Capitalization by formalization? – Challenging the current paradigm of land reforms

Löhr, Dirk

doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2012.01.001

Cited by 29 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…While the property rights theorists see private land titles as the natural and logical culmination of an ongoing process of rights individualization, de Soto sees state rights provision of titles as a necessary and desirable step in pushing the process of evolution along [5]. In brief, de Soto's agenda could be described with the words "capitalization by formalization" [6].…”

Section: Open Accessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A share of the differential rent may turn into an absolute rent if land gets so scarce that even marginal land can earn a rent. The theory about differential rents was originally created for agricultural land, but can be applied to any kind of land if certain modifications are made [6]. Neither differential rents nor absolute rents can be tackled by market entry of new actors or by an extension of supply of land (exception: more land conversion) and has therefore a semi-monopolistic character [16].…”

Section: Latin: Usus Fructusmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast, before making an improvement the investor also takes opportunity costs into account (e.g., the discount rate). Hence, whereas the benefits of land use changes (higher land rents) are reaped mostly privately, with the costs being borne to a large degree by the public [6].…”

Section: Latin: Usus Fructusmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because land cannot be reproduced and substituted arbitrarily, the opportunity costs of holding idle land are not borne by the landowner but externalized to society. In countries like Cambodia, the unused land is also often not leased out to needy farmers, because the owners are afraid that one day their property rights will be contested [6]. In such cases, legal protection would be difficult to obtain because of a weak legal system.…”

Section: Latin: Usus Fructusmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the contrary, formalization of capitalized land titles may even contribute to a higher inequality of land ownership [6]. Since 1989, when the privatization policy started, the inequality of land has risen continuously in Cambodia.…”

Section: Land Titling and Land Grabbingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Land Reforms and the Tragedy of the Anticommons—A Case Study from Cambodia

Löhr

2012

Sustainability

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Most of the land reforms of recent decades have followed an approach of "formalization and capitalization" of individual land titles (de Soto 2000). However, within the privatization agenda, benefits of unimproved land (such as land rents and value capture) are reaped privately by well-organized actors, whereas the costs of valorization (e.g., infrastructure) or opportunity costs of land use changes are shifted onto poorly organized groups. Consequences of capitalization and formalization include rent seeking and land grabbing. In developing countries, formal law often transpires to work in favor of the winners of the titling process and is opposed by the customary rights of the losers. This causes a lack of general acknowledgement of formalized law (which is made responsible for deprivation of livelihoods of vulnerable groups) and often leads to a clash of formal and customary norms. Countries may fall into a state of de facto anarchy and "de facto open access". Encroachment and destruction of natural resources may spread. A reframing of development policy is necessary in order to fight these aberrations. Examples and evidence are provided from Cambodia, which has many features in common with other countries in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa in this respect.

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Section: Open Accessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Latin: Usus Fructusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Latin: Usus Fructusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Latin: Usus Fructusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Land Titling and Land Grabbingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Land Reforms and the Tragedy of the Anticommons—A Case Study from Cambodia

Löhr

2012

Sustainability

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Distant political‐economic forces and global‐to‐local pathway to impacts on forests of Ejido landscapes across Yucatán, México

2019

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Indigenous community land tenure in many locations worldwide is shifting towards individually parcelized and privatized systems. Among the drivers of this shifting land tenure are distant political-economic forces and commodity markets, from local to global. Accompanying the observed land tenure changes are shifts in livelihoods, away from subsistence-based and toward market-oriented activities. These changes can ultimately impact land use, land cover, and biodiversity conservation. We investigated a global-to-local causal pathway, from agriculture, livestock, and forestry production for distant markets, extending through shifting land tenure and livelihoods, to impacts on forest cover within ejidos (a type of community landholding) across Yucatán, México, where Maya people are the primary land managers. To reveal this causal pathway, we conducted exploratory data analysis, using ordinary least squares regression, mapped variables, and variographic analyses to assess spatial patterns and correlations. We further explored relationships among variables using spatially explicit simultaneous autoregressive models. We found that commodity production for distant markets is strongly related to parcelized ejido lands, which in turn are often deforested. Conversely, community-managed lands, which traditionally involve subsistence-based agroforestry, are much more likely to be densely forested.Overall, we conclude that recent deforestation of ejido lands across the State is, at least partly, the result of shifting land tenure and livelihoods due to the increasing presence of commodity markets. Moreover, we conclude that community-managed lands and associated subsistence livelihoods can attenuate deforestation and potentially advance forest and biodiversity conservation across México and elsewhere.

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Participatory, Multi-Criteria Evaluation Methods as a Means to Increase the Legitimacy and Sustainability of Land Use Planning Processes. The Case of the Chaco Region in Salta, Argentina

Seghezzo

Venencia

Buliubasich

et al. 2016

Environmental Management

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Conflicts over land use and ownership are common in South America and generate frequent confrontations among indigenous peoples, small-scale farmers, and large-scale agricultural producers. We argue in this paper that an accurate identification of these conflicts, together with a participatory evaluation of their importance, will increase the social legitimacy of land use planning processes, rendering decision-making more sustainable in the long term. We describe here a participatory, multi-criteria conflict assessment model developed to identify, locate, and categorize land tenure and use conflicts. The model was applied to the case of the "Chaco" region of the province of Salta, in northwestern Argentina. Basic geographic, cadastral, and social information needed to apply the model was made spatially explicit on a Geographic Information System. Results illustrate the contrasting perceptions of different stakeholders (government officials, social and environmental non-governmental organizations, large-scale agricultural producers, and scholars) on the intensity of land use conflicts in the study area. These results can help better understand and address land tenure conflicts in areas with different cultures and conflicting social and enviornmental interests.

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Capitalization by formalization? – Challenging the current paradigm of land reforms

Cited by 29 publications

References 12 publications

Land Reforms and the Tragedy of the Anticommons—A Case Study from Cambodia

Land Reforms and the Tragedy of the Anticommons—A Case Study from Cambodia

Distant political‐economic forces and global‐to‐local pathway to impacts on forests of Ejido landscapes across Yucatán, México

Participatory, Multi-Criteria Evaluation Methods as a Means to Increase the Legitimacy and Sustainability of Land Use Planning Processes. The Case of the Chaco Region in Salta, Argentina

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