A U.S. Agency for International Development team member helps remove rubble form a damaged building in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Jan. 30, 2010. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Robert J. Fluegel/Released)

Last week, we shared an example of an innovative participatory project design in Kenya. This week, our example of an innovative participatory project design comes from Kosovo.

Participatory mapping workshop in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, September 13 -15, 2011. Photo credit: Tetra Tech / Gary Hunter and Anna Soave
This month, we are highlighting participatory approaches that make land tenure programming more inclusive, effective, and sustainable. USAID uses participatory approaches—approaches that engage local communities and beneficiaries in project design and management—in our efforts to secure and strengthen land tenure and property rights in projects around the world.

Guest commentary by Dr. Cynthia M. Caron, Assistant Professor of International Development and Social Change, Clark University.

By M. Mercedes Stickler, Land Tenure and Evaluation Specialist, USAID.
Last month, I had the opportunity to take part in the inaugural Conference on Land Policy in Africa. This event—organized by the Land Policy Initiative—highlighted the fact that land is one of the most important development issues facing Africa today.

If you cannot view, click here.Guest commentary by Christopher Seeley, Chief of Party of the USAID Honduras ProParque project.
One of the most vexing challenges in biodiversity conservation in developing countries is reconciling land tenure and land use issues that emerge when previously unprotected or unregulated ecosystems are placed under state control as part of a national protected areas system.

Guest commentary by Robert Oberndorf, Resource Law Specialist, Tenure and Global Climate Change Project.

With the endorsement of the Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems (RAI) in October, attention turns to how to reflect the principles and practices outlined in the RAI in foreign assistance and public and private investments. The United States’ global hunger and food security initiative, Feed the Future, already places responsible investment at the core of its programs--including clarifying land rights and maximizing the positive impact of agricultural investments on women, smallholder farmers, and families’ nutritional status.

USAID invites you to comment on its draft guide, titled Responsible Land-Based Investment: A Practical Guide for the Private Sector. This guide was developed in response to requests from the private sector for guidance on making land-based investments that are more sustainable, responsible and inclusive, and less risky. USAID seeks input from a broad range of stakeholders in order to identify concerns and opportunities to improve the document.

Guest commentary by Anna Knox, Chief of Party, USAID's LAND project in Rwanda.

Guest commentary by Kent Elbow, Independent Land Tenure and Property Rights Specialist.

Guest Commentary by Provash Budden, Mercy Corps' Colombia Country Director.