Land information is critical for equitable land governance that benefits the most vulnerable and drives economic growth, sustainable development, and food security. However, land data and information sources remain highly fragmented, unstructured and do not present the full range of perspectives needed for decision making. Land governance, (laws, processes, and institutions) regulate how decisions concerning land are made, implemented, and enforced and require the best possible land data and information.

After 30 years of an authoritarian regime, Sudan reached a power-sharing deal between the military and the civilians that brought a transitional government to power in 2019. Their agenda was to lead the country towards a democratic transformation for no more than three years. This period of relative stability provided the space for democratic reform and increased transparency in Sudan, reversed by the return of political instability in 2022.

Land rights are fundamental sources of tension in Liberia, so transparency about land information is both essential and highly politicized. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission and other scholars have documented land conflict as one of the major causes of the 14 year civil conflict (1989-2003) in Liberia, rooted in the country’s formation in the 19th Century as a land divided by indigenous peoples and freed slaves settling from the United States.

This publication is a product of the GEF-funded FAO project ‘Decision Support for Mainstreaming and Scaling Out Sustainable Land Management (DS-SLM)’ which has developed a decision support framework (DSF). The DSF integrates experience from work with land degradation (LD) and SLM into an overall strategy for mainstreaming and scaling out SLM at different spatial and temporal scales. This publication serves as a step-by-step guide for the application and implementation of the DSF during planning, design and implementation of SLM interventions.

In Mozambique, the law recognizes certain forms of occupation as constituting legal tenure and nationals can claim this recognition of their right to occupy and use land allocated through customary norms/practices. Local communities can also claim rights over land which they have customarily occupied, used, and managed. These rights are not prejudiced by their lack of titling or documentation and may be defended on the basis of oral testimony.

Em Moçambique, a lei reconhece certas formas de ocupação que constituem posse legal e os(as) cidadãos(ãs) podem reivindicar esse reconhecimento de seu direito de ocupar e usar a terra alocada por meio de normas/práticas costumeiras. As comunidades locais também podem reivindicar direitos sobre a terra que costumam ocupar, usar e administrar. Esses direitos não são prejudicados pela falta de titulação ou documentação e podem ser defendidos com base em testemunhos orais.

This report on the land data ecosystem in Madagascar is the first step towards providing a baseline and diagnostic tool to inform conversations around land and data governance. It aims to complement existing initiatives to improve the accuracy and extent of land data in Madagascar and identify opportunities to improve public access to all forms of land information.

Ce rapport sur l'écosystème des données foncières à Madagascar est la première étape vers la fourniture d'une base de référence et d'un outil de diagnostic pour informer les conversations autour de la gouvernance foncière et des données. Il vise à compléter les initiatives existantes pour améliorer la précision et l'étendue des données foncières à Madagascar et à identifier les opportunités d'améliorer l'accès du public à toutes les formes d'informations foncières.

This report on the land data ecosystem in Madagascar is the first step towards providing a baseline and diagnostic tool to inform conversations around land and data governance. It aims to complement existing initiatives to improve the accuracy and extent of land data in Madagascar and identify opportunities to improve public access to all forms of land information.

Ce rapport sur l’écosystème des données foncières à Madagascar est la première étape vers la fourniture d’une base de référence et d’un outil de diagnostic pour informer les conversations autour de la gouvernance foncière et des données. Il vise à compléter les initiatives existantes pour améliorer la précision et l’étendue des données foncières à Madagascar et à identifier les opportunités d’améliorer l’accès du public à toutes les formes d’informations foncières.

This State of Land Information (SOLI) report is an analysis of the current state of land data in Botswana, assessing the availability of land information and the compliance of this information with open data standards. 

The aim of this report is to serve as a diagnostic for the land information ecosystem in Botswana and enable targeted interventions for improved information management.

The Global Programme 'Responsible Land Policy' (GPRLP) is part of the Special Initiative 'One World, No Hunger' of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), which aims to reduce extreme poverty and hunger.