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We envision a world in which land governance systems, both formal and informal, are effective, accessible, and responsive for all. This is possible when land tenure and property rights are recognized as critical development issues and when the United States Government and its development partners demonstrate consistent attention and a firm commitment to supporting coordinated policies and programs that clarify and strengthen the land tenure and property rights of all members of society, enabling broad-based economic growth, gender equality, reduced incidence of conflicts, enhanced food security, improved resilience to climate change, and effective natural resource management.
Mission Statement
The USAID Land Tenure and Resource Management (LTRM) Office will lead the United States Government to realize international efforts—in accordance with the U.S. Government’s Land Governance Policy—to clarify and strengthen the land tenure and property rights of all members of society—individuals, groups and legal entities, including those individuals and groups that are often marginalized, and the LTRM Office will help ensure that land governance systems are effective, accessible, and responsive. We will achieve this by testing innovative models for securing land tenure and property rights and disseminating best practice as it relates to securing land rights and improving resource governance within the USG and our development partners.
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Displaying 376 - 380 of 440Tenure and Global Climate Change: Vietnam
General
Globally, the impacts of climate change and society’s response are significantly affecting resource tenure governance, the rights of communities and people, and their livelihoods. In turn, resource tenure and property rights issues are widely recognized as crucial in the success of many climate change-related initiatives. Interventions that strengthen resource tenure and property rights governance can help reduce vulnerability; increase the resilience of people and ecosystems in the face of climate impacts; and promote resource use practices that achieve adaptation, mitigation, and development objectives. Using policy engagement, pilot interventions, in-depth case studies, and quantitative and qualitative analysis, the USAID Tenure and Global Climate Change project is advancing knowledge and practice on how land tenure and resource rights relate to global efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Building on lessons from USAID’s deep history in land tenure and property rights, TGCC project staff are supporting USAID missions to assess marine resource tenure systems and develop interventions that lead to achievement of biodiversity conservation, climate change adaptation, and resource productivity objectives. The governance of marine resources affects the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people globally. The application of secure tenure and property rights to coastal and marine systems has the potential to strengthen programming and build the resilience of the people and institutions who rely on these resources. Within this coastal ecosystem, mangrove forests hold immense carbon stocks and face unique threats as they often have ambiguous and overlapping governance regimes among communities, government agencies and private sector actors. TGCC is supporting resource tenure analyses of mangrove systems alongside the development of pilot intervention activities in Vietnam.
Pilot on Responsible Land-Based Investments
General
Under the Evaluation, Research and Communications (ERC) project, USAID is collaborating with the private sector to road-test investment guidance such as the New Alliance’s Analytical Framework for Responsible Land-Based Investments in African Agriculture. The Responsible Land-Based Investment Pilot supports the efforts of several investors to improve corporate due diligence processes, community consultation and grievance mechanisms while enhancing food security, environmental protection and human rights protections. This pilot is undertaken as part of the U.S. Government’s National Action Plan on Responsible Business Conduct and USAID’s overall efforts to promote responsible investment in the developing world. This pilot is designed to mitigate risks and reduce or eliminate harms associated with land-based investment in developing countries. By strengthening due diligence processes, USAID will help private sector investors identify possible risks associated with new or existing investments that may affect the land tenure and resource rights of local peoples and communities. The project will also support efforts to create effective grievance mechanisms so local people can air complaints and concerns related to land-based investments. Finally, the pilot project will create participatory processes to map and record land rights information for smallholders. These efforts are designed help create more inclusive processes that address various concerns related to land-based investing. Through this pilot project, USAID will document lessons learned and successes in order to improve the private sector’s engagement with local people and communities with the goal of increasing shared value and benefits. The pilot will produce a variety of material to share these lessons broadly.
