Unprecedented pressures on land and its governance have been created. As evident around the globe, where land governance is deficient, high levels of corruption often flourish. Under such a system, land distribution is unequal, tenure is insecure, and natural resources are poorly managed.

This bulletin is prepared by the Friends of the Custodians Committee. The objective is to share timely information about the SDG land indicator 1.4.2 and support its reclassification from Tier III to Tier I by October 2018. 

Analysis of land allocation strategies in irrigated agriculture schemes in West Africa yields lessons which can guide the design and implementation of current and forthcoming projects. Allocation of insufficient land makes the main purposes of large dam projects – to combat poverty and to increase national cereal production – more difficult to achieve. Research by the Global Water Initiative (GWI) at three dam project sites in West Africa shows that the area of land allocated per family is usually about 1 hectare (ha).

For a dam to successfully contribute to the sustainable development of the society, the local populations should also benefit from it. This 5 minute video examines the challenges to obtaining an equitable compensation for the people affected by the construction of large dams and defines the various steps to make sure that the farmers who were disowned of their land can have secured access to new land.

Communiqué final de l’atelier régional intitulé « Vers une sécurisation foncière du paysan dans la riziculture à grande échelle au Sahel ». L'atelier s’est tenu à Bamako, Mali, les 2 et 3 juin 2014.

This is the Final Communiqué from a regional workshop on the theme: “Towards security of tenure for farmers in large scale irrigated rice schemes in the Sahel” which was held on 2nd and 3rd June 2014 in Bamako, Mali.

This is the report of a workshop held on 8 and 9 June 2015 in Bamako, Mali, to present and discuss the results of a study on securing irrigated land tenure in the six countries within the Permanent Inter-State Committee for the Fight against Drought in the Sahel (CILSS) in the context of the "Dakar Declaration".

La Charte du domaine irrigué de l’Anambé propose des règles de gestion pour un développement agricole efficient et durable. Élaborée par consensus entre les usagers du bassin et les autorités locales, le défi actuel est de la mettre en pratique. Cette fiche revient sur le processus d'élaboration de la Charte et met en lumière les opportunités et défis qui en découlent. 

The Anambé irrigation scheme charter sets out management principles for efficient and sustainable agricultural development. The charter is based on a consensus between river basin users and local authorities. Now the challenge is to put this into practice.

Approaches to securing tenure have been dominated by debates about whether titling advances secure land tenure and development in developing countries or whether it is either ineffectual or detrimental to socially more relevant systems. While the policies of many developing countries, including South Africa, continue to support titling approaches to securing tenure, there is widespread confirmation in the literature that title can be problematic for poor people living in both urban and rural areas.

A report with annexures reviewing lessons emerging Leap projects and partnerships, focusing on tenure in relation to a set of issues affecting poor people’s livelihoods and local economic development

There are 85 irrigation schemes in Niger that cover around 16,000 ha and are cultivated by 40,000 farmers. The informal status of these irrigation schemes, and their occupants, has created problems due to population growth and the increasing scarcity of natural resources. Holders of traditional land rights have challenged government decisions concerning land attributions and property rights within the schemes, and have occasionally prevented construction from proceeding.