Expert Workshop on Land Tenure for Drylands Development: 28 Feb– 2 March 2005, Nairobi Kenya
Executive summary
Background and Objectives of the workshop
The idea for a workshop ‘Land Tenure for Drylands Development' originated with a network of organizations which work in dry and drought-prone areas, the Global Drylands Imperative (see March 2004 issue of the International Institute for Environment & Development's publication Haramata). This group identified a number of key issues facing land users in the typically marginalized dry areas of developing countries. UNDPs Drylands Development Centre (UNDP-DDC) subsequently commissioned a state-of-the-art review of issues of land tenure in drylands worldwide, which highlighted a number of policy, governance and legislative challenges. This review was presented at Side Events at the Conference of the Parties of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification last August, and at the 10 year review of land tenure in the context of decentralization in the Sahel.
The initial partnership to emerge from this process linked UNDP, with its worldwide Country Office presence and access to policy makers, with the cutting-edge property rights research coming out of the collective action and property rights system-wide initiative (CAPRi ) of the International Agricultural Research Centres (CGIAR), and the worldwide network of actors interested in land issues known as the International Land Coalition, a unique institutional space which brings together international agencies, governments and NGO's. This expert consultation is a joint effort of these three organizations.
Objectives
- Debate the specificity of land tenure theory as it relates to the nature and requirements of dryland livelihood systems.
- Identify key issues related to resource access for development in dryland / drought-prone socio-ecological systems, which are often characterized by multi-user and/or ‘common property’ arrangements.
- Identify elements of a decentralized program on land tenure for drylands development, involving interested parties from the workshop and others.
- Map out potential partners and their relationships, modalities of interaction and institutionalization of those relationships.
- Identify promising sources of resources for such a program.
- Strategize on how to best influence policy by opening up the policy debate on land tenure amongst both donors and government about "one size fits all" solutions and excessively narrow definitions of the purpose, nature and modalities of land tenure policy and practice, resulting in policies which may be inappropriate to drylands livelihood systems
Day 1 (28 February, 2005)
Official Opening Prof. Okoth-Ogendo (Download)
Keynote Address: Resource Access and Development Policy in Africa Ben Cousins, PLAAS (Download Presentation)
Discussions and Comments (Download)
Session 1
The Drylands Challenge Challenges of Land Tenure Reform in the Drylands. Eric Patrick, UNDP DDC (Download Presentation) and (Download Drylands Challenge Paper)
Panel Discussion: Responses from practitioners (Download)
Questions/ Discussions (Download)
Session Two
Appropriate Tenure for Drylands:Findings from Studies and Emerging Issues Nancy McCarthy and Esther Mwangi, CGIAR Systemwide Program on Collective Action and Property Rights (CAPRi) (Dowload Presentation 1) and (Dowload Presentation 2)
Questions/ Discussion (Download)
Session Three
Development Partners' Land Tenure Policies & Programmes Presentation of the Review of Donor Policies Bruce Moore and Michael Kirk (Download Presenatation 1) and (Download Presentation 2)
Panel Discussion: Responses and highlights of programmes (Download)
Questions / Discussion (Download)
Day 2 (1st March, 2005)
Session Four
Regional Experiences and Innovations:
Issues, Policies and Processes (Download)
Questions/ Discussion (Download)
Session Five
Preserving tenure niches in dryland areas
The Common Platform on Access to Land Jing de la Rosa, International Land Coalition (Download Presentation)
Panel: Responses with regard to the special needs of: (Download)
Working Groups
WG1 – Drylands Tenure Policy (Ruth Meinzen-Dick, IFPRI)
What are the contents and essential elements of Drylands Tenure Policies?
Discussion/ Recommendations (Download)
WG2 – Strategies for Implementing Drylands Policy (Philip Dobie, UNDP-DDC)
What can we learn from Drylands experience?
Discussion/ Recommendations (Download)
WG3 –Land policy dialogue and participation (Jing de la Rosa, ILC)
Discussion/ Recommendations (Download)
WG4 – Scaling-up, Replication and Innovations (Brent Swallow, ICRAF)
Discussion/ Recommendations (Download)
Plenary: Report of Working Groups
Day 3 (2nd March, 2005)
Plenary: Challenges and Opportunities and The Way Forward
- Have we come to terms with what might be a changing paradigm? what is the purpose of land reform? to respond to past injustices or current issues? to what extent is land tenure reform needed to change conditions so we can achieve goals which everyone wants?
- What might these groups of actors take on as roles?
What is capacity of these groups to contribute – both individuals and groups?
- Civil society and land users were emphasizing the need for leadership of the people living in the drylands.
Working Groups: What's next?
What do each of the following need to do to promote appropriate land tenure policies for the drylands?
Questions/ Discussions (Download)
Announcement of Networking & E-Conference Follow-up Opportunity Kunga Ngece, on behalf of FRAME (Download Presentation)
Closing by UNDP (Philip Dobie, Director)
