This book forms part of a learning programme on ‘Land Reform From Below: Decentralised Land Reform in Southern Africa’. Supported by the Austrian Development Agency, the programme was launched in 2007, and has since provided policymakers, development practitioners and those involved in local governance with a variety of regional platforms on which to share their experiences of decentralised land-reform processes and to derive lessons related to best practice that can inform and improve policy-making.

This report is one of the 28 being published as a part of the global study. The full list of studies, and information on other initiatives by ILC relating to Commercial Pressures on Land you can find here.

This lesson brief discusses how statuatory law and customary law  frame the rights of customary authorities to transact in the land that they govern, and compare this to what is happening in practice.

This lesson brief discusses the dangers and opportunities of increasing biofuel cultivation in Ghana and provides recommendations for a national policy governing this sector. It is part of the Focus on Land in Africa: Land Tenure and Property Rights online educational tool.

This lesson brief presents the situations faced by modern Ghanaian women and compare their evolving land rights across regions. It is part of the Focus on Land in Africa: Land Tenure and Property Rights online educational tool.

This lesson brief discusses projects developed to reinvigorate the process of land registration formalization in peri-urban Ghana, their impacts, and the risks of unintended consequences for women, pastorlaists and the poor if their rights are explicitly taken into account.

The 2012 World Development Report on Gender Equality and Development finds that women's lives around the world have improved dramatically, but gaps remain in many areas. The authors use a conceptual framework to examine progress to date, and then recommend policy actions.

One of the key messages of the report is that:

Most ethnic minorities in Vietnam such as the Vietnamese-Thai, Tay, Nung, Hmong, Muong and Dao have a special relationship with the land, elements and other living creatures. This relationship goes beyond mere economic interests to cultural and spiritual connections to the places they have inhabited for generations.

This lesson brief discusses the stratutory, customary, and religious frameworks governing women's rights to land in Mali and offers suggestions as to how these rights might be strenghtened.  It is part of the Focus on Land in Africa: Land Tenure and Property Right online educational tool.

This lesson brief examines the statutory frameworks governing decentralization in Mali and the challenges that have arisen. It is part of the Focus on Land in Africa: Land Tenure and Property Right online educational tool.

This lesson brief explores the multiple independent phenomena that affect relationships between farmers and herders, as well as the nature of their conflicts over natural resources in Mali. It is part of the Focus on Land in Africa: Land Tenure and Property Rights online educational tool.