This paper is a synthesis of land issues and land policy constraints in Southern Africa prepared for the World Bank Regional Workshop on Land Issues in Africa and the Middle East held in Kampala, Uganda, in May 2002. It synthesizes key points made in commissioned papers, plenary comments, and facilitated discussions from a special Southern Africa Working Group attended by conference delegates.

The former socialist countries of Eastern Europe (that is, Europe east of Germany and west of the Urals, but including all of Russia) began a transition to a market economy in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. This paper looks at one aspect of that transition: the transition from state ownership to private ownership of agricultural land and the accompanying transition to a land market for agricultural land.

At its sixty-first session in September 2000, the ECE Committee on Human Settlements accepted the proposal of the Bureau of the Working Party on Land Administration to provide expert assistance to Armenia on land administration issues (ECE/HBP/119, annex I, programme element “Land registration and land markets”). Security of tenure is one of the most important factors in fighting poverty and stabilizing communities by improving housing conditions through housing investments, reducing social exclusion, improving access to urban services, environment and safety in urban areas.

Includes abstract, introduction, the Land Act 1979, land ownership, grant of title to land, need for land policy, current land reform proposals, draft White Paper proposals, and strategic options – access to land, land markets, participation.

The importance of agriculture in the economies of African countries cannot be overstated. Notwithstanding geographic and climatic diversity and other country specificities, the agricultural sector in African countries is the main source of rural livelihoods and, in general, employs more than two-thirds of the labour force. Agriculture generates more than a third of GDP in most African countries, and accounts for up to 40 per cent of exports. Most African countries have undertaken autonomous liberalization in agriculture.

Op verzoek van de directie Zuidwest van het Ministerie van Landbouw, Natuurbeheer en Visserij heeft het LEI onderzoek uitgevoerd naar de ruimtedruk in de Zuidelijke Randstad. Hierbij is zowel gekeken naar de huidige als naar de toekomstige ruimtedruk. Ook wordt inzicht gegeven in de diverse prijsvormings- en verwervingsprocessen van grond. Om de regionale verschillen aan te geven zijn 9 landbouwgebieden in Zuid-Holland onderscheiden.

De langetermijngrondmarkteffecten van de ruimtelijke perspectieven Palet (geen ruimtelijke ordening) en Stedenland+ (huidige situatie met stedelijke ontwikkeling langs de internationale vervoersassen) lopen nogal uiteen. Zo is er in Palet sprake van een ongesegmenteerde grondmarkt met relatief hoge 'agrarische' grondprijzen in het landelijk gebied, van versnipperd grondgebruik en een hoge grondmobiliteit.