Ethiopia follows a federal state administrative structure. Regional states are organized on ethnic basis. The country has over 85 ethnic groups and languages, but only majority ethnic groups, with few exceptions, have their own standalone regional states.The Constitution of the country categorizes land as a public property and gives land administration responsibilities to regional states. Although the Constitution confirms land access right to all citizens, regional states’ constitutions and land laws put restrictions to prioritize residents.

Climate change-related threats and land insecurities are increasingly impacting upon disadvantaged communities, especially women. In the context of evolving land policy discourse and priorities, intertwined land tenure, climate change, and gender equality require reference to global normative human rights and development frameworks. Human Rights treaties, the Paris Agreement, the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the New Urban Agenda, among others have strategic policy implications.

It is critical to have land policies that facilitate access to and effective control of land and other natural resources to achieve inclusive growth and eradicate poverty. It is well known that discrimination in land rights occurs globally, both in formal and customary settings. The reason for this is that land rights are either strong or weak and are held by a variety of groups of people.

context and backgroundDespite the robustness of various land instruments and legal and institutional regulations on various sectors, Tanzania’s land distribution-related policy implementation and practice is facing numerous challenges. Tanzania is not only experiencing poor land conditions, but also poor land management and ineffective policy implementation. Areas of concern includes public policy actions on land conflicts; settlements and housing problems; and conflicting demand for land for mining, large scale agriculture, conservation, tourism, ranching and pastoral nomadism.

In view of land’s vital importance as a foundation of societal livelihood and its position being at the heart of social and political interests and conflicts, increasing number of universities in Africa have been launching and expanding formal educational and research programs since the last two decades. The ongoing expansion of land governance educational and research programs are mainly driven by the need for the overall socio-economic development reforms at continental level in Africa.

National Land Coalitions (NLCs) work towards the recognition, defence, protection and redistribution of land rights at national level. They build upon frameworks on land tenure developed and agreed by different regional and intergovernmental institutions. Platforms are at the heart of protecting and preserving community and customary lands which constitute the major category of landholding in Africa.

Contrary to scholarship that attaches matrilineal practices to women’s control and power over land in Africa. This paper interrogated this theoretical positioning to its contemporary practicality by posing the discussions among the ‘Luguru’ matrilineal of Eastern Tanzania. The article has discussed how land has been claimed, transferred, and owned across gender lens with the apparent changes in political and socio-cultural settings of the community. Shreds of evidence deduced from triangulated approaches provided contradictory conclusions.

ABSTRACTContext and backgroundAccess to and ownership of land are important for reducing discrimination.

 To benefit from the underutilised potential of urban land resources, the introduction and improvement of land registration and cadastral systems have been advocated. However, evidence from empirical research in a number of developing economies including those in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) continues to show mixed or inconclusive outcomes from the implementation and operations of such systems.

Are We Planning Gender Inclusive Land Policies? Documentary Analysis And Expert Opinions

Like in a number of other developing countries, the issue of illegal occupation of land is evident in Zambia’s cities. This problem has continued to exist, despite the existence of laws and public institutions meant to address the issue. The objectives of this paper were to establish the factors that lead to continued illegal land occupation in Zambia’s cities, establish the consequences of illegal occupation of land, and suggest how illegal occupation of land can be eradicated.