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Land Reform

Land reform is generally accepted to mean the redistribution and/or confirmation of rights in land for the benefit of the poor. It includes the reform of the arrangements under which people use, occupy and transact land. Land tenure reform may be essential if rights holders are to manage their land, invest in improvements and use it sustainably.

The scope of land reform is broad, embracing both urban and rural areas and the resolution of critical issues relating to the rights and responsibilities of land holders and the role of the state in administering the land.

Governments are encouraged to underwrite security of land tenure - a widely recognised public good - by providing the legal and institutional capacity needed for just, equitable and efficient land administration and, where necessary, intervening in the land market to facilitate necessary redistributive reforms. Redistributive land reform is inherently political and likely to be contested at the level of implementation and policy formulation.

Approaches to land reform vary from country to country, depending on history and culture, political and social traditions, the stage of economic development, land use, and so on. Despite these differences, certain issues recur: e.g. peri-urban land use conflicts; privatisation of communal land; insecurity of women's tenure; over-centralised land administration; corruption and arbitrary land acquisition and eviction; inadequate arrangements for land dispute resolution; and, in extreme cases, political conflict, civil war and humanitarian disasters. Appropriate and well-implemented land reform policies can make a difference.

Mokoro Experience

The Mokoro land team has been involved in land reform for several decades in North, East, Central and Southern Africa, in the Middle East, South and South-East Asia, the Caribbean and the South Pacific. We have worked in research and training, policy development, the drafting of land laws, the planning and implementation of land policies and legal reforms, institutional and capacity development, analysis of land-related revenues, and programme planning and evaluation. Our combined experience spans most aspects of land policy, land management and land administration, including urban, rural and peri-urban land issues, land dispute resolution, land issues for women, pastoralists and indigenous people, and community land management. We have a wide selection of clients in governments, aid agencies and international NGOs.