This document is a report on the session that focused on the role of universities in participatory informal settlement upgrading at the workshop titled "Bottom-up city Wide planning in Gobabis", which took place on 11-13 May 2017, in Gobabis. The event was convened by the Namibia Housing Action Group (NHAG) and the Shack Dwellers Federation, with support from Shack Dwellers International (SDI).

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the Flexible Land Tenure System (FLTS) in

Namibia is in line with the Fit-For-Purpose (FFP) land administration approach which is

developed in order to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at national and

local level in developing countries by providing tenure security to poor people and creating

country-wide land recordation systems. The FFP approach is based on a Minimum Viable

Product focusing on the specific local tenure security needs, flexibility on survey accuracy,

The current paper derives from work conducted in the context of the Revision of the Mass Housing Development

Programme (MHDP) that the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development (MURD) commissioned to the Integrated

Land Management Institute (ILMI) at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST). The paper

contains only publicly-available information and was prepared for public dissemination of issues related to the

work undertaken for the Ministry in the context of this project.

The project took place in Katima Mulilo and Rundu during 2007-11. The project consisted of 66 township extensions, and resulted in 18,500 plots developed in a period of 5 years. The project was funded by LUX Development, the cooperation agency from Luxemburg, which poured significant funds to make the project possible. One of the innovation aspects was to do the topographic and cadastral mapping in parallel with the layout and design. This was done by teams consisting of a town planner, a surveyor , and community facilitators selected by the inhabitants of the settlement in question.

This document provides the focus for an integrated approach to research in the land, livelihoods and housing sectors in Namibia. Its thematic approach seeks to facilitate multi-disciplinary research projects that will reflect the wide range of skills existing in the School of Natural Resources and Spatial Sciences (SNRSS) at the Polytechnic of Namibia (PoN). It is unique in that it has all land related disciplines in one School and is therefore well placed to become a leading research centre.

The current paper derives from work conducted in the context of the Revision of the Mass Housing Development

Programme (MHDP) that the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development (MURD) commissioned to the Integrated

Land Management Institute (ILMI) at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST). The paper contains

only publicly-available information and was prepared for public dissemination of issues related to the work

undertaken for the Ministry in the context of this project. More information about this project can be found on

This book is about sustainable land management, the development of water buffers and the business case underneath it. It is part of the discussion on the green economy: investment in natural resource management makes business sense. This also applies for investment in land, water and vegetative cover. Some of the parameters may be different – returns may not always be immediate – but essentially both the financial payback and the economic dividend of investing in integrated landscapes – if done properly – are rewarding.

The state of Mato Grosso in Brasil faces environmental challenges since agricultural developments threaten biodiversity and other environmental values. The mission of the state university of Mato Grosso (UNEMAT) is to contribute to the knowledge needed for the sustainable development of the state. However, there is a need for academic capacity building. Collaboration with Wageningen University intends to improve the quality of the education and science especially concerning landscape ecological research.

This Tool Kit has been prepared to support the design and implementation of sustainable land management (SLM) programs.The specific purpose of the Tool Kit is: to inform the user of the approaches that can be followed to analyze and value the economic costs of land degradation and the benefits of sustainable land management. ‘Land’ is interpreted broadly in the Tool Kit, also including wetlands and coastal zones.

The Netherlands is an important actor in the floriculture sector worldwide. Many Dutch flower companies have in recent years established businesses in the Global South as a result of favourable climatic conditions, available land and water resources, and the presence of cheap labour. With the aim to stimulate investments in developing countries (e.g., in the context of the Private Sector Investment programme) some companies were further incentivized by the Dutch government to start up their business through development-related subsidies or favourable loans.

The aim of this special issue is to push forward the frontier of development studies by analysing local livelihoods from a ‘flows of capital/people’ perspective. In development studies, and especially in livelihood research, local development has long been defined in terms of local people’s agency and the importance of capitals and capabilities. Over the last decade, however, the context of local development has undergone considerable change.