AFRICAN UNION
Issues involving ownership and land
tenure policies in Africa
Land Policy Initiative
Briefing on rural development in Central Africa,
Access to land, the acquisition of land and rural development:
new issues, new opportunities Yaounde, 27-28 September 2010
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Placing the African land tenure
question in context
• Land is important for development in Africa: it is the basis of
– Agricultural production
– Stock rearing
• Apart from agriculture, the status of the land and access to land are
essential to the effectiveness of other development sectors in Africa
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Establishing industrial enterprises
Mining operations
Management of the environment and natural resources
Developing the tourist industry
Urban development, etc.
• And the land affects the general living standards of the population
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Peace and security in general
Food security
Health (access to medicinal plants)
It is an important element in a number of cultural and religious practices
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A pan-African Land Tenure
Initiative
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The establishment of an AUC – ECA – AfDB Consortium on land tenure
policies
Launch of the Initiative:
– Continental consultative workshop
– March 2006 (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)
– Results: Elements of an African land tenure concept; agreement on a Road Map
towards the development of an LDC (Local Development Centre)…
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2007– 2008: Regional studies/consultations in all regions (5)
– Regional studies/ Regional consultations with multiple players
– Main messages and recommendations according to each consultation
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Development of the LDC outline CLD: March 2009
– Group of major players responsible for drafting
– Experts’ consultative group
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Adoption of the LDC
– Meeting of experts/ African ministers responsible for land issues: (Addis Ababa,
April 2009)
– Summit of Heads of State (Sirte, Libya, July 2009): declaration by Heads of
State on African issues and challenges
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Regional Studies / Consultations
– Southern Africa, August 2007
• Consortium= AU; SADC Govt. of Namibia; UNDP; Rockefeller Foundation
– Eastern Africa, January 2008
• Consortium= AU; IGAD; Govt. of Rwanda; Rockefeller Foundation; IFAD
– Western Africa, April 2008
• Consortium= AU; ECOWAS; PICDCS [Permanent Inter-state Committee for
Drought Control in the Sahel]; Govt. of Burkina Faso; FAO; IFAD
– Central Africa, August 2008
• Consortium= AU; ECCAS; FAO
– Northern Africa, December 2008
• Consortium= AU; CENSAD
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Framework and Guidelines:
Justification/ Objectives of the LDC
• What the LDC is not
– A legally-binding framework
– A land tenure model for the States
– A tool for harmonising land tenure policy in Africa
• What the LCD wants to do:
– Urge all the States to make land tenure a priority for development and
governance
– Call for consensus on the need for fairness, productivity, governance
and sustainability
– Encourage/ support participatory/inclusive land tenure procedures
– Ensure that lessons (positive and negative) and best practice are
available to all
– Arrive at an African position on land tenure questions as they arise
– Establish a foundation for consolidating cooperation and partnership on
land tenure issues
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General Structure of the LDC
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General Context
Placing the land tenure question in context
Land tenure in the processes of development
Developing land tenure policies
Policy implementation: Follow-up on, and
assessment of, land tenure policies
6. Conclusion
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Land tenure problems to be
found throughout the continent
• Colonial legacy and multiplication of legal
systems
• State monopoly on land ownership
• Inefficient land management systems
• Insecure / uncertain land tenure systems
• Land tenure exclusions (women, etc.)
• Local land tenure conflicts/ nationalregional land tenure crises
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Regional characteristics
• Southern Africa
– Racially-based land tenure injustice
– Impact of HIV on land tenure
• Eastern Africa
– The region is attractive to direct foreign investment (tourism; agriculture,
etc.)
• Central Africa
– Land tenure problems associated with mining and forestry concessions
– Questions associated with indigenous locals
• Northern Africa
– Land broken up into excessively small holdings
– Growing competition for water
• Western Africa
– Regional Land tenure/ migration/ integration
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The nature of land tenure in
Africa
• Ownership is essentially customary
– Ownership based on the legitimacy of the group
– Joint ownership through lineage/ family
• Land ownership claims of the States
– In some cases the State claims a sole monopoly
– In most cases customary land rights are uncertain
and not documented
• Importance of secondary land tenure rights
– A range of secondary rights granted to work the land
(rights to crop; to pasture; forestry rights, etc.)
