The need to establish the link between land tenure and food security is increasingly gaining currency as governments and development organizations refocus their effort towards assisting farmers to move away from subsistence farming to commercial agriculture. It is argued that given how land plays a crucial role in the livelihoods of most Africans, food security and poverty reduction cannot be achieved unless issues of access to land, security of tenure and the capacity to use land productively and in a sustainable manner are addressed.

This is the second in a series of land studies for northern Uganda, whose core objective is to inform the Plan for Recovery and Development of Northern Uganda (PRDP) and the National Land Policy. It builds on the work of the first phase conducted in Teso region to present a more quantitative analysis of trends on disputes and claims on land before displacement, during displacement and emerging trends or occurrences on return for Acholi and Lango sub-regions.

Tenure in Mystery collates information on land under conservation, forestry and mining in the Karamoja region. Whereas significant changes in the status of land tenure took place with the Parliamentary approval for degazettement of approximately 54% of the land area under wildlife conservation in 2002, little else happened to deliver this update to the beneficiary communities in the region. Instead enclaves of information emerged within the elite and political leadership, by means of which personal interests and rewards were being secured and protected.

Since Karamoja is richly endowed with gold, marble, iron ore, tungsten, limestone, oil and gas, it has attracted many investors, in particular since the protracted  armed conflicts in northern Uganda started fading away. Approximately  1 7,000 km2 or 62% of the total land area of Karamoja has been licensed for mineral  exploration  and exploitation (Kabiswa, 2014).

The ways in which people obtain land in Uganda are changing fast. Land that used to be secured through inheritance, gifts or proof of long-term occupancy is now more commonly changing hands in the market. Those with wealth and powerful connections are frequently able to override local rules and gain access to land at the expense of poorer individuals. Government-backed agribusiness investors receive large areas of land with benefits for some local farmers who are able to participate in the schemes, while other smallholders see their land access and livelihoods degraded.

Municipal commonage, used as a common resource for communities, poses a unique opportunity for rural development and land and agrarian reform. The law says that municipal commonage must be used to contribute towards land reform. It must be made available for agricultural purposes to those who were previously excluded from accessing commonages.

Poor town residents who want to engage in agricultural activities must therefore organise to demand access to municipal commonage. This booklet will help you to understand the law, access commonage and use commonage. 

[AFR] Munisipale meentgrond skep ’n unieke geleentheid vir landelike ontwikkeling en grond- en agrariese hervorming. Wetgewing bepaal dat munisipale meentgrond moet bydra tot grondhervorming. Meente moet beskikbaar gemaak word vir landboudoeleindes vir diegene wat voorheen toegang tot die soort grond ontsê is. Arm dorpsinwoners wat wil deelneem aan landbou, moet saamspan om toegang tot munisipale meentgrond op te eis.

[XHOSA} Umhlaba wesisa kamasipala lusiphathela ithuba elilodwa lophuhliso lwamaphandle nohlaziyo kwezemihlaba nezolimo. Umthetho usixelela ukuba umhlaba wesisa kamasipala kufuneka ube negalelo kuhlaziyo kwezemihlaba apho uthi wenziwe ufumaneke ukuze usetyenziselwe ulimo ngabo babesakuya bengavumelekanga kwixa langaphambili ukuba

bafumane imihlaba yeziza zikamasipala. Abahlali basezidolophini abahluphekileyo nabanqwenela

ukuzibandakanya kwiinkuthalo zolimo kufuneka ngoko bacebe ukwenza amabango okufumana umhlaba wesisa kamasipala.

[ENG] 

Legally recognized and secure land and resource rights are fundamental to the advancement of global peace, prosperity, and sustainability. From the development of human cultures to the realization of democracy itself, tenure security underpins the very fabric of human society and our relationship to the natural environment. Today, insecure tenure rights threaten the livelihoods and wellbeing of a third of the world’s population, and with it, the very future of our planet.

This paper analyzes whether national laws acknowledge indigenous peoples and other rural communities in 100 countries as owners of waters that arise within their lands. Results derive from information collected by LandMark to score the legal status of community land tenure. Findings are positive; half of all countries recognize communities as lawful possessors of water on their lands. Three quarters permit communities to manage the distribution and use of water on their lands.

The fourth paragraph of the Preamble of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia (hereinafter referred to as the 1945 Constitution) has very clearly stated the aim of the establishment of the Unitary State of Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) is "to protect all the people of Indonesia and all the independence and the land that has been struggled for, and to improve public welfare, to educate the life of the people and to participate toward the establishment of a world order based on freedom, perpetual peace and social justice ".

This report provides information on due diligence and effective conflict management through consultation in the context of community land conflicts. It identifies some key steps to follow to integrate community land conflict into enhanced project risk assessments.