Small scale landlords: research findings and recommendations
Small Scale Landlords make a significant contribution to the South African economy. They provide a range of accommodation types for approximately 15% of all South African households (1,85 million households). 60% of this stock (1,1 million households) comprises Household Rental including both formal and informal units located in backyards.
The economics and politics of land reforms in Malawi: a case study of the Community Based Rural Land Development Programme
It is estimated that up to 84% of Malawians earn their livelihoods directly from agriculture - it contributes over 90% to export earnings, 40% to GDP and accounts for 85% of total employment.
Agroforestry and Forestry in Sulawesi series: profitability and land use systems in South and Southeast Sulawesi
This profitability assessment is an early effort to generate baseline information for the Agroforestry and Forestry in Sulawesi: Linking Knowledge with Action project the ‘AgFor project’ , for implementation in two provinces, South Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi. The study collected information on existing farming systems and estimated profitability for each land use. The profitability indicators used in the study are: net present value NPV , equivalent annuity and return to labour.
Landlessness within the vicious cycle of poverty in Ugandan rural farm households: why and how it is born?
Rising poverty in rural Uganda is linked to increasing landlessness, as the latter drives land degradation and reduces agricultural productivity. This paper examines the complex relationship between owning land and poverty. It identifies effective strategies and land policy guidance to address this concern.
Who owns the world's land? A global baseline of formally recognized indigenous and community land rights
In recent years, there has been growing attention and effort towards securing the formal, legal recognition of land rights for Indigenous Peoples and local communities. Communities and Indigenous Peoples are estimated to hold as much as 65 percent of the world’s land area under customary systems, yet many governments formally recognize their rights to only a fraction of those lands. This gap—between what is held by communities and what is recognized by governments—is a major driver of conflict, disrupted investments, environmental degradation, climate change, and cultural extinction.
Land degradation, stocking rates and conservation policies in the communal rangelands of Botswana and Zimbabwe
This article suggests that communual rangeland management policies in Botswana and Zimbabwe are based on incorrect technical assumptions about the stability of semiarid rangelands, the nature of rangeland degradation, and the benefits of destocking. Consequently, inappropriate policies, stressing the need to destock and stabilise the rangelands, are pursued.Acknowledgement of the great instability but intrinsic resilience of rangeland would encourage the Governments to more favourable regard the opportunistic stocking strategies of the agro-pastoralists of the Communual Areas.
High-altitude rangelands and their interfaces in the Hindu Kush Himalayas
The interfaces between high-altitude rangelands and other ecosystems in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region such as forests, wetlands, and agricultural land are suffering from degradation, desertification, and soil erosion, which are further aggravated by climatic and anthropogenic factors. However, more information is needed on the ecological role of high-altitude rangelands and their interfaces as a basis for developing and implementing plans for conservation and sustainable management of these fragile ecosystems.
The new competition for land: Food, energy, and climate change
This paper discusses the competition for land resources and the issue of land-use change due to the rising demand for food and energy, specifically for the transport sector. The linkages between land, food, and energy become particularly complex within the context of climate change. This is not only because agriculture contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, but also because climate change itself can alter the productivity and availability of land.
Land tenure and violent conflict in Kenya
The violence which followed the contested December 2007 Kenyan election was, arguably, an opportunity for historical grievances to be settled. This paper focuses on the land issue in regards to Kenya, asserting that land is a primary cause of conflcit in the country as it has been the crux of economic, cultural and socio-economic change.
The land question and land reform in Southern Africa
This paper discusses the nature of the land problem in the region and tries to situate the general land reform process in Zimbabwe within a regional context.It examines the four key land problems facing the region the discriminatory and insecure forms of land tenure that are found among variouslandownership regimes the increasingly imbalanced landownership structures and factors underlying itthe contradictory tendencies towards irrational land-use patterns through both the over utilisation and underutilisation of land the devotion of most prime lands and resources to production for externa
Promoting sustainable land management through trade: examining the linkages between trade, livelihoods and sustainable land management in degraded areas
Drylands have potential for economic activity now markets are emerging for natural products such as aloe or gum Arabic. However it is difficult to take advantage of these opportunities because there is a lack of structure for this market. A regulatory framework providing an enabling environment for increasing investment in the sustainable use and management of land and natural resources would be beneficial.