This paper has been prepared for the Commission on the Legal Empowerment of the Poor and it argues for a particular focus on securing land and property rights for the poor in sub-Saharan Africa. It presents the key challenges faced in achieving such an objective and outlines proposals for action, combining the strong body of existing work underway across the continent with the added energy generated by the current Legal Empowerment initiative.

If 2009 was the end of the hinterland and the beginning of a new globalized forest era, 2010 was a year of pushback. Worldwide, the news was full of reports of forest communities and Indigenous Peoples pushing back at land grabs and shaping policy at the national and global levels, and of governments countering and trying to contain community rights. Some governments and private investors accepted or even embraced the new players at the table and began to promote fairer business and conservation models.

This lesson brief explores the struggles women face in benefiting from their customary rights. It is part of the Uganda module on the Focus on Africa: Land Tenure and Property Rights online educational tool.

This lesson brief focuses on four issues - compulsory acquisition uses; procedures for exercising this authority; compensation; and redress - which are central to balancing private land rights and compulsory land acquisition for public purposes.It is part of the Uganda module on the 

This lesson brief examines the law and practice of allocating land in the protected estate for private investment. It is part of the Uganda module on the Focus on Africa: Land Tenure and Property Rights online educational tool. Private investors need land to conduct their business.

This lesson brief looks at the history of customary land rights and examines the current conditions regarding Village Land and customary tenure arrangements in Tanzania.

This lesson brief follows the modernization of pastoral livestock production in Kenya. This lesson brief is part of the Focus on Africa: Land Tenure and Property Rights online educational tool. Rangelands and pastoralists in Kenya have received considerable attention from government.

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.

This lesson brief explores the history of land conflicts in Kenya.

Unruh JD (2002) Local land tenure in the peace process. Peace Review 14: 337-342

Land Tenure and the ‘‘Evidence Landscape’’ in
Developing Countries