National Land Observatory Pilot: Burkina Faso

General

Under the Evaluation, Research and Communication (ERC) project, USAID is conducting a pilot project to support the initial start-up phase of a National Land Observatory (NLO) in Burkina Faso. The goal of the NLO is to strengthen Burkina Faso’s land governance and improve transparency in land transactions to promote greater consistency with the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests (VGs). The National Land Observatory pilot project will be launched in Burkina Faso with assistance from the MCA-Burkina Faso. Support will transition to USAID starting on August 1, 2014. The NLO will be responsible for monitoring of, and support to the land tenure reform process currently underway through research, policy assessment, and dialogue. It would cover both rural and urban tenure. The NLO will identify further legal, regulatory, procedural and operational adjustments and also provide a venue for sharing research results, tools developed and lessons learned from pilot land tenure interventions. The ultimate objective of this project is to create a sustainable organization that helps enhance the performance of land institutions in the country and to promote adherence to principles outlined in the VGs in the Context of National Food Security.