Land and Property Rights

In rural areas, land is the basis for agricultural production and the source for securing natural

resources through fishing, hunting, pasturing or other activities. Land is used by many people for

different purposes (e.g. for agricultural production, housing, industry, services and government).

Land also has social, cultural and political functions related to each country’s history.

Because land is used for so many purposes, land and property rights have broad impact on people’s

lives and livelihoods. These rights refer to the rules that specify who can do what with which resources

and assets, for how long and under what conditions. Collecting plants in a forest, cultivating a plot of

land, getting the produce harvested, accessing and extracting natural resources and deciding who

should or should not be allowed to collect plants or cultivate a plot of land are all expressions of the

exercise of property rights.