Context and backgroundIn the wake of rapid urbanization and population growth, there is much contestation with the ownership and use of land globally, especially in Africa. It is widely acknowledged that the implementation of sustainable land governance is an antidote to tackling land-related conflicts (mostly as a result of multiple sales of land), engendered land access, among others. However, land governance in Ghana is challenged with inefficiencies and corruption being paramount amidst the implementation of other interventions.

 Ethiopia follows a federal state administrative structure. Regional states are organized on ethnic basis. The country has over 85 ethnic groups and languages, but only majority ethnic groups, with few exceptions, have their own standalone regional states.The Constitution of the country categorizes land as a public property and gives land administration responsibilities to regional states. Although the Constitution confirms land access right to all citizens, regional states’ constitutions and land laws put restrictions to prioritize residents.

Context and background:Increasing refugee crisis has focused most host states to integrate refugees with the local communities through land access to customary land whose land rights are not clearly defined and documented.

Context and background               Residing in areas of flood risk informal settlements is more or less normal among low-income households in most cities of the developing countries. While living in such settlements present challenge to quality of life, many among the urban poor offer these areas.Goal and objectives:This paper analyses factors that drive urban residents to acquire land and build houses in flood prone areas.

Context and background Land grabbing has been in the news in Africa in recent years. Fertile land is increasingly falling into the hands of national or international private investors. Farmers with rudimentary means, youth, women, indigenous people, and pastoralists are the actors most affected by large-scale land grabs. Fertile land is becoming increasingly scarce and the public authorities do not seem to be determined to put in place safeguards to regulate this situation.

Effective reform pathways for addressing women’s access to land and tenure security in Africa are yet to be found despite their role in feeding the population. With the adoption of the AU Declaration on Land Issues and Challenges in Africa (2009) and the launch of the African Land Policy Centre (2017), hopes were high that existing precarious women’s access to land, tenure and food security might be transformed to opportunities. Prevailing discourses, however, still advocate for land reforms attuned to gender equality with a neo-classical chord.

The youth unemployment situation is an essential component of the current agricultural policy agenda of the Federal Government of Nigeria. Deep-rooted debates on finding a lasting solution to this problem using agriculture have been targeted as one of the panaceas. Using data from 207 systematically selected rice-producing households, this study employed the Propensity Score Matching method (PSM) and the Inverse Probability Weighted Regression Adjustment method (IPWRA) to examine the effect of intensive youth participation in agriculture on productivity and household revenue in Nigeria.

In the context of commercial agriculture in Vietnam, this study investigates rural youth livelihood aspirations through an analysis of young people’s value for family farming and an assessment of whether or not they foresee agriculture as their main occupation. Using an intra-household dataset of cassava farmers in Vietnam, the study shows that the majority of youth aspire to work in agriculture, which is contrary to the popular belief that young people are not interested in agriculture. We employ the framework of opportunity space and embedded aspirations to assess the

Rapid population growth in fertile agricultural lands of East Africa creates land scarcity, which has become a major hindrance to land access for the introduction of new horticultural crops. But their introduction in these areas is increasing, because of their high market price, which improves farmers’ income. As such, this research evaluated land access dynamics (availability, acquisition, and use changes) on the introduction of passion fruits in East Africa.

Land has historically been a focal point of conflict, especially in Fragile and Conflict-affected Settings (FCS), where disputes over forests and land use often intersect with broader socio-political dynamics, including unfair resource allocation, marginalization, and governance challenges. Factors such as climate change, population growth, and urbanization are anticipated to intensify these conflicts in the coming decades.

Implementing Ecosystem and Ecosystem Services (EES) projects in Fragile and Conflict-affected Settings (FCS) poses both operational challenges and the risk of inadvertently aggravating socio-political dynamics. The intertwined relationship between human, ecological, and economic systems makes these projects sensitive to conflict dynamics related to land access, environmental degradation, and livelihoods. Changes in ecosystems can be exploited by groups like political elites or armed entities, as observed in numerous case studies.

In this chapter, we explore the forces that have shaped the current challenge of securing land tenure for those with little voice, power, and means. Focusing on the Global South, we identify trends in the ebb and flow of land tenure security and insecurity, distinguishing between those tied to agricultural-based societies and forest-dependent populations where relevant.