IFAD/GTZ Forum on Institutional Transformation

May 20-21:  Berlin, Germany

Day 2

Policy Segment on "A Road Map for Cooperation" - by International Land Coalition

" Our view is that access to land, as access to resources more broadly, is not so much a technical matter as it is a social and political challenge.  Access to land touches upon fundamental inequalities in rural communities.  As such the land issue is often mired in conflicts.   A road map for cooperation is an opportunity to work together both strategically and operationally to:

1. Improve our conceptual understanding by supporting the replication and up scaling of CSO experiences;

2. Create new political spaces within countries for an inclusive process for policy development and operational decision making - meaning to create platforms for dialogue and negotiation;

3. Strengthen the institutions of the poor and those that can help the poor to mediate their access to resources;

4. Support conflict mediation and arbitration processes;

5. Ensure that Women's access to land is given particular attention;

6. Recognise the role of formal and informal systems of tenure security respecting that neo-liberal models and market-mechanisms are neither appropriate nor the panacea in many contexts.

These are some of the areas where a roadmap can create synergy.  They can resonate well with the other dimensions of required access by the poor to water, finance, technology and decentralised decision-making. "

Bruce H. Moore
Coordinator