The aim of this policy paper is to present successful approaches to secure land tenure rights in rural and urban areas. To support future programmatic decisions by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), this paper focusses especially on impacts and good practices. It discusses examples from the German technical cooperation but also includes good practices and impacts achieved by other development partners.

Since 2010, the GIZ Land Programme in Lao PDR has sought to improve the land tenure security of rural communities. The programme currently consists of three projects – the BMZ-commissioned Land Management and Decentralised Planning (LMDP) Project, the Enhanced Land Tenure Security (ELTeS) sub-project within a global programme on responsible land policy, as well as the German contribution to the Mekong River Land Governance (MRLG) Initiative.

Mailo is a unique tenure system in central Uganda. It is divided into three parts: Kabaka’s Mailo, Official Mailo and Private Mailo. Private Mailo belongs to an individual, so-called landowner and it can be sold, subdivided or transmitted. Conflicts on private Mailo can occur between landowners & tenants, tenants & tenants, and landowners & landowners. A key challenge is that there is a lack of knowledge and transparency on land rights on both sides.

Mailo is a unique tenure system in central Uganda. It is divided into three parts: Kabaka’s Mailo, Official Mailo and Private Mailo. Private Mailo belongs to an individual, so-called landowner and it can be sold, subdivided or transmitted. Conflicts on private Mailo can occur between landowners & tenants, tenants & tenants, and landowners & landowners. A key challenge is that there is a lack of knowledge and transparency on land rights on both sides.

Land in Uganda is a delicate topic. About 80% of pending court cases in the country today are land related. One of Uganda’s tenure systems is the management of land according to customary tenure, especially in Northern Uganda, including the Teso sub-region. With its violent history, a rising population and increasing impact of climate  change on agriculture productivity, land rights in Teso are contested to this day. Due to its violent history and socio-cultural changes, less than 1% of customary land is officially registered.

Following the success of the inaugural Regional Land  Forum  in  Hanoi  in  2016,  the  Second Regional  Land  Forum  was  held  from  28-30th May,  2018,  in  Bangkok.  The  Regional  Land Forum  aims  to  provide  a  multi-stakeholder platform  for  networking  and  dialogue  on  land governance  issues  across  the  Mekong  region, particularly  Cambodia,  Laos,  Myanmar  and Vietnam  (CLMV).  The  Second  Regional  Land Forum  attracted  280 participants  –  comprising government,   private   sector,   civil   society, researchers,   community   members,   donors, development partners a

A community’s choice to give, or withhold, their free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) to a project or activity planned to take place on their land is a recognized right of Indigenous peoples under international law. It is also a best practice principle that applies to all communities affected by projects or activities on the land, water and forests that they rely on.

The Community Land Value Chain (CaVaTeCo in Portuguese) is an approach that can improve tenure security and management of community lands and natural resources in the context of large-scale land investments. This note presents this approach.

This guide explains the key steps in the process of land delimitation, in order to help field staff to correctly use the approach.