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Displaying 326 - 330 of 340Responsible Land Policy in Burkina Faso
General
Context Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the world. In 2019, it ranked 182nd out of 189 countries on the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI). 70% of the population lives in rural areas and is highly dependent on agriculture. However, almost no agricultural land is registered or legally recognized. This can threaten farmers' rights to use the land they cultivate and thus their entire livelihood. This situation is becoming increasingly problematic in the face of rising demand for land, caused not only by population growth, but also by the emergence of new players, such as agricultural investors, but also gold miners and real estate developers. With Law 034/2009 on "rural land tenure", Burkina Faso has created a legal framework that regulates the procedures for registering and securing land. Yet the bodies envisioned in this law, often do not exist or are not functional, especially at the communal and village level. Moreover, the population is often not sufficiently aware of the need to register and legalize their land rights. In addition, the traditional land tenure system disadvantages certain population groups, such as women, migrants and youth, and hampers their long-term access to land. This situation of insecurity and the resulting lack of prospects often makes it difficult for those groups to become self-reliant and inhibits investment.
Activities in Burkina Faso
In Burkina Faso, the project supports the political partners in the application of the law through the following fields of action: Field 1 works to strengthen the institutional framework and improve land security procedures in 8 municipalities in the South-West and Hauts-Bassins. Field of action 2 aims to involve civil society more in the implementation of responsible land policies and in the resolution of land conflicts. Through field 3, the project will raise the awareness of agricultural investors and other economic actors regarding the adoption of a responsible land policy.
An example from the field
In Burkina Faso, there are many cooperatives which produce and process agricultural products. These cooperatives are often made up of women. Especially women producers of cassava, which is processed into couscous (attiéké), benefit from this division of labor, where some members are responsible for production, others for processing and still others for marketing the product. These cooperatives usually work on land that men from their villages make available to them informally. However, this agricultural activity is accompanied by soil enrichment measures. Because of this enrichment, the land gains in value and is often taken over by the landowners after a few years of use by the women. Many women therefore regularly lose their production base. Law 034/2009 offers several solutions for such cases: Certificates of Rural Land Ownership (the most formal scheme), Certificates of Rights of Use (land loans, rental or lease agreements, permission for temporary access to land) or Land Charters, which set the conditions for land use by certain groups. In addition, the law also provides for the establishment of local bodies to settle such conflicts. Examples of this are the Land Commissions, which support the registration of land certificates, and the Land Conciliation Commissions. However, although these commissions often exist at the village level, their members are usually not aware of their role. The project therefore supports the commissions in better performing their tasks and sensitizes their members as well as the general public to the various possibilities offered by the law. It will also develop simplified templates for the various documents required. Finally, it will strengthen the capacities of civil society actors so that they can moderate land conflicts in their respective areas of activity.
Responsible Land Policy in Laos
General
With around 7.3 million inhabitants, Laos is relatively sparsely populated. The poverty rate in Laos continues to fall and is now around 18% according to the World Bank (2019). Over 70% of Laotians depend directly or indirectly on agriculture and forestry for their living. Almost half of all farming families rely on subsistence farming. To drive forward the country’s development, the Lao Government is investing in agriculture and forestry, mining, and hydropower. It frequently awards extensive concessions to investors from within Laos and from neighbouring countries, including Vietnam and China. Until now, the rural population has derived limited benefit from this practice. It has little if any involvement in socioeconomic planning and management, and it is rare for civil society organisations to represent the population’s interests. Local people are not familiar with the state structure that ensures their land rights and cannot afford the fees to secure a title to their land. Women are particularly vulnerable to discrimination when land ownership is formalised as a result of inadequate education and traditional role models. The same applies to poor households and ethnic minorities.
Activities in Laos
The institutional framework and procedures for securing land use and land ownership rights are improved. This is achieved, amongst other activities, through the development of legally compliant procedures for customary and collective tenure recognition. Planning processes, such as participatory land use planning in forest areas, have been strengthened among the authorities by established information sharing mechanisms and the participation of the local population in land use and agricultural land planning. Government authorities are trained to administer and guide investment in land in accordance with established legislation and recognised principles on responsible agriculture and forestry investment. Private agricultural and forestry investors’ awareness is raised and capacities strengthened to comply with national legislation and recognised principles for responsible investments in land. Local communities impacted by investment projects in land are informed and empowered through Targeted Awareness Raising mechanisms on land rights, usage of existing grievance mechanisms, and rights to participatory consultation, among others.
An example from the field
Till now, a large part of the Laotian population does not have formalized land rights. The authorities estimate that to date, around 1.5 million land titles have been issued, out of 3 million overall land plots. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is aiming to implement an efficient and comprehensive land registration process in Laos. The project focuses mainly on rural areas. Skilled local teams are surveying and registering individual and municipal areas of land. Data from systematic land registration is being fed into the national land registry system (Lao LandReg), which is embedded at ministerial level. The land registry system will then generate individual land titles automatically at decentralised level. Work is also under way to create the statutory framework for strengthening customary land tenure security in forest areas. Results The project already achieved the registration of over 23.000 private land parcels in three provinces (82% of those parcels are registered in the names of women or with conjugal ownership). Village land use and agriculture management plans were developed in 93 villages. Around 200 government partners (79 women) from different agencies at all levels and more than 20.000 villagers (49% women) in target districts have been trained in-depth on Targeted Awareness Raising (TAR) on land rights and rights on investment projects. Moreover, to date, more than 35 private investment projects adhere to the principles of international guidelines such as the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure (VGGT) and the Principles for Responsible Agricultural Investments (RAI), due to the support and guidance of the project.
