Land Policy Reform, Customary Rule of Law and the Peace Process in Sierra Leone
Jon Unruh. African Journal of Legal Studies (2008) 2: 94-117

Toward sustainable livelihoods after war:
Reconstituting rural land tenure systems. Jon Unruh 2008. 32 103-115

This lesson brief looks at the government's control of private land use in Kenya. It is part of the Focus on Africa: Land Tenure and Property Rights online educational tool. Like other governments around the world, Kenya’s government has the authority to extinguish or restrict property rights over land and natural resources, including the authority to restrict the use of privately-held land for national and public interest purposes. Private land use restrictions have been used for environmental management and are increasingly being considered for biodiversity conservation purposes.

Zambia is one of the countries in Africa with a high frequency of land conflicts. The conflicts over land lead to tenure insecurity. In response to the increasing number of land conflicts, the Zambian Government has undertaken measures to address land conflicts, but the measures are mainly curative in nature. But a conflict sensitive land governance framework should address both curative and preventive measures.

The Annual Country Reviews reflect upon current land issues in the Mekong Region, and has been produced for researchers, practitioners and policy advocates operating in the field. Specialists have been selected from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam to briefly answer the following two questions:

1. What are the most pressing issues involving land governance in your country?

2. What are the most important issues for the researcher on land?

This summary of the Report of the Ndungu Commission on Illegal and Irregular Allocation of Public Land provides an insight into a critical recent episode in the struggles over land and graft in Kenya. Includes land and demography in Kenya; the law relating to the allocation of land; the Commission’s findings – (1) urban, state and ministries’ land, (2) settlement schemes and trust lands, (3) forest lands, national parks, wetlands, riparian resources and protected areas; the Commission’s recommendations; commentary.

A review of all Botswana land-related policies in preparation for a comprehensive new National Land Policy. Covers land rights, land markets and taxation, urban and rural land management, land use planning, legal, institutional and financial issues. Dominant theme is the need to adjust land policy, laws, management and administration to the changes being brought about by economic development and urbanisation, manifested in a rapidly emerging land market. Government concerned over rise of landlessness and hoarding by speculators.

Review of the situation of land rights in Apac District and of opportunities for land rights protection work. Examines the 1998 Land Act and its implementation in practice. Finds that the protection clauses for women are proving ineffective. Also looks at the major threats and barriers to land rights and suggests ways forward. Among many other pertinent questions, asks why the Ugandan Government has shown so little interest in customary tenure and why it pursues land titling to the extent it does.

Includes background information; government policies on agriculture and land use; challenges in land planning; landlessness, investment and market driven land planning; the Uganda Land Alliance work on natural resources and land use planning; examples of environmental and industrialization conflicts; recommendations and conclusion.

The LANDac Conference 2018 looked at land governance through the lens of mobility. Land acquisitions trigger migration and yield other types of mobility such as capital, goods and ideas. Ensuing land claims raise new questions for land governance. So far, the discussion has focused on respecting land rights, informing local residents and offering fair compensation. The conference explored the question: Given the variety of mobility, what are good ways forward in land governance?

The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR) and the Ingonyama Trust Board presented their fourth quarter performance and financial reports for 2014-15. The Committee also received at status report on the Riemvasmaak community claim.