This report considers the human rights implications of the 'fast track' process of land redistribution in Zimbabwe, under which the government has revised the constitution and amended legislation in order to allow it to acquire commercial farms compulsorily and without compensation,…

Those who led southern African states to independence promised to redress the inequalities of settler colonialism by returning the land to the people. A generation later the rural poor are still waiting. Many lack access and full rights to agricultural land and, as developments in Zimbabwe and…

Tenure reform aims to secure people's land rights. In Southern Africa most so-called 'communal' land, reserved for Africans, is still held by the state. In these areas, land rights are increasingly insecure. Yet, the confirmation of the rights of those who have long occupied and…

Interim report on progress with Zimbabwe's fast track programme of land reform, with recommendations on future policy.Recommendations include: Moratorium on changes in existing laws and regulations until a comprehensive land policy can be developedA major effort is required to promote the…

There is widespread agreement on the need for land reform in Zimbabwe as a means ofreducing poverty. This paper assesses the potential consequences of a land-reformscheme that draws on proposals from Zimbabwe’s government in 1998 and 1999. Weanalyze the impact of the reform on resettled farm…

The proper alignment of authority and responsibility within and between various levels of social organization is a fundamental governance problem. This study uses a review approach to critically interrogate the political economy of the allocation of environmental jurisdictions between the state…

The desire for research to be policy relevant has caused many social science studies to have “engineering” dimensions. With respect to the engineering of property rights, economic approaches indicate that we require knowledge regarding the makeup of current property rights structures, how…

For much of the last century the Fengu people living near Bulawayo in Zimbabwe, have held title deeds to their land. In this report the chief of the Fengu explains how the title deeds have helped them, and how his people are responding to the current land redistribution programme in Zimbabwe.…

A cinco años de la Cumbre Mundial sobre la Alimentación, y a inicios del siglo XXI, El estado mundial de la agricultura y la alimentación reflexiona sobre algunos de los principales desafíos que plantea la erradicación mundial del hambre y la pobreza. Esta empresa puede ser temible, pero lo es…

In November 2000, the World Bank (WB) and the Brazilian Federation for Direct Planting into Crop Residue (FEBRAPDP) organized the third Study Tour on “Producer-Led Rural Organizations for Sustainable Land Management” (PRO-SLM), with particular emphasis on notillage systems (NT).1 The Study Tour…

Proceedings of the meeting including a summary of the resulting recommendations and the text of papers presented.