This issue brief presents an overview of REDD+ and the associated tenure and property rights challenges and opportunities.
Spanish Translation
Release Date: Wednesday, April 17, 2013File:  Land Tenure and REDD+: Risks to Property Rights and Opportunities for Economic Growth

In both climate change adaptation and mitigation, contentious struggles for access and control of resources may turn violent unless stakeholders from the local to the international scale engage in open and transparent processes to negotiate new rules of access to land and other natural resources. Dispute resolution must go hand-in-hand with policies to restructure both statutory and customary tenure. National and international policy makers are beginning to explore the place of property rights and resource tenure in the discussions of climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies.

The first section of this issue brief reviews the largely under-recognized place of the ASM sector in national economies. Next, it describes briefly how ASM has been at the root of many resource conflicts in developing countries—particularly in west and central Africa. This is followed by a discussion of how the clarification of property rights contributes to the reduction of conflicts over mineral resources.

Broad-based economic growth is essential to sustainable, long-term development. It creates opportunities for raising living standards, provides countries with the resources to expand access to basic services and enable citizens to chart their own prosperous futures. Despite incredible progress that has reduced poverty and improved livelihoods around the world, global economic growth since 2008 has slowed and in some cases regressed. Today, three quarters of the world’s poor don’t have a bank account and access to capital remains a significant barrier throughout the developing world.

Insecure land tenure and property rights for women can contribute to the spread of HIV and to a weakened ability to cope with the consequences of AIDS. Land is a critical asset for the rural poor, and in most countries, men hold the rights to and control over land. As a result, women are often economically dependent on men, do not have secure fallback positions, and, therefore, have very little bargaining power.
Release Date: Monday, May 20, 2013File:  Land Tenure, Property Rights, and HIV/AIDS

The limited research on the benefits of women gaining secure rights to land and property suggest positive results: an increase in women’s participation in household decision-making; an increase in net household income; a reduction in domestic violence; an increased ability to prevent being infected by HIV/AIDS; and increased expenditures on food and education for children. Understanding the complexity surrounding women’s land rights is critical to ensuring that those rights are protected and improved.

In the first week of June, the International Land Coalition (ILC) coordinated a workshop to design a Rangelands Observatory, intended to link a network of organizations that will partner in an effort to collectively monitor land acquisitions in rangeland areas, and promote more participatory decision making in regards to land use.

Update on Land Administration and Policies in Asia/Pacific

A number of recent articles highlight the importance of strengthening property rights for Indigenous Populations (IP). In Botswana, the government’s attempts to relocate indigenous San (or Basarwa) populations continue to spark heated debate as well as lawsuits. In Nicaragua, indigenous communities are demanding action to halt illegal logging and encroachment by settlers. In Brazil, frustrated indigenous populations have stormed congress and occupied cattle ranches and dam sites.

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Karol Boudreaux has recently penned this article, Addressing Land Rights Can Make Social Change Possible for the Guardian. USAID is delighted to see an important foundation taking a public and carefully articulated stand on this vital development subject. Ms. Boudreaux correctly notes "The challenge is to expand people's opportunity to improve their lives by securing their property rights." This is indeed one of the most fundamental objectives in addressing challenges related to property rights.

Guest commentary by Kent Elbow, Independent Land Tenure and Property Rights Specialist.