Provides an overview of key political, economic and strategic policy development options for the consolidation of land tenure policies and strengthened property rights and tenure security in Zimbabwe following land reform.

A critique of the CDE report, Land Reform in South Africa, which, the author claims, underestimates the potential of smallholder agriculture in a country with a large domestic market for food products. Far too much is claimed in the report for the private sector and agribusiness. Government needs new and better conceived policies. Insists that rural land reform remains an urgent priority for South Africa as does tenure reform in urban and peri-urban areas. There is need for an integrated rural and urban approach.

Report on a desktop study commissioned by FAO. Contains introduction; the context for land reform (the legacy of colonialism, women’s access, women in agriculture, HIV/AIDS and land reform); an overview of land reform issues and debates (policy issues, gender equity as a policy goal); land reform and women (case studies from Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Zimbabwe); conclusion (key findings and recommendations); synopsis of land policies by country.

Gives a brief overview on how the gender debate featured in the process of land reform in Tanzania and asks why socio-economic arguments have to be used by advocates of gender equitable land rights. Focuses on the Uluguru mountains and shows that the need for registration is rather a consequence of its possibility and not of deficiencies of tenure security within the customary system, and that informal access to land can be experienced as more secure than formal registration. Further argues that demand to use land as collateral is low and risk-awareness especially among women high.

Contains background to land administration in Ghana; Laudato Si and land grabbing – the Ghanaian context; unmasking land grab – case studies; empowering communities to address land grabbing in Africa – lessons from Ghana; policy considerations and recommendations.

Discusses controversies generated by recent South African legislation (the Communal Land Rights Act), shows how these echo debates in the wider African context, and explores potential solutions to reform of ‘customary’ land tenure regimes. Argues that the most appropriate approach to tenure reform is to make socially legitimate occupation and use rights the point of departure for both their recognition in law and for the design of institutional contexts for mediating competing claims and administering land.

Covers (1) Land as a source of conflict in Africa – the multi-dimensional nature of land issues; indirect causes of conflict, land access and structural poverty; interactions between customary and state-managed tenure systems; historical injustices and land disputes. (2) Land rights during conflict – population displacement; land as a sustaining factor in conflict; land rights of women, children and marginalized communities.

This policy brief is based on research that examines women’s security in the context of large-scale land deals in West Africa. It focuses on Northern Sierra Leone and the impact of biofuels investment projects in Port Loko district, recommending three key changes.

Includes the need for tenure reform; the draft CLRB does not provide appropriate solutions; learning from the African and the South African experiences; why titling is generally inappropriate and ineffective; the unintended consequences of titling programmes; why the draft Bill will not be able to be effectively implemented; the alternative to land titling – learning from new land tenure laws in Mozambique and Tanzania.

Asks why is it still so hard to know how many women have rights? Covers which rights?; what is ownership?; security of rights; land or people?; aggregate measures or nuanced details?; property rights within marriage; where to now?

Short (4-page) report on this workshop covering why a successful workshop?, why this workshop?, what were the main themes?, key issues raised in presentations, discussions and working groups, the follow up, website links to the full report of the workshop.

Covers common land rights challenges in Africa; history of land tenure in the Congo; land rights in the Third Republic – present-day DRC; forest legislation in DRC in context: the Congo Basin region; the development of the current forest legislation in DRC; how forests are viewed by policy makers: forests as sources of revenue; the role of civil society in forest sector debates; strategies for change used by Congolese civil society actors.