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Community Organizations United States Agency for International Development
United States Agency for International Development
United States Agency for International Development
Acronym
USAID
Intergovernmental or Multilateral organization

Location

About Us

We envision a world in which land governance systems, both formal and informal, are effective, accessible, and responsive for all. This is possible when land tenure and property rights are recognized as critical development issues and when the United States Government and its development partners demonstrate consistent attention and a firm commitment to supporting coordinated policies and programs that clarify and strengthen the land tenure and property rights of all members of society, enabling broad-based economic growth, gender equality, reduced incidence of conflicts, enhanced food security, improved resilience to climate change, and effective natural resource management.

Mission Statement

The USAID Land Tenure and Resource Management (LTRM) Office will lead the United States Government to realize international efforts—in accordance with the U.S. Government’s Land Governance Policy—to clarify and strengthen the land tenure and property rights of all members of society—individuals, groups and legal entities, including those individuals and groups that are often marginalized, and the LTRM Office will help ensure that land governance systems are effective, accessible, and responsive. We will achieve this by testing innovative models for securing land tenure and property rights and disseminating best practice as it relates to securing land rights and improving resource governance within the USG and our development partners.

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Displaying 416 - 420 of 440

Ghana Commercial Agriculture Project

General

The Ghana Commercial Agriculture Project (GCAP), which is supported by USAID and the World Bank, has four components: (1) Strengthening investment promotion infrastructure, facilitating secure access to land. This component promotes a secure investment climate that clarifies and strengthens the rights and obligations of investors, government and affected communities, and support an improved mechanism for facilitating access to land by reducing the search costs to potential investors through an expansion of a database of land suitable and available for investors and by building on nascent mechanisms for actively matching potential investors with suitable land owners. (2) Securing Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) and small-holder linkages in the Accra Plains. This component will conclude one or two transactions for PPPs in an irrigation investment in the Accra Plains. (3) Securing PPPs and small-holder linkages in the SADA Zone. This component involves support to the identification and realization of private investments in inclusive commercial agricultural arrangements in the agricultural value chain through PPPs, complementary public investments, and technical assistance concentrated in the SADA zone. (4) Project management, monitoring and evaluation. This component finances the operations of the project implementing agencies. Objectives Increased access to land, private sector finance, input and output markets by smallholder farms from private public partnerships in commercial agriculture in Accra Plains and Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) zone.

Land and Rural Development Project: Colombia

General

The Land and Rural Development Program began in July 2013 and is a five-year task order under the Strengthening Tenure and Resource Rights Indefinite Quantity Contract. The program helps the Government of Colombia improve its ability to resolve the many complicated land issues that have plagued the country for years and that must be resolved to achieve a lasting peace. Objectives Improved capacity of the GOC at the regional and national levels to restitute lands to victims of conflict (Restitution Component); Improved capacity of regional and national GOC institutions to formalize rural property rights and to allocate public lands (baldíos) (Formalization Component); Improved capacity of regional and national government entities to mobilize and execute public resources for rural public goods (Rural Development Component); and Improved information available and efficiently used to deliver land rights services (Information Sharing and Management Component). After four years of intense negotiations in Havana, Cuba, between the GOC and the FARC, both parties signed a peace accord in the final months of 2016 with the intent of ending more than 50 years of civil war. Although several controversies swirled around the final terms of the agreement, they did not center on the agreement’s commitments to strengthen land tenure security and rural livelihoods, giving the program significant latitude to continue collaborating with the GOC to facilitate land restitution, strengthen smallholder land rights, and mobilize the provision of public goods and services in historically neglected rural areas—and thereby create the conditions for sustaining peace. Expected Outcomes Adapting to an ever-changing sociopolitical environment to effectively engage new government institutions and new local government authorities. Defining and promoting the adoption of international best practices for implementing quick, efficient, scalable land formalization activities to ensure that citizens have secure land tenure on paper and in practice. Developing methods for protecting land from being irregularly acquired and for identifying abandoned, illegally adjudicated, or stolen land, so as to create a reserve of land that can be provided to victims of conflict. Accelerating the processing of restitution claims, ensuring that the interests of good-faith secondary occupants are protected, and ensuring that local governments are equipped to comply with restitution rulings. Identifying and tackling constraints to efficiently move national-level government funding into rural areas to increase access of rural communities to public goods, services, and markets. Identifying and proposing solutions to specific land tenure access problems faced by women and ethnic minorities. Partnering across government institutions in the design, establishment, and maintenance of land-related knowledge management systems that will allow all public agencies to share information in real time, reducing the time associated with land-related transactions. Strengthening coordination among USAID implementing partners in the regions where we work to maximize efficiencies and reduce the duplication of efforts. The program works at the national level and in 57 municipalities from five focus regions: Cauca, Cesar, Meta, Montes de María, and Tolima. For more information about the Land and Rural Development Program, visit http://ColombiaLRDP.org

