Last week, the World Bank's 14th Annual Conference on Land and Poverty – which was sponsored by USAID along with several other organizations – brought together more than 800 participants from 90 countries, representing government, private sector, civil society, academia, and development partners. The large attendance from a diverse set of participants reinforces the increasing recognition that good land and resource governance is central to a variety of development objectives. The theme of this year’s conference was “Moving towards transparent land governance: Evidence-based next steps”.

Why are secure property rights and good land governance fundamental to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)? Earlier this month, a group of experts provided answers to this question – and worked to build support for a prominent role for land tenure security and property rights in a Post-2015 MDG framework - at a side event at the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS).

Last week, the United States hosted the 2012 Intercessional meetings of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS). The KPCS is a voluntary process that diamond producing and diamond buying countries agree to, in order to prevent ‘conflict diamonds’ from entering the market. Ambassador Milovanovic and the State Department serve as the chair for activities this year; however, USAID is playing a role due to the increasing emphasis on development as a critical component to successful implementation of the KPCS.

In June, Ethiopian State Minister of Agriculture Ato Sileshi Getahun joined USAID/Ethiopia Mission Director Dennis Weller, to officially launch the Land Administration to Nurture Development (LAND) project. The LAND project builds on the success of two previous USAID projects that supported the certification of rural land rights, the reform of federal and regional laws governing land administration and land use, and the strengthening of government capacity to administer these rights.

A recent USAID publication titled, The Global State of Agriculture, cites access to land as one reason why women farmers are less productive than men. Structures within the statutory and customary land tenure systems compounded by societal norms in many locations limit a woman's ability to secure land. Click the links below to see the infographic and a report outlining land tenure and property rights challenges for women.
To view the infographic, click here.
To read the full report linking Land Tenure, Property Rights and Gender Challenges, click here.

A new report from the World Bank suggests that Africa, which is home to half the world’s uncultivated land, can significantly reduce poverty, achieve rapid economic growth, and increase food security by improving land governance systems and strengthening land tenure and resource rights. “Land governance issues need to be front and center in Africa to maintain and better its surging growth and achieve its development promise,” says Frank Byamugisha, author of the report and lead land specialist in the World Bank’s Africa region.

The Communicator Awards is the leading international awards program honoring creative excellence for Communications Professionals. Founded by communication professionals over a decade ago, the Communicator Awards receives over 9,000 entries from companies and agencies of all sizes, making it one of the largest awards of its kind in the world.
PRADD Diamonds, Development and Property Rights Video Wins Award of Excellence!

This week marks the 10-year anniversary of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KP), an international certification process that regulates trade in rough diamonds in an effort to prevent conflict diamonds from entering the market and fueling rebel movement.

The PRRGP chief of party, Mark Freudenberger, attended the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) in Tel Aviv, Israel from June 21-24, 2010.
Property Rights and Artisanal Diamond Development Project (PRADD) COP Attends Kimberley Process Certification Scheme

On May 17, Liberian President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Ellen Johnson Sirleaf will discuss her administration’s goals, her perspective on land rights and land tenure security, and some of the challenges facing Liberia at a Thomson Reuters Newsmaker in Washington DC. A live stream of the event will be available at 2:30 p.m. EDT on May 17.

On April 19, USAID released its first-ever Water and Development Strategy: 2013-2018, which emphasizes how sustainable use of water is critical to save lives, promote sustainable development, and achieve humanitarian goals. USAID’s development of this water strategy highlights the importance of sustainable resource governance across a wide range of strategic development objectives. According to USAID Administrator Dr.

A guest post by Zemen Haddis Gebeyehu, Senior Agriculture Policy Advisor, USAID/Ethiopia