Improved access to land and data is pivotal for the promotion of land governance reform as well as the fulfillment of human rights and sustainable development. With access to reliable data and information, informed decisions regarding land and property rights can take place.

As organizations working on food security, natural resources management and poverty eradication, we strongly encourage governments to keep the profile of land and natural resources high in the post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda document to be endorsed in September 2015. Secure and equitable land rights are an essential element of an Agenda that has the ambition to be people-centred and planet-sensitive.

Impact of an intervention by the Rwanda Initiative for Sustainable Development (RISD) in contributing to the implementation of pro-poor and equitable land policies. Through evidence-based awareness raising efforts, dialogue, advocacy and networking, RISD was able to influence policy implementation and promote the land rights of poor and vulnerable groups, including women. 

Contains background to land administration in Ghana; Laudato Si and land grabbing – the Ghanaian context; unmasking land grab – case studies; empowering communities to address land grabbing in Africa – lessons from Ghana; policy considerations and recommendations.

Contains introduction; background; the principle orientations of Praia; status of implementation of the Praia orientation in CILSS member states (Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Chad); land tenure situation of the underprivileged groups; management of land conflicts; implementation difficulties and lessons learned; overview of the land tenure situation in some coastal West African countries (Benin, Ghana, Togo); emerging land issues; towards regional charter on rural land in the Sahel and West Africa; appendices with summary table of the policies, legislations an

Contributes to the research gap on host country governance dynamics by synthesizing results and lessons from 38 case studies conducted in Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Zambia. It shows how and why large-scale farmland investments are often synonymous with displacement, dispossession, and environmental degradation and, thereby, highlights 7 outcome determinants that merit more explicit treatment in academic and policy discourse.

Publication features the key provisions on land governance in recent relevant international frameworks. Presents where new issues or themes appeared, issues that have gained additional support and those that have received less attention. Also highlights the particularities, strengths and potential gaps of the individual frameworks, as well as their similarities, complementarities and differences. Emphasizes the critical role of land governance in the realization of human rights, enjoyment of secure land rights and in the overall achievement of sustainable development objectives.

This workshop brought together 75 practitioners from all over Africa. This regional survey covers tenure problems in West Africa, state policy and the problem of tenure security, pilot land use management schemes, and future issues and prospects.

Discusses agricultural investments in Mali. Analyses national trends in investment flows and patterns; assesses the adequacy of the legal and institutional framework regulating land and investment; and examines two examples of more inclusive investments. Findings provide ground for concern as to the preparedness of national frameworks to ensure that investment pursues sustainable development goals. Also provide insights on the potential and challenges of making more inclusive investment models work in practice.

In Liberia it is estimated that around half the country’s land mass has been promised to foreign companies and investors. From 2009-11 the Sustainable Development Institute and NAMATI embarked on an action research project to support rural communities to protect, document, and manage their customary lands and natural resources. Drawing from lessons learned in the field, they sought to bring the voices and realities from rural Liberia to influential policymakers.

The author formerly worked for the regional organisation ZERO. This regional survey covers a number of sustainable development issues and future challenges for Southern Africa.

Contains editors’ introduction, papers on Africa, Rwanda, Senegal, findings of 5 working groups, summary of conclusions.