Communities in Africa fight back against the land grab for palm oil

This research investigates threats to women’s land rights and explores the effectiveness of land certification interventions using evidence from the Land Investment for Transformation (LIFT) program in Ethiopia. The research aims to provide evidence on the extent that LIFT contributed to women’s tenure security. Quantitative information was analyzed from the profiles of more than seven million parcels to understand how the program had incorporated gender interests into the Second Level Land Certification (SLLC) process. Qualitative data was drawn from LIFT program field studies and case stories. Despite numerous threats to the land rights of women;evidence from the program suggests that LIFT has contributed to the tenure security of rural women in Ethiopia. The implication of these findings is that land certification programs can promote gender equality through land certification and governance by developing institutional measures and standard procedures that are gender responsive and based on local context;and by investing resources and attention on gender from the onset.