This country level analysis addresses land governance in Viet Nam in two ways. First, it summarises what the existing body of knowledge tells us about power and configurations that shape access to and exclusion from land, particularly among smallholders, the rural poor, ethnic minorities and women. Second, it draws upon existing literature and expert assessment to provide a preliminary analysis of the openings for and obstacles to land governance reform afforded by the political economic structures and dynamics in the country.

In 2007 Urban LandMark undertook a series of consultations as part of the Voices of the Poor project. Four workshops were held in the centres listed above. The workshops were attended mostly by civil society organisations as well as NGOs. In all, 105 participants from more than 30 different civil society organisations participated. This case study presents the perspectives and experiences of civil society organisations with regard to access to urban land by the poor as derived from the consultations. These perspectives are fairly representative of urban community organisations as a whole.

Trading Places is about urban land markets in African cities. It explores how local practice, land governance and markets interact to shape the ways that people at society's margins access land to build their livelihoods.

The authors argue that the problem is not with markets per se, but in the unequal ways in which market access is structured. They make the case for more equal access to urban land markets, not only for ethical reasons, but because it makes economic sense for growing cities and towns.

Les ressources en eau et en terres s'amenuisent de plus en plus et répondent difficilement aux exigences alimentaires d'une population mondiale croissante. Dans les pays en développement des régions tropicales en particulier, la variabilité des conditions météorologiques associée à la productivité généralement basse de l'agriculture de subsistance représente une menace pour les sociétés rurales vulnérables ; l'accès à des équipements d'infrastructure et aux ressources naturelles devient de jour en jour plus difficile.

El libro Somos tierra, semilla, rebeldía: mujeres, tierra y territorio en América Latina, realiza un recuento de las luchas de las mujeres en América Latina desde sus comunidades y organizaciones, partiendo del cuestionamiento al capitalismo patriarcal, que agrega a la expropiación de las tierras que sufren el campesinado pobre y los pueblos originarios la división sexual del trabajo por la cual se invisibiliza el trabajo de las mujeres, tanto el trabajo en la casa como en las pequeñas unidades agrícolas.

The paper presents and discusses the fact that when land is acquired, compensation paid and resettlement done, the communities still go ahead and put constraints before the Government for the purposes of hindering the development. Citing of projects for economic development is a major problem for developing economies because of the agitation of the land “owners”despite an existing good land tenure system.

The paper stressed the fact that one general law may not be sufficient for Government to process land for development purposes because of the communities’ agitation

This case study is based on research undertaken into the experiences of a poor community in accessing land through formal channels in peri-urban South Africa. The research was conducted by a team of researchers pulled together by the World Bank. The work was the result of a request by Mogale City Municipality for technical assistance on the design and implementation of integrated housing and agriculture projects.  The document presents the story of Ethembalethu.

This case study examines specific examples of localised and informal land registration practices in South Africa. Such informal land registration often arises where people do not have access to the formal state system of land registration. But as the desire and need to gain access to urban land, to secure rights in relation to that land and also to trade land, a localised registration system that meets these needs tends to emerge.

This case study draws on research into some of the processes through which people access, hold, and trade land in poorer areas of towns and cities. The research was commissioned by Urban LandMark and undertaken by the Isandla Institute, Stephen Berrisford Consulting and Progressus Research and Development. 

This case study draws on an analysis of urban land markets in the East African region. The research was undertaken by Paul Syagga, School of the Built Environment, University of Nairobi, and commissioned by Urban LandMark. Some learning and reflection activities based on the case study are provided. The next part of the document presents examples of how people access, trade and hold land in various East African cities. The final component of this document includes a summary of the key issues covered in the case study and recommendations arising from it.

The land challenge is central to the broader youth dynamics of migration, employment, livelihoods and belonging. The more than 1.8 billion youth living worldwide represent not only a land challenge, but an untapped potential in moving the tenure security agenda forward.

Youth-led Action Research on Land builds on previous youth and land engagement and consultations that have identified critical needs and knowledge gapsin the space of youth and land.

The Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG), with support from the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), performed the Ghana Land Tenure Baseline Survey, the first of its kind survey of tenure rights among cocoa farmers in Ghana. CRIG surveyed almost 1,800 cocoa farmers operating 3,900 cocoa plots regarding various land tenure issues within customary sharecropping arrangements and on owner-managed land. This report describes the findings from the Survey.