Jose Negrao died on 9 July 2005, aged 49. He was one of the most important intellectuals and researchers in Mozambique, was a leading figure in the Land Campaign and a strong defender of peasant land rights. We publish this interview with him in recognition of and in mourning a great and truly independent fighter who did not conform to what others expected but always pursued his own way. He was hugely influential during the Land Campaign and his success then derived from the fact that people trusted his integrity and his independence.

The symposium was held in Dar es Salaam on 1-2 March 2005. Report includes summaries of the 9 papers presented, issues discussed, policy recommendations and recommendations for future action. The papers cover implementation – overview, practical experiences, strategic plan, community based experiences, technical analysis, gender issues, wildlife management, privatisation, land in the context of the National Strategy for Growth and Poverty Reduction. Participants believed there was a need for increased involvement of CSOs in monitoring and supporting implementation of the Land Acts.

Includes incidences of land grabbing in the region, land grabbing from the supply and demand sides, community resistance to land grabbing, what should be done on land grabbing, way forward.

Includes the predicaments, concerns and challenges faced by rural women – commercialization of natural resources, how rural women value land, from ‘women’s crops’ to ‘men’s crops’, plantation economies and rural women, the water factor, women are not parties to the deal. Towards solutions for rural women, invest in local food systems, women’s rights to land, build toward collective action. Conclusions and recommendations.

Covers the background, the numbers of people affected, the absence of a coordinated and planned approach, difficulties with the demarcation and titling process, demarcation procedures, the need for gender sensitivity, and compensation.

Examines changes in management of customary tenure and how these have made women’s access to land more vulnerable. Recommends strategies for empowering women to have secure access rights and increase their tenure security. Seeks a compromise between policy makers and women activists on the current co-ownership debate. Argues that the family unit should become the unit of ownership under customary tenure and that all those who derive livelihoods should be registered on the title of ownership.

The Uganda Land Alliance was invited to the Kigali workshop to share Ugandan experiences with Rwandans. The paper covers the historical perspective to land reform in Uganda, land reform and salient features of the 1995 Constitution and the 1998 Land Act, and challenges and constraints to implementing the Land Act.

Reviews key gender issues that need addressing re IDP return and the resumption of livelihoods in the recovery of post-conflict Northern Uganda. Reveals the inadequacies in policy and law in addressing gender and land issues.

Contains introduction; the issues, emerging Intricacies – options for Policy and law reform; conclusion; references. Argues the need to address pastoral development policy in a coordinated manner in national development strategies and programmes.

Analyzes land tenure dimensions of migrations in rural areas, especially accommodation and integration mechanisms, as well as emerging strategies. Highlights the local changes of which both natives and migrants are the main stakeholders.

Contains gender and land rights; gender and poverty; importance of gender to land rights; current policy and legal reforms on gender and land in Uganda; recommendations for strengthening gender in policy and law reform.

Includes landlord-tenant relations, the Kibaale land question, pastoralists, gazetted land, IDPs and returnees in Northern Uganda, conflicts about refugee resettlement camps, the impact of oil discoveries, deficits in dispute resolution and land administration, corruption, ignorance of the law.