Property Rights and Artisanal Diamond Development II: Central African Republic
General
The Property Rights and Artisanal Diamond Development II (PRADD II) Project supports the government of the Central African Republic (CAR) to implement mining best practices and promotes good governance of the mining sector at the international level through the Kimberley Process (KP), the international mechanism that strives to prevent rough diamonds from fueling conflict. The objective of PRADD II is to increase the number of alluvial diamonds entering the formal chain of custody, while improving the benefits accruing to diamond mining communities. PRADD II also promotes peace building through supporting the reestablishment of the legitimate conflict-free diamond supply chain in Kimberley Process-approved “compliant zones”. The anticipated result and aim is that rough diamond exports from these compliant zones will resume, thereby providing a legal export channel, reducing the role of illegal diamonds in fueling conflict, and contributing to economic reconstruction. In addition, it is hoped that social cohesion in diamond mining communities and adhesion of all diamond sector actors to the legitimate supply chain will be strengthened, contributing to long-term peace-building. ACHIEVEMENTS BUILDING GOVERNMENT CAPACITY PRADD II assisted the government with developing an operational framework for implementing the KP requirements. PRADD II is working closely with the CAR authorities to establish processes to address the Operational Framework in CAR’s five compliant zones. PRADD II coordinated the consolidation and input of diamond data for the period from 2006 to 2013 and handed the database over to the General Director of the Ministry of Mines, Energy and Hydrology and the KP Permanent Secretariat to help fulfill a key requirement of the Operational Framework conditions imposed by the (KP). In addition, PRADD II worked closely with the mining authorities to prepare reforms in the collection of diamond production and marketing data required of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) and procured e-tablets and GPS units for data collections and geo-referencing of artisanal diamond mining sites. These reforms have now been codified within the ministry and are the basis of decision making matrices spelling out for the first time how and when data should be collected. PRADD II has contributed to the establishment of the national and local Monitoring Committees required by the KP, but at the national level this structure remains weak due to governance challenges in CAR. ADVANCING SOCIAL COHESION A one-month long field diagnostic on the evolution of the artisanal diamond mining economy and its contributions to social cohesion was completed in mid-2016, and principle findings were presented at a workshop convened by the Ministry of Mines, Energy, and Hydrology. The influential study spells out ways to use traditional African conflict resolution approaches to help resolve outstanding disputes between ethnic and religious groups in diamond mining communities. Following this study, PRADD II is working with international non-governmental organizations specializing in conflict management to bring their focus and work to these diamond mining communities. STRENGTHENING THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY PRADD II partnered with an international research center to hold a workshop with 25 civil society organizations on the dynamics of the artisanal diamond economy within the broader mining sector. For the first time ever, civil society was actively solicited by the Ministry of Mines to learn more about the complex diamond economy and to play a constructive, informed, and active role in advocating transparency in the diamond mining sector.
Rwanda LAND Project
General
The LAND project is a five year program supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Its primary goal is strengthening the resilience of Rwandan citizens, communities and institutions and their ability to adapt to land-related economic, environmental and social changes. Resilience is defined as “the ability to withstand or recover from difficult conditions.” It also comprises the ability of human and ecological systems to recover from shocks or difficult changes, and to transform to a better condition by responding flexibly and creatively to stress factors. In Rwanda, land tends to be one of the primary assets citizens rely on to buffer against difficult conditions and rapid change. Land pressures in Rwanda are extremely high and land-related conflicts comprise 70-90% of disputes. The LAND Project works to improve the effectiveness of land dispute resolution, which is a critical component of building resilience. Objectives Increase capacity of local Rwandan institutions to generate high quality, evidence-based research on land-related issues that can be used by the Government, civil society organizations, and Rwandan citizens. Increase understanding of land laws, policies, regulations, and legal judgments on land-related issues by GOR officials, local civil society organizations, research institutes and citizens. Expected Outcomes Holding annual National Land Research Agenda workshops to establish the research priorities of land sector stakeholders that the LAND Project will support. These workshops will bring together multiple stakeholders from government, civil society and the research community; Supporting research on land-related issues through competitive awards to Rwandan research institutions, universities, and civil society organizations, and providing tailored capacity building assistance to improve research and advocacy capabilities; Offering training and other support to legal aid providers to enhance their capacity to support vulnerable populations in understanding and realizing their land rights; Supporting capacity building efforts targeting local mediation committees (abunzi) in order to improve their application of land laws and regulations and to strengthen their mediation skills; Developing a land-focused website to improve research, communications, and policy advocacy efforts that are focused on land, and to act as a vehicle for enhancing collaboration between actors working in the land sector; Strengthening cooperation between government institutions to enhance the provision of dispute resolution services to Rwandan citizens; Deepening skills of local universities to undertake empirical research on gender and land through partnerships with international universities; and Supporting innovative and coordinated communications approaches and public awareness campaigns that will enhance the knowledge of Rwandan citizens about research findings and their land rights.
Tanzania Policy Project
General
The Tanzania SERA project assists both the Government of the Republic of Tanzania (GoT) and the private sector to enable a broad‐based, sustainable transformation of the agricultural sector through policy reform. The vision for this project is twofold: to improve the policy and regulatory environment for agriculture growth and to build a group of public sector institutions, advocacy organizations, and individuals capable of performing rigorous policy analysis and advocating for policy reform. Objectives Working closely with other donors in the country, the SERA project is contributing analysis that will help inform the Government of Tanzania’s land policy, particularly the land for equity model. This analysis is meant to support the implementation of land policies that protect smallholder rights while also enabling domestic and foreign investment under Government agricultural initiatives such as the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT). Expected Outcomes A Land Allocation and Compensation Study will inform Tanzanian government officials, other decision makers and stakeholders of land allocation and compensation approaches being used in Africa and beyond. The study will include a review of existing laws governing allocation and compensation of land in selected African countries (including Tanzania), examples of the various types of land allocation and compensation approaches being used in the region, and a review of best practices and innovative approaches being used in Africa or in other regions. Best practices in land valuation in the Africa region will also be identified and discussed.