Umoja (noun):/ooh-moh-jah/Umoja, is the Swahili philosophy of unity. Its principles underscore the significance of cooperation and communal solidarity. Umoja has historically been associated with various aspects of African social and political life, accentuating the influence of communal synergy in traditional land tenure systems.

This report is a contribution of the knowledge management component of the LAND-at-scale programme (LAS) which is funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and implemented by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland - RVO). LAND-at-scale is a seven-year programme (2019-2026), that aims to contribute to fair and just tenure security, access to land and natural resources for all.

Context and Background:The Government of the Republic of Zambia has strengthened the policy and legal frameworks to support gender equality and women's empowerment.

Context and backgroundAccess to land and productive resources for women is low in many countries especiallyin the developing world where there are less secure property rights in general. .Though there is no clear indication as to which groups should be considered vulnerable in Ethiopia, the groups mentioned under section two are practically considered vulnerable. These groups in Ethiopia include women, orphan children, HIV/AIDS victims, pastoralists, poor peasants, persons with disabilities and the urban and rural poor.

Are “informal real estate markets” really markets? Alternatively, are “informal property rights” tradable? A few years ago, just the mention of these concepts in a title would render it a misnomer. The aim of this paper is to explore the controversies in literature around the use of the concept “informal real estate markets”. The term “informal” comes with different connotations in literature; and for many years it denoted “illegality”.

Prolonged communal resource conflicts have undermined development and exacerbated poverty in North Wollo Amhara and neighboring Afar communities in Ethiopia for over two decades. Finding a permanent solution appears to elude all stakeholders mainly because of the inadequate understand of the underlying and proximate causes of these communal resource conflicts. To unpack the causes, the study employed in-depth interviews with three focus groups, 43 key informants and randomly selected 354 household heads.

In Africa, particularly in Senegal, the issue of gender in land governance remains an equation when it comes to access to land. In a number of West African countries, the issue of gender and land tenure is an ongoing one, insofar as the same obstacles have been identified for vulnerable groups, women in particular. In reality, access to land resources remains very limited for women for several reasons. As far as legislation is concerned, equal access is enshrined both at national level in constitutional and legislative provisions and at international level in conventions and charters.

Measuring and understanding gender differences in property rights is key to informing policy decisions and guiding investments aimed at fostering gender equality. However, there are a myriad ways of assessing property rights. Firstly, we assess which indicators to use and why it matters, focusing on rural Myanmar. Myanmar provides an interesting setting, as a large part of the population customarily follows joint property rights in marriage and upon dissolution of marriage and inheritance.

This one-pager provides details on the LAND-at-scale project in Somalia. This project is implemented by International Organization for Migration (IOM); United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); UN-Habitat; Regional Coordination Office Somalia (RCO), and financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs via the Netherlands Enterprise & Development Agency. 

Une réforme foncière peut concerner un ou plusieurs volets :
– la (re)définition légale des droits sur la terre, et des détenteurs de ces droits ;
– l’allocation, la privation et/ou la redistribution des droits ;
– les supports juridiques pour la reconnaissance légale de ces droits (on parle aussi d’enregistrement ou de formalisation des droits) ;
– les dispositifs administratifs et les modalités de gouvernance nécessaires à sa mise en œuvre.

ABSTRACT African culture and tradition on matrilineal land ownership are on the verge of disappearing. Land ownership in rural communities remains an important cultural dimension to secure livelihoods, economic growth, and sustainable development. Gender relations continue to interfere culture and tradition of matrilineal communities. Migration has changed the community and influenced the land ownership transformation from women to men.

The Framework and Guidelines on Land Policy in Africa endorsed through the adoption of the African Union Declaration on Land Issues and Challenges by the African Heads of States in 2009 is having “a strong gender component which aims at “strengthening security of land tenure for women which require special attention” and “ensuring that land laws provide for equitable access to land and related resources”.