A new draft for National Land Policy recognizes and provides secure land tenure, particularly for women. The drafted policy also recognizes hunter gatherers and pastoralists and pledge to set aside lands for these categories – as special interests groups and legitimate land users. The new policy also proposes that non-citizens and foreign companies are not allowed to acquire village land through allocation, transmission and purchase or lease and aims to secure national mobility corridors and ensure security of land rights for pastoralists across village boundaries.

Women’s land rights was brought to the forefront in Tanzania's political agenda. Most recently, NES Tanzania and partners have launched Stand for her land Rights campaign which aims to enhance efforts to effect real change at the national, regional and community levels so that women across the country can access their equal rights to land. Through coordinated advocacy, members work on women’s rights and empowerment, food security, secure land tenure and indigenous rights. Together, their collective voice has the power to secure women’s land rights not just on paper, but in their daily lives.

The National Engagement Strategy in Tanzania is proud to have encouraged learning between communities and member organisations. Throughout the creation of knowledge hubs, it has become easier for communities to learn about the processes that work to secure land rights and scale them.

Land Rights in Tanzania

To prevent conflicts, encourage peace and protect community land rights, the International Land Coalition members in Tanzania set up the Tanzania National Engagement Strategy (NES) in 2016.

In 1991, the government of Tanzania established a Presidential Commission of enquiry into land matters. It was in charge of listening to land complaints, reviewing land policies, assessing land institutions and recommending changes. Its findings led to the development of the 1995 National Land Policy, which has been under review since 2016. The policy triggered the passing of two main land laws that regulate the governance of land in Tanzania today. They include: the Land Act No 4 and the Village Land Act No 5 both of 1999, which came into effect in 2001.

Both legal frameworks offer strong protection for community lands. In practice, however, the laws are yet to be very effective. For example, the Village Land Act encourages customary arrangements, which in some cases discriminate against women. Another example is that it takes a lot of time for villagers to obtain the Certificate of Customary Right of Occupancy (CCRO), the legal document that recognises village land rights. Inadequate implementation of the existing legislations, incomprehension of the legal texts, and in some cases overlapping roles of the government institutions dealing with land also further complicates governance.