Weak land governance and insecure land rights are still major development challenges for Africa. The African Land Policy Centre (ALPC), formerly Land Policy Initiative (LPI), has been mandated to spearhead the implementation of the African Union’s Agenda on Land that aims at improving land policy in a regional context.

Although a growing number of countries show political will to realize these initiatives, their implementation at country level remains at an early stage. Many countries lack the human and institutional capacity required to implement sustainable land policies. One of the main reasons for this lack is the insufficient quality of academic programmes at African universities and institutions of higher learning.

NELGA

To strengthen human and institutional capacities for the implementation of the AU agenda on land, ALPC has established a Network of Excellence on Land Governance in Africa (NELGA) in cooperation with Germany, World Bank and other partners.

NELGA is a partnership of leading African universities and research institutions with proven leadership in education, training and research on land governance. Currently NELGA has more than 50 partner institutions across Africa.

Objectives of NELGA

1. Enhancing training opportunities and curricula on land governance in Africa;
2. Promoting demand driven research on land policy issues;
3. Connecting scholars and researchers across Africa through academic networks;
4. Creating data and information for monitoring and evaluation on land policy reforms.

Key functions of NELGA

• Improve land-related curricula in graduate and  post-graduate training courses in quantity and quality.
• Provide and facilitate academic education and training for African land professional and practitioners.
• Define an agenda for research and conduct applied research on land related issues pertinent to the AU agenda on land.
• Develop a repository for data, indicators and information, in close cooperation with the ALPC, the RECs and governments.
• Promote knowledge management, dissemination and networking in support of land policy and governance in Africa by enhancing the community of practice for land policy experts.
• Develop a repository for data, indicators and information, in close cooperation with the ALPC, the RECs and governments.