Growing populations and economic change resulting from globalisation and climate change are increasing pressure on land, particularly in urbanising countries. This exposes many of those occupying and using land, particularly the poor and women, to risks resulting from tenure insecurity. Customary practices in land management are giving way to market-based statutory systems of land tenure.

This brief paper argues that through co-ownership, co-operatives offer a significant pathway for poor beneficiaries to secure land, wealth and financial resources - with benefits being augmented through sound institutions, human capital development and grant support.

This study investigates the relationship between rural poverty, property rights, and environmental resource management in a semi-arid region of Kenya using analysis of survey data. It argues that reduced environmental degradation will increase agricultural productivity, and which will then translate into lower levels of poverty as incomes and consumption expenditures rise.

Today, many rural poor Filipinos are using state law to try to claim land rights. In spite of the availability of a much stronger set of legal resources than ever before, claiming legal land rights remains difficult. Some argue these difficulties are a reason to turn away from state-led land reform and toward a market-assisted land reform (MALR) model.

Land redistribution or the transfer of ownership rights to the tiller has been the focal point of the land reform program in the Philippines. This transfer was envisioned to result in a significant shift in income and productivity in the agrarian sector. While some equalisation of incomes may have indeed occurred, the full benefits of this asset transfer, however, have not been realised.

Indonesia’s forests have been disappearing rapidly since the 1980s: 1.8 million hectares per year are estimated to have been deforested between 1985 and 1997. Consequently, there is a possibility that in some areas, the forests will cease to function as a viable resource base in the near future.This paper examines the role of economic incentives in causing deforestation, focussing on policies that distort prices and create the conditions for unsustainable harvesting.

What are the effects of trends away from legal pluralism towards more uniform approaches to the law? This paper analyses the effects of legal changes in property rights for people's welfare and development in India.

Land tenure reform remains a key policy issue in Africa, given the large proportion of people relying on land and natural resources for their livelihoods. This paper addresses the exclusionary nature of many processes around land, which can lead to social divisions.

The recognition by the Constitution that all land belongs to the people of Kenya and that such land can be held by the people as communities has sought to correct a historical fallacy that has existed in Kenya since the start of the colonial period. The Colonial Government, introduced laws and policies whose effect was to disregard communal approaches to land ownership and use and instead prefer private land tenure arrangements. The justification for this approach was both juridical and economic.

Details of numerous Sustainable Rural Livelihoods websites.

This section is divided into Key Documents, and References and Bibliographies for each of the following areas: General; Biodiversity and Environment; Land Tenure and Property Rights; Crops; Livestock; Fisheries; Forestry; and Water.

The Annual Country Reviews reflect upon current land issues in the Mekong Region, and has been produced for researchers, practitioners and policy advocates operating in the field. Specialists have been selected from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam to briefly answer the following two questions:

1. What are the most pressing issues involving land governance in your country?

2. What are the most important issues for the researcher on land?