Perceptions of Customary Land Tenure Security in Western Province of Zambia

Abstract

This paper presents the empirical findings of a research study undertaken in the Western Province of Zambia. The principal objective was to explore if the issuance of land ownership certificates (LOCs) improves the customary landholders" perceptions of security of tenure. Thus, we test a null hypothesis that: "There are no significant differences in the perceived security of tenure between customary landholders with land ownership certificates and customary landholders without land ownership certificates". A survey was undertaken of customary landholders and land administration officials using structured in-depth interviews and group discussions. The research used a mix of qualitative and quantitative approaches where the views of customary landholders with certificates were compared with those with none based on a security of tenure assessment framework. It was revealed that the land ownership certificates (LOCs) provide the customary landholders with a perceived protection from losing land rights. However, the LOC does not improve other perceptions of customary landholders towards tenure security. In fact most of the perceptions of customary landholders with land ownership certificates are statistically not any different from the others. All customary landholders perceive their tenure as secured under the customary land administration in Western Province. The paper concludes by stating that the absence of a legal recognition renders the LOC insignificant in enhancing the perceived security of tenure. Legal recognition of the customary land administration system in Western Province of Zambia is therefore recommended.

Factors Associated with Household Food Security in Zambia

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“…Although there is more evidence that reflects the efforts of the Governmental organization and development sector organizations in the provision of water supply and sanitation services but less evidence on sustainability is available (Montgomery & Bartram, 2010). WASH as a concept in education is a strategic intervention towards providing schools with safe drinking water, improved hygiene, and sanitation facilities (Jain et al, 2019). The above-mentioned definition shows that the nature of WASH sustainability is a multicriteria and requires an integrated framework for its measurement and different factors and sub-factors must be known to assess the sustainability of WASH-related systems.…”

Integrating Urban Land Tenure Security in Health Determinants: The Design of Indicators for Measuring Land Tenure Security and Health Relationships in Developing Country Contexts

“…In fact, security of land tenure is more of a psychological variable that consists of both the states of thinking and feeling [ 20 , 28 , 29 , 30 ]. Thus, despite the legal projection of land tenure security, it is a matter of the state of mind of the landholder.…”

“…Most indicators of land tenure security are developed by international organizations or NGOs involved in the land sector where land tenure security is usually translated into few indicators and packaged into evaluation tools or frameworks [ 24 ]. Mention can be made of, including but not limited to, the USAID Land Tenure and Property Right Assessment Tools—a collection of instruments designed around the Land Tenure and Property Rights Matrix that can be used by USAID missions to expand upon land tenure and property rights themes in their respective countries and determine how these contribute to or impede development programming [ 72 ]; Property Rights Index (Prindex)—a global survey that collects data on rates of property documentation and perceptions of tenure security [ 73 ]; Global Land Indicators Initiative—a collaborative and inclusive process for developing Global Land Indicators [ 22 ]; World Bank Land Governance Assessment Framework—a diagnostic instrument to assess the state of land governance at the national or sub-national level [ 74 ]; and LANDex—a global land index that puts people at the center of land data, democratizing land monitoring, and building a data ecosystem where all voices can be heard [ 75 ] and a host of land tenure security indicators by individual researchers and scholars [ 20 , 21 , 24 , 76 ].…”

“…Whereas there exists a multitude of indicators for measuring land tenure security in contemporary literature [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ], none of these indicators to the best of our knowledge explicitly incorporates variables of health—a necessity for measuring the linkages between land tenure security and health. This is partly because there is a dichotomy on the conceptualization of what constitutes land tenure security and hence its measurement.…”