Survey on Land-Related Activities by International Agencies

In preparation for November 2005 workshop

"Land and Property Rights for African Development"

A review of international agency documents in February 2005 identified a number of policy tools that are proposed for land-related partnership activities. These include:

• Redistribution of state land
• Co-management of state land with communities
• Direct community management of common property or communal land
• Expropriation and compensation for redistribution of private land
• Negotiated land reform (targeting for specific land areas) between government, communities, peoples' organizations, and private interests
• Land ceilings
• Land taxes
• Market- or cash-based land transactions
• Subs id ies to poor for land to be purchased below market value
• Long-term land leases
• Titling and land registration
• Harmonization of laws and regulations
• Increasing implementing ca pa city of state agencies and civil society organizations
• Land literacy
• Rural credit and agricultural support services

1. Based on your work and experience, do you see involvement by international agencies in any of these areas? If so, which ones?

2. What kinds of involvement do international agencies have in these areas?

3. What approaches have international agencies taken in terms of developing land-related partnerships? How suitable are these approaches for the actual needs and context?

4. In your opinion, what have been strengths and weaknesses of approaches by international agencies in these areas?

Please send your response to Andrew Fuys at a.fuys@landcoalition.org by 30 September 2005.