Property in Morocco is daily increasing considerably in value, and the particularly rapid urban development and agricultural changes have altered the scale of values which could hitherto serve as a basis for estimating-areas in connection with the cost of topographical surveys.

La déclaration faite sur les problèmes et enjeux fonciers en Afrique réaffirme les engagements pris pour éradiquer la pauvreté en vue d’améliorer le niveau de vie et le bien-être de populations et reconnait l’importance cruciale de la terre dans la croissance socio-économique et le développement durable, et dans la sécurité des moyens de subsistance sociaux, économiques et cultures de populations.

The adoption of Agenda 2063 at the continental level, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the global level, requires a high level of collection and collation of quality, timely, reliable and dis-aggregated data at all levels of the development process, including land, to inform decisions, enable all stakeholders to track progress and make the necessary adjustments to ensure transparency and mutual accountability in the continent and globally.

Cognizant of the centrality of land policy issues in Africa, a joint initiative was undertaken by the African Union Commission (AUC), United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) in 2006, forming the genesis of the Land Policy Initiative (LPI). Through the LPI important actions and measures have been launched including a series of regional studies on land issues across Africa accompanied by rigorous consultations and discussions at regional and continental levels.

The initiative on land policies, aims to assist African states to equip themselves with land policies that can contribute to economic development and poverty reduction as well as peace building. One of the pressing objectives of the initiative is to draft a reference framework and guidelines for land policies in Africa. The land policy framework and guidelines are not meant to impose a uniform land policy on African states, but, on the contrary, to help them develop and implement national land policies that are efficient and effective.

La majorité des populations urbaines dans la plupart des pays africains ne disposent que de faibles revenus et ne peuvent se permettre les fortes défenses en capital nécessaires à l'acquisition d'un logement. Toutefois, il semble que, s'ils avaient la possibilité d'acquérir des terrains, les économiquement faibles seraient capables de se construire des logements relativement convenables.

Depuis plusieurs années, on remarque une ruée sur les terres cultivables en Afrique. Ce déferlement peut s’expliquer par diverses raisons, telles que la recherche de nouvelles rentabilités à la suite de la crise financière actuelle, l’accroissement de l’investissement agricole pour assurer la sécurité alimentaire, l’encouragement de l’agrocarburant, etc. Toutefois, le phénomène n’est pas sans conséquence sur le bien-être des paysans locaux. Ces derniers, généralement réunis autour de sociétés coopératives, peuvent défendre leurs intérêts à travers diverses formes d’actions.

In this document the secretariat of the Economic Commission for Africa analyses the land problem in the urban areas and housing programmes for the masses. The document is in five main parts. The first part introduces the land issue in human settlements policy and identifies areas requiring attention in the interest of an orderly use of land in urban areas.

This document focuses on the Synthesis report on Large-scale land based investments in Africa. The specific objective of the work is to prepare an assessment report on LSLBI in Africa with a view to building knowledge and drawing lessons based on best practices for future LSLBI deals that lead to win-win outcomes. In order to do so five regional assessments have been engaged in and are synthesized in this continental synthesis report.