Land tenure in Namibia is regulated by a variety of Acts, some of which date back to as far as 1937, and some of which are

yet to be approved by Cabinet. This variety of Acts makes it difficult to evaluate the performance of land administration as a

whole, and the appropriateness of coercive instruments with regards to urban land tenure in particular. In this article we

evaluate how urban land tenure regularization practices are conducted in Namibia, and to compare new formal procedures,

The Flexible Land Tenure (FLT) system was developed by the Ministry of Lands and Resettlement and the discussions started in the period of 1992-1998. It was conceived as an alternative for the land tenure catering for low income groups. The act passed in 2012, and currently the regulations are being revised for approval.

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the Flexible Land Tenure System (FLTS) in

Namibia is in line with the Fit-For-Purpose (FFP) land administration approach which is

developed in order to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at national and

local level in developing countries by providing tenure security to poor people and creating

country-wide land recordation systems. The FFP approach is based on a Minimum Viable

Product focusing on the specific local tenure security needs, flexibility on survey accuracy,

Tenure risk – or the risk of dispute between investors and local people over land or natural resource claims – is endemic in emerging markets. There are hundreds of recorded incidents of tenure disputes creating delays, violence, project cancellation and even bankruptcy at a corporate level. These tenure disputes create lose-lose outcomes for investors, local people and national governments while robbing emerging markets of the developmental benefits of responsible land investments.

New research by the Quantifying Tenure Risk (QTR) initiative has revealed that land disputes can cause losses of up to $101 million across a range of agricultural projects in Africa, while at the same time causing significant harm and stress to local communities who have a claim to the land.

In response, the initiative has developed a new publicly available economic modelling tool to accurately determine the potential cost of a dispute in a bid to help companies avoid harmful investments. 

The Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT) set out internationally-accepted principles and standards for responsible practices, providing a framework for governments, the private sector and civil society to use when developing policies and programmes for improving food security.

The Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT) set out internationally-accepted principles and standards for responsible practices, providing a framework for governments, the private sector and civil society to use when developing policies and programmes for improving food security.

Les Directives Volontaires sur la Gouvernance Responsable des Régimes Fonciers applicables aux Terres, aux Pêches et aux Forêts dans le Contexte de la Sécurité Alimentaire Nationale (DVGF) ont défini des principes et des standards internationalement reconnus pour des pratiques responsables, fournissant un cadre aux gouvernements, au secteur privé et à la société civile à utiliser pour l’élaboration de politiques et de programmes visant à améliorer la sécurité alimentaire.

Les Directives Volontaires sur la Gouvernance Responsable des Régimes Fonciers applicables aux Terres, aux Pêches et aux Forêts dans le Contexte de la Sécurité Alimentaire Nationale (DVGF) ont défini des principes et des standards internationalement reconnus pour des pratiques responsables, fournissant un cadre aux gouvernements, au secteur privé et à la société civile à utiliser pour l’élaboration de politiques et de programmes visant à améliorer la sécurité alimentaire.