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| Author: |
The Global Drylands Initiative, 2003-04
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| Title: |
Challenge Paper: Land Tenure Reform and the Drylands |
| Publisher: |
UNDP Drylands Development Centre's Global Drylands Initiative, 26 pages
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| Type: |
Papers
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| Country / Region: |
Global
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| Categories: |
Legislation,
Drylands,
Land
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| Themes/Issues: |
Development,
Land Degradation,
Participation
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| Date Posted: |
2005-02-08 |
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Land is a critical productive asset on which many livelihoods depend, particularly in the developing world. For the poorest drylands populations, land degradation is a major factor that affects the ability to achieve food security and enhance livelihoods. Because drylands typically have low vegetation cover, they are particularly vulnerable to mismanagement which removes grasses, bushes and trees that protect the thin layer of fertile topsoil from the ravages of wind and waterborne erosion. Through poorly-managed intensification of land use, and deforestation, productive drylands can be degraded into unproductive land that cannot support agriculture, or sometimes not even pastoralism.
International attention to the related issues of land reform and land degradation occurs mainly in the context of the 1994 UN Convention to Combat Desertification. More recently, discussion of these issues has been re-invigorated following the recommendations of the world's governments at the 2002 World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The reversal of land degradation is vital for the livelihoods of poor peoples living in drylands, and also for the conservation of the world's biological resources. This task requires significant investments in human capital and resource management systems, including land reform efforts. The issue of land tenure, in particular, is highly relevant. Land tenure systems which impose unequal access to and control of resources for marginal populations can contribute to the degradation of dryland areas. And effective, secure access to land resources can provide an essential incentive for land users to invest in sustainable land use practices.
This paper begins with a brief introduction to land tenure, its complexities and challenges, the relationship to degradation in the drylands, and the international context. In Part 2, we look at land tenure reform - how is it seen and why is it undertaken? The issues raised can challenge the international community to live up to their commitments, especially as outlined in the UNCCD and other international legal instruments. Then, in Part 3, we provide a comparative overview, a survey, of land tenure systems in the drylands. In Part 4, we turn to the challenges and trends in land tenure reform projects. What has worked well in the drylands, and where have problems emerged? We outline land tenure reform, poverty and environment linkages and how they affect livelihoods in the drylands. To do this, we use on a collection of case studies from Central and Southern Asia, Central America and the Horn of Africa to illustrate current practices and legal frameworks used to achieve sustainable development goals and reduce poverty in different countries. In Part 5, we summarize the main opportunities and challenges in developing land reform policies in the context of combating desertification and drought, and in Part 6, offer ideas for Decision-Makers. The paper will focus on the need to rethink conventional wisdom on land tenure approaches and ask - how can we best respond to these challenges?
The Challenges:
Amongst the many important issues, a number of key challenges for policy-makers can be identified:
Challenge 1: How can we ensure that land tenure systems and land tenure reform processes are truly participatory, accessible, and transparent?
Challenge 2: What institutional structures can be established at local, national and international levels to support legal aspects of land tenure security and reform?
Challenge 3: How can national processes address the overlaps and contradictions between formal and informal, customary and modern land tenure systems, and ‘hybrid’ systems?
Challenge 4: How can rights to control over land of marginalized groups, including women, be promoted and protected?
Challenge 5: How can land tenure systems and land tenure reform processes take a holistic, comprehensive and co-ordinated view of the institutional and physical environment?
This paper raises many questions and challenges. There are few simple or straightforward answers. Without new energy and strong commitment to change, the future is grim for the economies of many developing countries and the people of the drylands. The more serious challenge facing policy-makers, academics, nongovernmental organizations and members of dryland communities is to engage in a sustained, inclusive, and honest process of dialogue.
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