Increasingly, social capital, defined as shared norms, trust, and the horizontal and vertical social networks that facilitate coordination and cooperation for mutually beneficial collective action, is seen as an important asset upon which people rely to manage natural resources and resolve conflicts. This paper uses empirical data from households and community surveys and case studies, to examine the role, strengths, and limits of social capital in managing conflicts over the use and management of natural resources.

The need to establish the link between land tenure and food security is increasingly gaining currency as governments and development organizations refocus their effort towards assisting farmers to move away from subsistence farming to commercial agriculture. It is argued that given how land plays a crucial role in the livelihoods of most Africans, food security and poverty reduction cannot be achieved unless issues of access to land, security of tenure and the capacity to use land productively and in a sustainable manner are addressed.

In view of the lack of human resources with specific competencies in costumary land rights, within the past two decades FAO and various non-governmental organizations have developed materials and methodologies for the dissemination of the Land Law and the participatory delimitation of rural communities. Materials and methodologies were developed based on practical experience of several land projects implemented over a period of approximately 20 years.

AFRA Newsletter No.62

AFRA Newsletter no.63

Private investment is critical to Mozambique’s development strategy.
Investment can stimulate the rural economy by helping to modernize the
agriculture sector, provide rural employment, and establish new markets
and market linkages. Private investment can fund the development of

A law can be a powerful tool for poverty alleviation and rural development.
In most developing countries, a majority of the population lives in rural
areas. Most rural residents—and especially the poorest people—depend
on the land for their livelihoods and long-term social security. Laws that
give people access and secure rights to land and encourage investment in
the land can establish a foundation on which rural families can grow their
incomes and assets. Good land laws can help create an environment that

A law can be a powerful tool for poverty alleviation and rural development.
In most developing countries, a majority of the population lives in rural
areas. Most rural residents—and especially the poorest people—depend
on the land for their livelihoods and long-term social security. Laws that
give people access and secure rights to land and encourage investment in
the land can establish a foundation on which rural families can grow their
incomes and assets. Good land laws can help create an environment that

A law can be a powerful tool for poverty alleviation and rural development.
In most developing countries, a majority of the population lives in rural
areas. Most rural residents—and especially the poorest people—depend
on the land for their livelihoods and long-term social security. Laws that
give people access and secure rights to land and encourage investment in
the land can establish a foundation on which rural families can grow their
incomes and assets. Good land laws can help create an environment that

A Lei de Terras de Moçambique foi aprovada em Outubro de 1997 e é amplamente reconhecida como um passo político e legislativo inovador no contexto do continente africano. A lei tem como base a Política Nacional de Terras de 1995, que na sua declaração central, ou „mission statement’, oferece o esboço de uma estratégia de desenvolvimento rural onde a questão chave é como compartilhar os direitos sobre a terra entre ´o povo´ de um lado, e ´o investidor´, de outro:

Post-war Mozambique confronted the challenge of reforming land policy and legislation
with an innovative land law that protects customary rights while promoting investment
and development. Most rural households have customarily acquired land rights, now
legally equivalent to an official State land use right. When necessary, they can be proven
by analysing local land management and production systems, resulting in large areas

The main aim of this study was to assess, within the context of the Malonda Programme
in Niassa Province, the implementation of community consultations and negotiations as
well as the delimitation and demarcation of community land. These activities had been
carried out within the context of requests from several investors concerning the Right to
Use and Exploit Land (Portuguese acronym DUAT, Direito de Uso e Aproveitamento
de Terra), in order to create extensive commercial forest plantations in Niassa. The