Resource information
This book examines issues at the
forefront of the debate on land law reform, pays particular
attention to how reform options affect the poor and
disadvantaged, and recommends strategies for alleviating
poverty more effectively through land law reform. It reviews
the role of the World Bank in land law reform, examining
issues of process as well as substance. It also identifies
key challenges and directions, and stresses the need to
design law reforms in ways that suit diverse economic,
legal, and institutional environments. This book is a
contribution to comparative thinking on reform of the law
relating to land. It examines the implications for land law
reform in the broadening of development goals beyond growth
to include environmental protection, poverty eradication,
and achievement of gender equity, and it reviews a broad
range of experience in land law reform. After the
introductory chapter, chapter 2 examines how land law reform
is achieved through World Bank initiatives. It reviews steps
the Bank has taken to achieve comprehensive reforms of land
law in the context of natural resource management and land
reform programs and land administration projects. It also
analyzes lessons learned from various land law reform
processes. Chapter 3 addresses reform of rules affecting
women's access to and rights in land. The topic is one
in which broad recommendations are not necessarily easy due
to cultural and other norms governing women's rights
and freedoms regarding land. Chapter 4 examines how to
develop land markets while minimizing adverse effects and
enhancing positive impacts on the poor. Chapter 5 discusses
the importance of titling and registration of land rights,
reviews concepts that are supported by the Bank in many of
its land projects, and describes how titling and
registration can affect economic growth and the alleviation
of poverty. Chapter 7 deals with issues of equity and
poverty in the context of conservation and environmental
protection of farms and forests. It examines the role of
individual property rights, as well as the legal tools that
can be used to encourage conservation. The conclusion draws
together significant aspects from all the chapters that are
needed for effective land law reform.
