In many countries, unidentified private individuals and legal entities obtain significant economic benefits from land. This lack of transparency can make it harder for affected communities and governments to hold them accountable for land use decision-making and any sort of violation they commit. It can also leave investors open to risk if they do not know who is truly behind a company they are doing business with. 

Country analysis and recommendations for Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda, Viet Nam. Analyzes the de jure and customary discriminations faced by women in terms of land access in these 10 countries.

Examines relationships between inheritance, marriage and asset ownership. Land the most important asset in rural Uganda. The majority of couples (both married and those in consensual unions) report owning land jointly. Men who report owning a parcel of land are much more likely than women to say they inherited it. Inheritance not an important means of acquisition of other assets, e.g. livestock, business assets, financial assets, consumer durables, which are acquired through purchase, for both men and women.

Covers (1) Land as a source of conflict in Africa – the multi-dimensional nature of land issues; indirect causes of conflict, land access and structural poverty; interactions between customary and state-managed tenure systems; historical injustices and land disputes. (2) Land rights during conflict – population displacement; land as a sustaining factor in conflict; land rights of women, children and marginalized communities.

Examines the evolution of collective land tenure regimes in East Africa including how they affect pastoral communities living on these lands. Attempts to identify the drivers and impacts of changes in collective land access since the 1900s. Focuses on un-adjudicated communal lands and 2 types of group ranches – those that are intact and those that have been subdivided. Analyses the changes in these tenure regimes from the colonial era to the present day and provides a discussion around the drivers and effects on pastoral communities and their livelihoods.

Includes trends prospects and policies, biofuel production and land access in Tanzania – laws, policies and procedures, impacts of biofuel investments on land access. Findings and implications cover production models and their impacts on local land access; risks of land alienation – long term impacts; limitations of compensation; use of third-party mediators?; large-scale transfers of land for biofuels are most problematic; linking policy with practice; shortcomings of biofuel guidelines; alternative land holding structures and production models.

Includes evolution of communal areas in Zimbabwe, research context and findings, processes leading to matongo, vulnerability of women’s land access, bargaining for land in patrimonial governance systems.

In sub-Saharan Africa the pace and scale at which land is changing hands are increasing fast. Summarises findings from a research project – including case studies in Ghana, Senegal, Mozambique, and Uganda – to improve understanding of these changes by addressing 3 main questions: How is land access changing in rural Africa, and what are the major drivers of change? How are these changes affecting rural livelihoods? What are the implications of these changes for development policy and practice?

In Mozambique, changes in land access and use are shaping new landscapes, often at the expense of the poor. Despite progressive land legislation, elite groups and vested interests are consolidating land holdings while peasant producers are being dispossessed of their land and access to fertile plots is becoming increasingly difficult. As national and foreign investors seek land for housing, real estate, agriculture, tourism, mining and forestry, what is the state’s role in responding to these increased demands?

Highlights the key drivers of pressure in Ghana on rural land and their communities, such as population growth, urbanisation and acquisition of land by new actors, including government and business. Draws on case study evidence from two communities: the Ahanta West District near Sekondi-Takoradi in the south, and the Savelugu-Nanton Municipal Authority around Tamale in the north.

Provides a backdrop of relevant policies and practice; a gender analysis of the policy framework governing land and investments; and recommendations on how to work towards land rights securing and better inclusion in land governance processes for women in Tanzania. Concludes that implementation of laws, including key gender equality principles, has been weak, and gender inequality in land access persists largely due to the continued dominance of (patrilineal) customary land laws and practice.