Formalisation of land rights: Some empirical evidence from Mali, Niger and South Africa

Benjaminsen, Tor A.; Holden, Stein T.; Lund, Christian; Sjaastad, Espen

doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2008.07.003

Cited by 149 publications

(111 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…One school of thought argues that a clear demand for accessible and affordable processes of land formalization is emerging anyway. For example, Benjaminsen et al (2008) point out that in the peri-urban areas of the cotton zone in Mali, private and alienable land holdings are fast replacing the customary tenure system. This growing demand for titled land is significantly driven by rapid population growth and the commercialization of agriculture.…”

Section: The Land Formalization Debatementioning

confidence: 99%

Unlocking Land Markets and Infrastructure Provision

Bah

Faye

Geh

2018

Housing Market Dynamics in Africa

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This chapter focuses on the challenges and opportunities related to the provision of land and infrastructure for affordable housing. It drills down on three key challenges impeding the supply of affordable housing in Africa: poor land governance and weak management systems; the multiplicity of conflicting land tenure regimes; and the rapid growth of low-density, informal residential developments, leading to urban sprawl in peri-urban areas. The chapter also argues that the provision of basic infrastructure, especially transport infrastructure, not only shapes cities, but is also an important determinant of housing affordability, particularly for low-income families.

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Section: The Land Formalization Debatementioning

confidence: 99%

Unlocking Land Markets and Infrastructure Provision

Bah

Faye

Geh

2018

Housing Market Dynamics in Africa

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“…Many SSA governments have committed to land tenure transformation as a policy goal [22,[32][33][34]. Most policy documents and official reports have depicted pastoralists as unable to manage communal resources in a rational way, thus providing a strong justification for privatising communal pastures and controlling pastoralists' movement, stocking rates and access [35,36].…”

Section: Pastoralism and Land Tenure Discourse In Sub-saharan Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

Pastoralism and Land Tenure Transformation in Sub-Saharan Africa: Conflicting Policies and Priorities in Ngamiland, Botswana

Basupi¹,

Quinn²,

Dougill³

2017

Land

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Abstract:In dryland Africa, access to land and water resources are central to pastoral livelihood activities. Policy intervention in these regions represents the outcome of concerted post-independence processes in which countries have committed to land tenure transformation as a policy objective. This was meant to create private, liberal property rights to replace communal customary tenure systems which were considered to be a constraint to development. Despite these efforts, decades of scientific research indicate that countries are still struggling to meet environmental sustainability objectives. Land degradation where it existed has not been halted and traditional pastoral livelihoods have been disrupted. The overall evidence base for policymaking remains weak as deficiencies in data or information on which management decisions were based led to poor policy performance. In a bid to strengthen understanding in this area, this study has a dual aim: 1. Using a systematic review of the literature, we examine the impact of land tenure transformation in pastoral areas in sub-Saharan Africa; 2. We analyse user-perspectives on land tenure transformation and pastoralists' rights in Ngamiland, Botswana, so as to draw out the salient issues that must be addressed in order to reconcile pastoral tenure conflicts and land management in sub-Saharan Africa.Results from meta-analysis and case study show that land tenure transformation policies across pastoral areas are subject to similar challenges and consequences. Protecting pastoral land rights requires deliberate policy interventions that recognise pastoralism as a productive and efficient use of resources. Policymakers need to overcome anti-pastoral prejudice and focus on Sustainable Land Management goals. This entails establishing negotiated and flexible tenure frameworks that strengthen pastoralists' participation in decision-making arenas by working with pastoral communities on the basis of understanding their livelihood system.

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“…This perspective argues that property rights are embedded in social relationships shaped by asymmetric power, thus efforts to secure tenure may favor those social groups with a relative bargaining advantage and likely threaten more vulnerable groups [39]. In this view, formalization of tenure rights, in contexts of uneven power relationships and market asymmetries, would lead to increased conflict, which is associated with frontier occupation where more powerful groups, with greater political influence, might take advantage of the process [40].…”

Section: Land Appropriation Property Rights and Frontier Expansionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tenure Security and Land Appropriation under Changing Environmental Governance in Lowland Bolivia and Pará

Pacheco

Benatti

2015

Forests

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Appropriation of public lands associated with agricultural frontier expansion is a longstanding occurrence in the Amazon that has resulted in a highly skewed land-tenure structure in spite of recent state efforts to recognize tenure rights of indigenous people and smallholders living in or nearby forests. Growing concerns to reduce environmental impacts from agricultural development have motivated state governments to place greater attention on sustainable land management and forest conservation. This paper assesses the political and institutional conditions shaping tenure security and land appropriation in lowland Bolivia and the State of Pará in Brazil, and their links with environmental governance. The two cases show that clarifying and securing tenure rights is considered as the cornerstone for improving environmental governance. Thus, much attention has been given to the recognition of indigenous people and smallholder rights and to legalization of large-scale estates in agricultural frontiers, which have in turn influenced emerging conservation and environmental governance approaches. While policy frameworks share similar goals in the two cases, contrasting implementation approaches have been adopted: more agrarian in lowland Bolivia and more conservationist in the State of Pará.

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Formalisation of land rights: Some empirical evidence from Mali, Niger and South Africa

Cited by 149 publications

References 18 publications

Unlocking Land Markets and Infrastructure Provision

Unlocking Land Markets and Infrastructure Provision

Pastoralism and Land Tenure Transformation in Sub-Saharan Africa: Conflicting Policies and Priorities in Ngamiland, Botswana

Tenure Security and Land Appropriation under Changing Environmental Governance in Lowland Bolivia and Pará

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