By Peter Giampaoli, Climate Change Specialist, Land Tenure and Property Rights Division, USAID. Clear, secure rights to manage and use forests are an important aspect of sustaining traditions and economic opportunities. Although this web site often discusses property rights in the context of developing countries, insecure title and undocumented land rights can undermine smallholder ownership in the United States as well.

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”.

Here's a nicely done, interesting, and largely on-point, article from the Irish Times about the need to give Chinese farmers more secure rights to land.

Tim Fella, Land Tenure and Conflict Advisor - USAID, moderating the panel discussion.

By Dr. Gregory Myers, USAID Division Chief, Land Tenure and Property Rights On July 30, I had the pleasure of joining Landesa President Tim Hanstad at Global Washington in Seattle for a rich discussion of the Global Farms Race: Implications of Food Security, Poverty, and Foreign Investment. At the heart of this conversation are the rights of communities and individuals to decide for themselves how to use and profit from land. Do they possess clear and documented land and resource rights? Who has the power to make decisions?

This research paper from USAID calls attention to the challenges faced by vulnerable populations with respect to land. The paper identifies five vulnerable groups who have weak claims on land rights and are particularly vulnerable to changes in land tenure systems and property rights reform:
Women
Households that have been directly affected by HIV/AIDS
Pastoralist communities
Indigenous populations

Ms. Fayzinisso Ashurova and her five children were unjustly evicted from their home after her husband passed away. The USAID Land Reform Project took Fayzinisso’s case to the Supreme Court, which decided in her favor.
In Tajikistan, as in many developing countries, a range of cultural, social, and political factors combined with a lack of awareness regarding legal issues prevent women from enjoying their rights to land and property, often subjecting them to unjust and sometimes fraudulent practices.

Guest Commentary by Provash Budden, Mercy Corps' Colombia Country Director.

The vast majority of Liberian citizens – those living in rural communities – are on a path toward having customary land ownership rights recognized for the first time in Liberia’s history. A major milestone in Liberia’s lengthy land tenure reform process was reached on May 21 when the Liberian Land Commission presented President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf with the country’s first-ever Land Rights Policy, which defines Public Land, Government Land, Customary Land, and Private Land, as well as Protected Areas that will be conserved for the benefit of all Liberians.

According to a recent NPR article, lead poisoning from illegal gold mining has killed more than 400 children in northern Nigeria. Thousands more children have been left sick and mentally stunted.

The 2014 World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty will take place at the World Bank Headquarters in Washington, D.C. on March 24 - 27, 2014. The theme of the 15th annual conference is "Integrating Land Governance into the Post-2015 Agenda: Harnessing Synergies for Implementation and Monitoring Impact.”

This newly-revised research paper from USAID discusses the key issues, opportunities, and recommendations for strengthening the land and resource rights of Indigenous Peoples (IP). Despite occupying 20 percent of the world’s territory, IP often have weak claims on land and resource rights – which are frequently challenged by rising demand for land, increasing population pressure, and global climate change - and are among the most vulnerable groups in the world. IP comprise one-third of the world’s poor and live an average of 20 years less than the nonindigenous population.