Land administration options for projects involving payments for carbon sequestration
Mitchell, David, Jaap Zevenbergen, Christiaan Lemmen & Paul van der Molen
This paper outlines the potential role and requirements for land administration in the context of payments for environmental services (PES) as part of climate change mitigation projects. The discussion covers the potential land issues on PES schemes operating in settings with legal pluralism and overlapping and conflicting claims and use of land, the land tenure information required for projects related to carbon sequestration, be it through reforestation, afforestation or preventing of deforestation or forest degradation, or even improved agricultural land use, and the land administration options available. The requirements for carbon accounting are discussed and three case studies are explored to consider how beneficiaries are determined and property rights recorded during the project implementation. A review of innovative land administration practices and tools is instructive in considering which approaches may be applied to PES projects. The discussion considers the range of alternatives available for recording and certifying property rights on private, state and communal land, including in situations where rights to land and other resources overlap spatially or temporarily, and where social tenures exist.
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