Land-Potential Knowledge System

General

Achieving long-term food security while protecting biodiversity and other ecosystem services will require: sustainable intensification of production on existing lands, restoration of degraded lands, and converting to agriculture only those lands where potential production is high, while degradation risk is low. To meet these requirements, knowledge and information about how land potential varies at field to regional scales is needed. However, existing knowledge and information about land potential is poorly integrated and unavailable at the scale of small farms where it is most urgently needed. The Land-Potential Knowledge System (LandPKS) aims to increase access to global and local land potential knowledge. The program is developing innovative mobile data collection, analysis methods, and tools to be used by farmers, pastoralists, governments, and development workers to sustainably increase agricultural production, biodiversity conservation, and improve climate change adaptation efforts and other ecosystem services. LandPKS uses mobile phone and cloud computing technologies to: Globalize access to local and scientific knowledge and information about land potential, Identify and deliver the knowledge and information relevant to each type of land/soil to anyone with a mobile phone, and Connect people with similar types of lands and challenges with each other to share learning and experiences. Through an interagency agreement issued from USAID, USDA’s Agricultural Research Service is developing LandPKS as a platform to allow others to use as the foundation for developing apps to address more specific information needs. The suite of mobile phone applications is currently being tested as a pilot in Kenya and Namibia, and the first application will be released to the global public in April or May 2015. Objective Support long-term, sustainable increases in productivity and biodiversity conservation through improved land-use planning and better land management Expected Outcomes Local and scientific knowledge about the potential productivity, biodiversity, and resilience of specific types of land for local, regional, and global application will be collected, shared, and integrated Governments, farmers, and pastoralists will have greater access to local and scientific knowledge from all over the world that is relevant to specific types of land Innovation will be promoted through peer-to-peer learning Gender equality will be increased by providing women farmers improved access to knowledge and information For more information about LandPKS, visit: http://landpotential.org

Biodiversity Conservation of Public Lands in the Brazilian Amazon

General

The Biodiversity Conservation of Public Lands in the Brazilian Amazon project will support the development and implementation of capacity building and technical assistance activities to strengthen conservation and management of biologically significant target areas, representing diverse terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems within public lands and their buffer zones in the western Brazilian Amazon biome, Strengthening the conservation of these target areas, particularly those within geographic regions which are actively exposed to the expansion of economic activities, represents a unique opportunity for USAID to support conservation initiatives that are closely linked to securing sustainable livelihoods and the broader macro-economic, political and social changes that can determine the impact of sustainable development in the Amazon for the years to come. Objectives Ensure the survival of fauna and flora species in the Amazon biome, Safeguard of traditional and indigenous livelihoods, and Foster the sustainable provision and management of environmental goods and services. Outcomes The design and implementation of biodiversity monitoring and land management plans for indigenous lands in the Western Amazon region. Training of indigenous bio monitoring agents, responsible for collection and registration of systematized information related to the flora and fauna census, hunting, fishing, and use of natural resources. Provided technical assistance to the Surui indigenous people to implement a carbon credit trading plan based on the land management plan for their lands.

Integrated Development and Conservation in the Bolivian Amazon Project

General

The main purpose of the Integrated Bolivian Amazon Project is to provide direct support to promote protection, conservation and sustainable use of the region’s biodiversity and environmental goods and services; increase incomes and promote economic growth through sustainable use of biodiversity; strengthen participatory local governance to improve environmental management; and strengthen the capacity of national and sub-national government institutions to develop policies and technical tools that promote biodiversity conservation, mitigate the impacts of climate change and support sustainable economic development. The project focuses on 6 municipalities in Northern La Paz-Beni, and Santa Cruz selected for the importance of their biodiversity, their relatively high population densities and their interest and willingness to promote sustainable economic development. Objectives Strengthen local and municipal governance to improve biodiversity conservation efforts, environmental management, and increase resilience to climate change. Promote economic growth and increase incomes of local and indigenous communities and producer groups through sustainable use of natural resources, land-based production systems and improved commercialization and marketing links for related goods and services. Seek opportunities to scale-up the project’s results to regional and national levels. Outcomes More than 630,526 hectares of biological significance under improved natural resource management. Support provided by the project includes biodiversity conservation of 29 forestry species and 17 fauna species in a total area of 1.4 million hectares. More than 450,000 hectares under forestry management plans through 12 community forestry organizations. More than 6,700 people benefited directly from natural resources and biodiversity management activities. More than 1,700 direct and indirect jobs generated and more than $720.000 in sales.