This report is the fruit of collaboration between ILC, IFAD and FAO. It provides information on the historical background of the Convention and its Optional Protocol, the working methods of the Committee, as well as a summary of information provided in reports of selected countries. NOTE: See also the 2010 update of this document.

"The hour of capitalism's greatest triumph," writes Hernando de Soto, "is, in the eyes of four-fifths of humanity, its hour of crisis." In The Mystery of Capital, the world-famous Peruvian economist takes up the question that, more than any other, is central to one of the most crucial problems the world faces today: Why do some countries succeed at capitalism while others fail? In strong opposition to the popular view that success is determined by cultural differences, de Soto finds that it actually has everything to do with the legal structure of property and property rights.

While early attempts at land titling in Africa were often unsuccessful, the need to secure land rights has kindled renewed interest, in view of increased demand for land, a range of individual and communal rights available under new laws, and reduced costs from combining information technology with participatory methods. We used a difference-in-difference approach to assess the effects of a low-cost land registration program in Ethiopia, which covered some 20 million plots over five years, on investment.

There is widespread belief among development specialists that land tenure security is a necessary but not sufficient condition for economic development.

This study assesses the economic implications of land ownership security in rural Thailand. It uses data from this country to rigorously analyze several aspects of land ownership security. It provides both qualitative and quantiative information on the effects of ownership security. The study presents a conceptual model and literature review and is followed by separate discussions on the evolution of land rights in Thailand; the study methodology and the nature of the data; and the credit market.

Land is an important source of identity and a precious asset with significant emotional connection in India. It is also the main source of rural and feudal power structure for most of India’s history. Land is a symbol of social status, cultural identity and an expression of political power. The value of land is deeply ingrained in the consciousness and well-being of the poor farmers and indigenous communities who make up a substantial portion of India’s total population.

Rural areas are key elements that underpin the social and economic European territory and shape its landscape. The rural setting is a dynamic concept, able to distinguish three stages on how the European Union (EU) understands "rural": rural as image, rural as local, and rural as a social construction. The evolution of the concept is reflected in the need to adapt the approach used to address rural issues, and consequently the political design for rural development.

The purpose of this paper is to present a new concept of farm nature plan, which is one of the possible directions, how to ensure a complex approach to landscape management. The new concept, which was recently introduced in several European countries, was studied on three organic farms in Denmark. The most widely perceived strength of the concept is the delivery of specific information and knowledge to individual farm conditions, opening a dialogue with the farmer, and searching for common objectives of farm production and nature conservation.

The article examines the key aspect of land relations – the possibility of appropriation and existing approaches to the re-distribution of land rent. Examination of rent relations begins with the analysis of approaches to the solution of this problem in classical economic theory. We have systematized existing approaches to the definition of the essence of rent. We have classified the types of rent with their detailed characteristics. We have established existing problems in the realization of rent relations at present time.

Gediz Delta is place of empties itself into the sea of Gediz River. Its one of the important wetland of Turkey which under the protection of Ramsar Convention. It has lots of lagoones, salt marshes, freshwater marshes, large saltpans and also ornitotourism place Kuş Cenneti. Gediz Delta has rich flora and fauna biodiversity because of this its important place for natural life sustainability.

Today, natural and cultural reserves are being rapidly lost; however, no efficient protection approaches are being put forward. Existent reserves face with the danger of extinction as the result of the land-misuses and excessive utilisation. In order to make accurate and effective reserve management and planning decisions, optimal land-uses targeting the preservation ecological structure should be determined elaborately.