Policies and practices for securing and improving access to land
Cotula, Lorenzo, Camilla Toulmin and Julian Quan
Executive summary.
This paper reviews recent policy and practice to secure access to land for poor people. It covers Africa, Latin America and Asia, while also referring to experience from Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. The paper examines shifting approaches to land reform, different means to secure land rights and achieve more equitable distribution, the vulnerability of particular groups to losing their land rights, and the need to address land rights when resolving conflict and building peace. It concludes with broad recommendations for practical measures to protect land rights for poorer, more vulnerable groups. Land is an asset of enormous importance for billions of rural dwellers in the developing world. The nature of rights and how strongly they are held vary greatly, depending on competition for land, the degree of market penetration and the broader institutional and political context. The picture is hugely diverse within and between countries and regions. Nevertheless, some general trends and common challenges can be identified. Although there are significant differences between and within countries, pressure on land is set to increase over future decades, given the impact of continued population growth, urbanization, globalization of markets and climate change. As a resource becomes scarcer and more valuable, those with weak rights to this resource tend to lose out. In the case of land, particular groups are more vulnerable to such dispossession, including the poor, those in peri-urban areas, indigenous people, women, those relying on common property resources, and those in areas of conflict. Addressing land access and tenure security for these groups is crucial for social justice, sustainable livelihoods, political stability and peaceful co-existence. Attention to securing land rights is also important for promoting rural development, as it helps create conditions that encourage local and foreign investment.
Event: A vision for the future : International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development
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