The Land Portal Foundation has published a Thematic Portfolio on Land & Corruption to provide greater understanding and promote awareness of the intersection of these critical issues.
Bringing together a wealth of data and information from Transparency International, the global coalition against corruption, the new portfolio includes statistical indicators such as the incidence of bribes paid for land services, and country rankings in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index and Global Corruption Barometer. Relevant news, blogs, debates and events will also be published on the Portfolio, providing users with an up-to-date snapshot of current issues and trends in the field. The Portfolio features numerous profiles of organizations working on these issues, and a repository of 343 publications.
Corruption in land governance is a major issue, particularly in countries with weak governance and accountability mechanisms. In such countries, local elites are often able to manipulate their country’s land governance systems for their own benefit. From opaque land deals, bribes in land administration processes, unaccountable urban planning, or customary laws that deny women their land rights, land corruption hits the poor and marginalised hardest.
The result is that millions of men and women lose their land with little or no compensation. The scope of the problem is enormous. An estimated 20% of people around the world have reportedly paid a bribe for land services. In Africa, the figure rises to as much as 50%.
The effects of land corruption are wide-ranging, and include insecure tenure, food insecurity, barriers to socio-economic development, increased risk of conflict, and threats to traditional ways of life. Moreover, land corruption is a drain on economies and stands in the way of achieving many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Women are particularly susceptible to land corruption. Patriarchal customary norms and other factors often mean that women’s land and property rights are not respected. Corruption in local land administration also hampers women’s access to land titles, even though many countries have established constitutional guarantees of gender equality, and 187 countries have ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
The Thematic Portfolio on Land & Corruption showcases an in-depth narrative on land corruption written by Transparency International. This provides an overview of land and corruption issues, as well as its gender dynamics. The narrative also discusses TI’s Handbook on Land Corruption Risk Mapping, the intersections between land corruption and urban land management, land investments, legal frameworks, and land reform.
Laura Meggiolaro, Coordinator of the Land Portal Foundation, said: “Tackling corruption in land governance is a key priority for the Land Portal Foundation. By making detailed information on land and corruption widely available and making this information more easily accessible, we hope to contribute to the elimination of what amounts to a parasite inhibiting sustainable global development.”
Visit the portal at: https://landportal.org/issues/land-corruption