African governments are increasingly aware that they must take the lead in land policy and
tenure reform, since political interests are at stake. A diverse array of approaches to
strengthening land rights is now emerging, and there are valuable lessons to be shared
between governments, civil society groups and land professionals. The paper is intended to provide the basis for the

The Environment Policy is grounded in ADB's Poverty Reduction Strategy and the Long-Term Strategic Framework (LTSF) 2001-2015. The Poverty Reduction Strategy recognizes that environmental sustainability is a prerequisite for pro-poor economic growth and efforts to reduce poverty. Environmental sustainability is also one of the three crosscutting themes of the LTSF. The environment policy reinforces and complements the environmental issues and concerns addressed in ADB's sector and crosscutting policies.

Recognizing and protecting customary land rights is a critical component of protecting and defending the land rights of the rural poor. This study is founded upon the notion that protecting and enforcing the land claims of rural Africans may be best done by passing laws that elevate existing customary land claims up into nations' formal legal frameworks and make customary land rights equal in weight and validity to documented land claims.

Land policies are of fundamental importance to sustainable growth, good governance, and the well-being of, and the economic opportunities open to, both rural and urban dwellers - particularly the poor. To this end, research on land policy, and analysis of interventions related to the subject, have long been of interest to the Bank's Research Department, and other academic, and civil society institutions.

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 brief produced for the Dialogue Initiative on Large-Scale Land Acquisitions and their Alternatives provides an overview of the Principles for Responsible Agricultural Investment (RAI), developed by the World Bank, FAO, UNCTAD and IFAD in response to calls for guidelines to regulate the phenomenon of large-scale investment in land, or land grabbing.

This brief produced for the Dialogue Initiative on Large-Scale Land Acquisitions and their Alternatives provides an overview of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), the most inclusive international and intergovernmental platform to facilitate and coordinate work to ensure food security and nutrition for all.

You can get involved in the CFS through the Civil Society Mechanism. Check out http://cso4cfs.org/ to connect with your constituency and sub-regional focal points.

 

This brief produced for the Dialogue Initiative on Large-Scale Land Acquisitions and their Alternatives provides an overview of the  Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land and Other Natural Resources.

The following lesson brief examines the land issues confronting returnees as well as the IDPs who remain in the camps in Uganda. In 2005, between 2.1 million and 2.4 million people were displaced by conflicts in northern Uganda.

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.