As we gather to discuss one of the most crucial topics for Africa’s future—strategic land use planning—the importance of youth land rights cannot be overstated. Based on my reflections and experiences that I prepared for the Fourth International Conference on Youth and Land Governance in Africa (CIGOFA4), I’d like to highlight why securing land rights for young Africans is essential for our continent’s progress.

We are happy to announce the launch of the project Participatory Land-Use Consolidation for Climate Resilience and Inclusive Business Models in Egypt, which started in May 2024 and will run until October 2026. The project aims to reduce land fragmentation through participatory land use consolidation in order to increase the productivity and income of smallholder farmers, and to strengthen the institutional capacity of key institutions on land governance aspects.

Terra Firma and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) are pleased to announce the launch of a new LAND-at-scale project: Scaling Community Land Rights Certification in Municipal Areas of Mozambique. The project started implementation this month (February 2024) in the rural hinterlands of four municipalities in Manica, Sofala and Zambezia provinces.

During the Conference for Land Policy in Africa (CLPA) which took place in Addis Ababa in November 2023, LAND-at-scale organised the side-event ''Climate-Resilient Land Use Planning as a Tool for Addressing Land Degradation''. The LAND-at-scale (LAS) project partners and their government constituencies from Mozambique, Rwanda and Uganda participated in person. The set-up of the session was dynamic with each country first ‘pitching’ how land use planning processes were important in their LAS interventions, and then the government representatives adding to that a perspective from government. In each of the countries, the LAS partners consisting of NGOs and UN organizations, work closely with national or district land use planning officers of the government in carrying out project activities.

As part of a scoping study titled Land Governance for Climate Resilience: A review and case studies from LAND-at-scale projects headed by Richard Sliuzas, Emeritus Professor, University of Twente, IOM explored how climate plays a role in the UN-led Saameynta Joint Programme in Somalia. In this context, climate change is increasingly recognized as a multiplier of insecurity and fragility, where climate-related sudden and slow-onset disasters are driving people to leave their land and migrate. While migrating allows people to find alternative livelihoods and enhance their climate resilience, it can also be associated with instances of maladaptation to climate change. As such, this case highlights durable solutions in climate-driven urban sprawl in Baidoa.  

As part of a scoping study titled Land Governance for Climate Resilience: A review and case studies from LAND-at-scale projects headed by Richard Sliuzas, Emeritus Professor, University of Twente, GLTN dove into the links between climate and land governance in the ‘’Scaling up community-based land registration and land use planning on customary land in Uganda’’ project. This case study highlights experiences from the community-based wetland management planning approach in Butaleja, Uganda, focusing on how the approach is addressing land governance issues and contributing to community climate resilience.

As part of a scoping study titled Land Governance for Climate Resilience: A review and case studies from LAND-at-scale projects headed by Richard Sliuzas, Emeritus Professor, University of Twente, Tropenbos Colombia dove into the links between climate and land governance in their project.

In this interview, Prof. Felix Ngana talks about the creation of the Training and Research Unit (UFR) on Land Governance and Local Development (GFDL) at the University of Bangui in the Central African Republic (CAR). Following the establishment of a Bachelor's degree program, plans to extend this training to the Master's and PhD levels are already underway. These efforts are timely, as the country has embarked on a decentralization process to elect mayors and governors to head municipal and regional councils, respectively. 

Communities in developing countries are increasingly exposed to the effects of climate change. Although they contribute little to greenhouse gas emissions, many communities are at the forefront of climate change and the associated extreme events. They are faced with events that undermine their food security, such as droughts and floods, but also increased pressure on land due to climate-induced migration. In this session, we delved into the nexus of climate change and land governance.

1) Prof. Ngana, why did you launch this training unit on land issues at the University of Bangui? What needs does the training meet?

It was NELGA that motivated us. I am the Focal Point for NELGA in the Central African Republic. As part of the implementation of its structure in Central African universities, NELGA had launched a survey to revise the curriculum of land governance.

Along with GIZ and the National Agency for Spatial Planning, known as ANAT, in Senegal, we co-hosted a webinar, “Uncovering Land Data Opportunities in Senegal,” on 31 January 2023. The panel brought together open data and land governance experts to discuss the state of land information in Senegal – focusing on the findings from the SONI Senegal Report – and the way forward to a more inclusive, open and transparent land data ecosystem in Senegal. 

From 6-18 November, Egypt will host the COP27 Climate Summit. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Despite this long trajectory and the progress made, climate change has increasingly severe effects across the world. The LAND-at-scale program acknowledges the central role of climate change. In a short series of blogs, the knowledge management team highlights the diverse impact that climate change has on communities across the world, and how LAND-at-scale projects contribute to adaptation and mitigation measures on the ground.