spatial needs of dwellers is still limited.

Securing women land rights through land titling programs is viewed as a potential means for enhancing their tenure security. The expectation is that women may gain greater influence on how to use the land, if they are registered as joint owners. Women are more likely to make decisions that improve food and nutrition needs at farm level than men. Increased level of women decision making through secured tenure rights is expected to have a positive impact on food security.

Land is a cross-cutting theme in most contemporary development challenges. Contemporary literature shows that land governance benefits the broader administration and governance of society. Tools enabling evaluation of land governance, however, are often focuses on national or supranational levels. Ethiopia provides a case in point: rapid urbanization and urban poverty are an issue; however, limited studies assess urban land governance from a multi-stakeholder perspective. Citizens and government representatives at different levels are the sources of information.

Review of the advantages and disadvantages of the current Tanzania Tide Gauge (TG) vertical Datum (VD) has revealed that some of the problems cannot be solved to conform to the Satellite geodesy era timely and cost effectively. The current VD is costly and uneconomic. By changing to a Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) compatible VD, most of the problems of the current Tide Gauge-Vertical Datum (TG-VD will disappear and thus boost greatly economic and social prosperity.

Proceedings of 7th Eastern Africa Land Administration Network (EALAN) Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Workshop Theme:The State of Land Administration in Eastern African Countries: Comparative Overview Venue: Bahir Dar, Ethiopia Date: 21st – 22nd July 2015