Resources
Here on Landportal, the GPRLP shares its knowledge products, which come directly from the projects in the countries. These include good practices, impact stories, as well as manuals and guidebooks on topics like tenure security, dispute resolution and implementation strategies. You can find all our resources from Laos down below!
Responsible Land Policy in Benin
General
Benin has 12 million inhabitants (growing 2.8% yearly) and a population density of 105 inhabitants per km². A large part of the population – around 70% – earn their living from agriculture which accounts for one third of Benin’s Gross Domestic Product. Unfortunately, lack of knowledge of the land law hinders urgently needed investment in rural areas. Less than 2% of the farmed land is protected by land titles. And of those titles less than 1% are owned by women. The informal land use system is largely unable to cope with the growing pressure on agricultural land. Disputes between local smallholders and nomadic or settled pastoralists are very common. The challenges in Benin include the substantial disadvantage of women and marginalised groups, undocumented land transactions and land rights as well as a lack of knowledge of the law. At the same time, opportunities exist: the new land law of 2017 (fostering customary ownership rights), a proactive land policy and existing decentralized land services provide a basis for increasing land tenure security. The project uses these opportunities to improve the situation. Customary traditional rights are being formalised and the institutional framework is being strengthened to improve the chances of a fair and responsible land policy. Thereby, the project represents an important contribution to combating hunger and poverty in Benin.
Activities in Benin
The first field of activity aims to improve the institutional framework and processes for securing land use and ownership rights in the department of Borgou. In the second field of activity, the project aims to increase the involvement of civil society in formulating and implementing a responsible land policy. The third field of activity focuses on private agricultural investors and on raising their awareness of implementation of a responsible land policy as part of the G7 New Alliance initiative.
An example from the field
Benin passed legislation in 2017 to align the national land administration with international guidelines. The project supports the implementation by building both individual and institutional capacity. A core process is the recording of village residents land rights through either the rural land registry (Plan Foncier Rural, PFR) or through certificates of customary ownership (Attestation de Detention Coutumière, ADC). This is being achieved in cooperation with the National Agency for Domains and Land, as well as with local mayors, who are responsible for validating and signing the ADCs. Land rights are being registered, mapped and formalised, facilitating the issuing of official documents. After 4 years of implementation, the project succeeded in securing land rights for over 8,500 households. In 2016, only 1% of the titles belonged to women, whereas now, 28% of the titles are in the name of a female household member. More than 9,000 parcel plans (equalling a total of 140,000 ha) have been demarcated and registered.
The project also seeks agricultural investments to comply with international guidelines. In this regard, the project and its partners created a National Charter. The Charter is based on the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations and serves as a guideline for sensitization and commitment of all stakeholders.
Project structure and partners
Beside the two Ministries (MAEP - MEF), the project cooperates closely with non-state actors such as NGS and local authorities (e.g. intermunicipality of Borgou: ADECOB). Active synergies are developed with other German cooperation projects. Accompanying field research (with the World Bank) is carried out with a survey on the impact of the process in Borgou. Studies are also conducted in cooperation with the State University of Parakou.
Resources
Here on Landportal, the GPRLP shares its knowledge products, which come directly from the projects in the countries. These include good practices, impact stories, as well as manuals and guidebooks on topics like tenure security, dispute resolution and implementation strategies. You can find all our resources from Benin down below!
Responsible Land Policy in Ethiopia
General
Ethiopia is chronically food insecure and suffers significant food deficits each year. To tackle this challenge, the Government of Ethiopia strives to increase agricultural production, access to markets and employment opportunities. Investments in commercial agriculture are considered one of the key elements in advancing economic development and supporting the country in achieving food security. In the past, Ethiopia promoted foreign and domestic investment in large-scale farming and identified about 3 million hectares for commercial agricultural purposes. To facilitate economic development, the benefits of such investments need to be shared with local communities. However, achievements in this field remain limited and only a fraction of the land allocated was developed. Traditional land rights of local communities in rural areas remain inadequately documented and large-scale land allocations have often disregarded the rights of legitimate landowners. The struggle over resources between traditional landowners and investors led to a range of disputes and conflicts. The expectations of creating economic development and food security through large-scale land allocations for agriculture have not been met. In addition, government capacities on regulating investments and investor-community conflict management are limited. Agencies at all levels lack knowledge, structures and equipment to steer and monitor commercial agricultural land investments sufficiently. As a result, the rural population, and particularly women and marginalized groups, face great land tenure insecurity. To alleviate poverty and ensure food security in Ethiopia, it is thus essential to promote secure land tenure and responsible agricultural investments.
