Increased global demand for land posits the need for well-designed country-level land policies to protect long-held rights, facilitate land access and address any constraints that land policy may pose for broader growth. While the implementation of land reforms can be a lengthy process, the need to swiftly identify key land policy challenges and devise responses that allow the monitoring of progress, in a way that minimizes conflicts and supports broader development goals, is clear. The Land Governance Assessment Framework (LGAF) makes a substantive contribution to the land sector by providing a quick and innovative tool to monitor land governance at the country level. The LGAF offers a comprehensive diagnostic tool that covers five main areas for policy intervention: Legal and institutional framework; Land use planning, management and taxation; Management of public land; Public provision of land information; and Dispute resolution and conflict management. The LGAF assesses these areas through a set of detailed indicators that are rated on a scale of pre-coded statements (from lack of good governance to good practice). While land governance can be highly technical in nature and tends to be addressed in a partial and sporadic manner, the LGAF posits a tool for a comprehensive assessment, taking into account the broad range of issues that land governance encompasses, while enabling those unfamiliar with land to grasp its full complexity. The LGAF will make it possible for policymakers to make sense of the technical levels of the land sector, benchmark governance, identify areas that require further attention and monitor progress. It is intended to assist countries in prioritizing reforms in the land sector by providing a holistic diagnostic review that can inform policy dialogue in a clear and targeted manner. In addition to presenting the LGAF tool, this book includes detailed case studies on its implementation in five selected countries: Peru, the Kyrgyz Republic, Ethiopia, Indonesia and Tanzania.

The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Issues in Expropriation reviews the contemporary major issues involving expropriation (eminent domain/compulsory purchase) in an international context. Expropriation is a right reserved to all governments, and, thus, it has an impact on all societies. This book, the first of its kind, considers the essential issues from the point of view of both developing and developed countries, and their needs for major infrastructure projects. The content covers major issues, principles and policies and includes the experiences of and examples from different countries and regions, including Australia, Asia, China, Europe, India and the USA. Rather than providing an in-depth examination of individual countries’ legal systems, the book focuses on international issues, and also provides a reflection on how national experiences can be related to global needs. Key themes include: Nature and quantum of compensation • Land rights and the acquisition of traditional land rights • Issues surrounding ‘public interest’ •Alternatives to expropriation •The future: “good practice”, debate and reform. This handbook is an essential resource for students and researchers in the areas of land policy, land law, property law and rights, and international development.

The impact of land tenure systems in developing countries on agricultural investment and productivity continues to be the subject of intense scrutiny. This paper looks at land policy reforms with emphasis on lessons from Africa south of the Sahara (SSA). Food security crises in developing countries in the past decades have revived the debate about whether land tenure systems constrain farmer innovation and investment in agriculture. Changes in tenure systems can potentially have major implications for agricultural transformation. This chapter summarizes the arguments about how best to provide land tenure security in SSA and reviews recent experience and evidence arising from innovative interventions, with implications for other developing regions as well. It is hoped that the experiences and topics analyzed here may also help Venezuela in the process of normalizing land tenure systems in that country.

This is a study of the nature of corruption in Ethiopia. It maps eight key sectors. The diagnostics strongly suggest that, in Ethiopia, corrupt practice in the delivery of basic services is potentially much lower than other low-income countries, but that there are emerging patterns in sector level corruption.

This publication deals with key issues in land tenure, especially as they relate to food insecurity and rural development situations. Land tenure issues are frequently ignored in rural development interventions, with often long-lasting, negative results. This guide is designed to assist technical officers in governments and civil society in understanding why and how land tenure issues should be considered in rural development projects. It analyses important contexts such as environmental degradation, gender discrimination, and conflicts, where land tenure is currently of critical concern.

"This book offers conceptual and empirical studies of land governance, focusing on land management approaches, land policy issues, advances in pro-poor land tenure, and land-based gender concerns. Topics include "Creating new understandings," "Exploring alternative approaches for land management and land tenure," "Viewing vistas of tenure experiences across the globe," and "Stretching the gender perspectives""--

Through its presentation of a holistic view of land management for sustainable development, this text outlines basic principles of land administration applicable to all countries and their divergent needs.