Land and Crises Experience, Lessons & Way

ForwardSuva, Fiji – December 2010

Land tenure- It is about the man-man-land (human-human-land) relationship (Bohannen). It is concerned with the individual, collective and societal interests in land and its resource content. It is about the relationships among individuals, and their behaviour relative to one another, in relation to their interests in land, to space units and to the resources they contain. A land tenure system does not have to be legal and/or contain real registered rights or be written and official (Fourie:1994).

Presentation Overview

• Why Are Land Issues Important?

• Can We Learn From Global Lessons?

• Systematizing Approaches

• Starting Points

• Going to Scale

Why Are Land Issues Important?

Perceived reluctance to address land issues as they are too complicated, too political or may:– Lead to conflict (new grievances when institutions fail or

when land issues manipulated)

– Prolong crisis (grievances, territorial control, dispute based on natural resources, customary systems)

– Delay recovery (lack of clarity re: land rights, economic capacity and social cohesion, “durable solutions”)

…but doing nothing achieves the same result, or worse.

Why Are Land Issues Important?Climate change will lead to a rise in sea level in coming decades with devastating impact:– 3,351 cities in low elevation coastal zones– Nearly 634 million people (10% of the global population) – 384 million people at risk mostly in developing world– Asia-Pacific alone will account for more than half of the most

vulnerable cities (LAC: 27%; Africa: 15%)

This will result in a “Land Crunch” as SLR pushes back coastal settlements while urban in-migration to peri-urban land pushes forward.

Why Are Land Issues Important?

• Unresolved land disputes are a key reason for continued humanitarian demand in: Peru, Haiti, Pakistan, Indonesia and Sri Lanka… (disaster related)

• …as well as: Colombia, Sudan, DRC, E. Timor, Liberia, Kenya,…(conflict related)

• …and Nepal, El Salvador, Guatemala, and some of the above (both disaster and conflict related)

All cases limit survivors capacity for self-determination; livelihoods; development gain;…ie. Sustainable Recovery…protecting these rights before crisis is the basis for prevention

Global Lessons – Learned

• Humanitarian Response Review (2005) identifies land as critical gap

• But major challenges exist– Limited technical capacity (post-disaster/conflict Govt

staff have out-of-date knowledge; small pool of int’l consultants)

– Poor coordination (global (regional) and national)

– Government (and donor) bias for technology and cadastral systems (yet globally, only 30% of land registered; ~3% of registered land in women’s name)

– Priority for humanitarian over transition– Land not a “Quick Impact” or visibility project

Global Lessons – Learned (cont…)

• While greater international willingness to engage, Governments still wary regarding outsiders support: (Political risk management critical; building credible partnerships essential)

• Solutions tend to be technical and piecemeal: (majority of the land challenges are in ‘off-register’ areas: customary land; informal settlements, need to map all vectors for dispute or grievance is essential)

• Need to adapt approach to suit context: (Land professionals vs social professionals; statutory vs. customary; community vs. government)

• Results at scale not possible without coordination: (Paris Declaration/HAC; Rome; One-UN; etc…)

• Much more work to be done to match demand for land expertise with supply: (Recognition that resolving land rights is critical to both sustainability and recovery has increased demand in both conflict and disaster affected states and drawn down existing expertise)

Systematizing Approach

• Understanding the vectors of displacement

• Understanding the context for long term solutions

• Building the response system

Understanding the vectors of displacement

• Climate change induced through SLR; Weather; Livelihood loss;…

• Geo-physical induced through Subsidence; Earthquake/tsunami;…

• Socially induced through Conflict; Political or Economic drivers;…

Understanding the context for long term solutions

• Who are the key actors?

• What are the key institutional players?

• What is the legal framework (over time)?

• What are the customary traditions governing tenure rights?

• Where are the key weaknesses?

• What are the primary entry points?

Building the response system

• Is a Land Sector Working Group possible?– National/Regional interlocuters including

agencies, institutions and donors;…

• Can a Land Sector Information System work?– Mapping the hazards; contexts; resources;…

• Where is capacity needed?– Skills; funding; policy; advocacy; people…

Starting Points: Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat – Key Lessons1

• Uncertainty and lack of clarity over aspects of customary land tenure such as the inheritance of rights to land, the land area of claims and decision-making rights, and their incompatibility with individual property rights requirements for commercial use underpins poor economic growth and local-level land-related conflicts.

• Customary land policy reforms should maintain and protect customary tenure of group ownership and individual use rights defined by social relations and customary laws.

• Customary land reform efforts and solutions should be based on the recognition that Pacific societies are in a state of flux, with changing needs, values and aspirations of people as a result of globalisation, modernisation and imperatives of the cash economy.

1 “Guiding Principles and Implementation Framework for Improving Access to Customary Land and Maintaining Social Harmony in the Pacific” 2008

Starting Points: Pacific Regional Framework for Action 2005-2015 – 6 point Plan• Governance - organizational, institutional, policy and

decision-making frameworks; • Knowledge, information, public awareness and

education; • Analysis and evaluation of hazards, vulnerabilities and

elements at risk; • Planning for effective preparedness, response and

recovery; • Effective, integrated and people-focused early warning

systems; • Reduction of underlying risk factors.

All critical elements of resilience building looking through a land lens

Starting Points: Samoa Tsunami Early Recovery Project – OHCHR Key Points• Not all customary systems defend individual (or family)

rights and interests evenly;• Alternate land resources not always an issue;• Authorities and international partners must be attentive

to the special assistance and protection rights of displaced children, women and men;

• Authorities have an obligation to assist and protect displaced persons until they no longer have difficulties or vulnerabilities related to having been displaced.

Ensuring a rights-based approach to housing, land and property for victims of crises is a fundamental entry point

Going to Scale

Country Support

Partner Networks

Knowledge Management

Coordination & Advocacy

Tool Development

Strengthened National, Regional and International

Capacity

• Promote (inter-) national experts rosters and south-south cooperation

• Capacity-building and training of partners including all actors

• Strengthen curriculum of professional networks (eg. surveyors, land administrators)

• Use the Global Land Tool Network

• Country profiles for ‘Hotspot’ or at-risk countries

• Case-studies and evaluation of ‘good (or bad) practice’

• New monitoring and evaluation frameworks for crisis-affected countries

• Linking knowledge producers with users

Partner Networks

Knowledge Management

• Translate and disseminate existing tools (guidelines & quick guides)

• Additional training material development (based on lessons & partner experience)

• See www.gltn.org; http://oneresponse.info;

• www.disasterassessment.org/ plus others…

• Establish Land Cluster as part of Humanitarian Response Review+5

• Convene Regional HAC on land and crisis-affected countries (Paris Declaration 2005)

• Mainstream land issues in DPKO, DPA, UN, (RPHT)?

Tool Development

Coordination & Advocacy

Thank you!