Activities in Ethiopia
The country module operates in three fields of activity:
- Improving Framework Conditions and Procedures: National and regional authorities in three regions will be sensitized and trained on institutional framework conditions and procedures to enhance land tenure security for the rural population.
- Strengthening the Civil Society: The civil society will be supported to contribute to the socio-political debate on responsible land policy through educational campaigns, training measures and awareness raising.
- Cooperation with the Private Sector: Private sector actors will be advised and capacitated in exchange fora with communities and trainings on effective land management, to deliver on environmental and social commitments.
An example from the field
The country module Ethiopia of the Global Project Responsible Land Policy is a continuation of the project “Support to Responsible Agricultural Investment” (S2RAI) implemented on behalf of the BMZ and with financial support from the European Union from March 2016 until June 2019 and thus capitalizes on previous lessons learned and products developed. Some of the main achievements include a digital land investment management and monitoring system (CAMiS), the development of contract templates, monitoring guidelines as well as the Guidelines for Social and Environmental Practices of Responsible Commercial Agriculture in Ethiopia (SECoP). Additionally, S2RAI supported the decision to redefine ceilings for agricultural investments from 1 million ha to 1,000 ha for domestic and 3,000 ha for foreign investors. Through strengthening of the organizational development of land institutions, awareness raising and capacity building the social and ecological performance of investors is now monitored. Both, the monitoring system as well as the SECoP guidelines have been taken up into the national strategy for commercial agriculture by the Ethiopian government. Furthermore, almost 80% of lease agreements have been reviewed. As a result, agreements covering about 70,000 ha were ended. In addition, investor-community dialogue fora, implemented by a local NGO, led to amicable land dispute resolutions and joint planning for the future. The project harmonized its efforts with other development interventions, such as thematically relevant GIZ projects and other donor projects in the context of land tenure, land use planning, land allocation and certification.
Responsible Land Policy in Madagascar
General
Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world and has about 24 million inhabitants. 65 % of the population are directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture and forestry, most of them working in subsistence agriculture (rice, maize and manioc). 70 % of the land is used for agriculture, including a high proportion of pastures, and only about 15 % of the land is still covered by forest. Deforestation and degradation of forest landscapes are some of the country's biggest environmental problems. Consequently, livelihoods and agricultural productivity in rural areas are increasingly endangered. As part of the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100), Madagascar has committed itself to restoring 4 million hectares of forest landscapes by 2030. This commitment is offset by a lack of clearly defined and formalised rights for land use and ownership, which inhibits the willingness to invest into forest restoration. Such an investment without a secured, long-term use perspective involves a high risk. Women and marginalised groups find it particularly difficult to assert their land use rights, as they generally know little about legal regulations and procedures and are thus unable to claim their rights.
Activities in Madagascar
The country module is active in three fields of activity: Activities in field 1 are improving the institutional framework and the processes for securing rights of use or ownership of land for the rural population in the Boeny region. Field of activity 2 ensures that the securing of land use and ownership rights for the local population is part of pilot measures to restore forest landscapes. In the third field of activity, the project aims to increase the involvement of the civil society, which is a main implementing partner, in formulating and implementing a responsible land policy concerning forest resources.
An example from the field
From a formal point of view, the legal situation in Madagascar since the land reform in 2005 presents a solid basis for smallholder farmers to formally register their land and obtain a land use certificate for it. The decentralised system provides for a competent authority (Guichet Foncier) in each municipality to issue these certificates. Reality shows, however, that in many places the issuance of land certificates is de facto impossible, as Guichet Fonciers have only been opened in 535 of Madagascar's 1693 municipalities, are often understaffed or not functional due to a lack of infrastructure. Moreover, the process of applying for the certificate and of proving land use is currently complicated and costly in many of the municipalities. The ProPFR project (Promotion d'une Politique Foncière Responsable – Promotion of a Responsible Land Policy) is therefore committed to improving and simplifying the procedure for obtaining a land certificate. In order to achieve this goal, a Land Inventory Protocol (LIP) procedure has been introduced, which allows the rural population in the pilot communities to participate in a systematic land inventory. Civil society and decentralised structures responsible for land law are jointly developing an efficient and transparent procedure for inventorying the parcels and are being supported in the process. As a result, LIPs are to be issued, which already bundle various information required for the application for a land use certificate. By doing so, multiple field surveys are to be avoided and the latest technology is to be used to make precise land surveys possible.
Results
More than 6,200 plots, including 3,400 assigned to women, covering an area of more than 23,600 ha have been inventoried. In the implementation of forest landscape restoration (FLR), 3 sites covering an area of more than 11,000 ha have been demarcated by the IPSS women's team. The 10 mayors of the project's communes were trained on land tenure and 53 state actors (45% women) received training on land tenure and territorial planning for sustainable development. In addition, 139 key actors (public sector, private sector, women, marginalised groups) were educated on the legal and regulatory framework for land. 20 trainers were taught how to provide legal assistance on land issues to target groups.