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Problems associated with land
ownership in Africa
• Formal ownership
– Not very common on the ground
– Complex and expensive management procedures
– Weak / corrupt land administration
• Customary ownership
– Deals with the basics of local land rights
– But generally not acknowledged / protected
– Local land institutions marginalised / with local
governance problems
– Unfair land ownership / exclusion problems (women,
etc.)
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Developing land tenure policies
• Designing land tenure policy in advance of
development
– Allowing the land to fully play its part in development
• Important that land tenure policy be taken over
at national level
• Inclusive / participatory processes essential
• Innovative local customary principles and local
practices can be used to shape land tenure
policy procedures
• Sound land tenure policies underpin political
stability and help consolidate peace
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Policy development: perception
• Land tenure policies must derive from a shared
perception, based on:
– The aspiration of the African people
– The commitments / objectives of the development of the States
• Perception offered by the LDC: that the States of Africa
should in an inclusive way develop land tenure policies
meeting the needs of all parties involved, contributing to
political stability, taking account of gender issues,
reducing conflict, favouring sustainable resource
management, guaranteeing sustainable human
development, and ensuring that all players are involved
in economic growth and that their standards of living
improve.
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Current situation with regard to
land tenure policy
• Poorly co-ordinated sector-based
approaches
• Low level of involvement of players (civil
society, private sector, etc.) in policy
design procedures
• Excessive dependence on funds providers
• Low level of powers at national levels, etc.
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Best practices identified in the
development procedure
• Upstream identification of problems to be solved
• All players involved
– Role of civil society and other players
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Information/Communication
Preparation of a clear / flexible road map
Support for informed public debate
Combination of legitimacy/ legality regarding
land tenure
• Design of local decentralised tools to supply
basic land tenure services at low cost.
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Policy implementation: lessons
from African experience
• Disappointing results at implementation level
– Policy and legislation highly ineffective
– Low level of resources allocated to implementation
– Civil society usually not involved in implementation
• All the measures needed to achieve the
objectives as set must be identified
– Information, communication, involvement of the
people
– Rights to be made secure
– Reorganisation of the land tenure system
– Institutional reform
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Policy implementation: lessons
from African experience
• Need for political involvement at the highest
level
– Objections of all kinds must be overcome
• Strict implementation strategies
– Action plan strategy / implementation
– The involvement of the various land tenure players
must be maintained
– Pilot actions to be initiated before a wider roll-out
• Decentralisation of implementation structures
– Supplemented by the decentralisation of the State
services
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Follow-up / assessment
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Why must land tenure policy be monitored and assessed?
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To learn the lessons of successes / setbacks
To allow for adjustments to be made in time
To ensure that the policies are effective
To capitalise on and spread best practices, etc.
Observation: Lack of experience and hesitation on the part of the States
Prospects for developing follow-up/assessment
– Follow-up and assessment to be incorporated as an aspect of land tenure policy
– Follow-up and assessment should be a matter for development and
implementation
– Participatory definition of national land tenure indicators …
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Tools available for use
– National/ regional land tenure oversight committees
– The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM)
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Need for partnerships/ exchange of experiences
– Towards a network of African follow-up and assessment experts in the field of
land tenure policies?
– The positive/ constructive role to be played by development partners
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Conclusion
• Clear land tenure policies are now essential for the land to become
a factor in development
• Land tenure policies must promote the acknowledgement of
customary land tenure systems
• Land tenure policies must promote local innovative / accessible land
tenure management mechanisms
• The LDC provides good lessons and best practices which the States
can take up
• The LDC must be made available to the regional Economic
Communities and the States to streamline the development,
implementation, follow-up and assessment of their land tenure
policies
• LPI implementation stage launch: 28 October, Lilongwe, Malawi
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