land tenure

RW2-4-7 Final Draft

RWANDA LAND USE AND DEVELOPMENT MASTER PLAN

INVENTORY OF LAND TENURE CATEGORIES IN RWANDA

October 2009

Draft Report on the Inventory of Land Tenure Categories

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Table of Contents Summary ......................................................................................................................... 4 1 Situation Today........................................................................................................... 6

1.1 State Land ............................................................................................................. 9 1.2 District, Town and Municipality Land ............................................................... 9 1.3 Individual Ownership......................................................................................... 10

2 Findings ..................................................................................................................... 12 3 Way Forward ............................................................................................................ 17 4 Appendix.................................................................................................................... 20


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Abbreviations and Acronyms

DDP District Development Plans

EDPRS Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy

FAO Food and Agriculture Organization

GIS Geographical Information Systems

GOR Government of Rwanda

GPS Global Positioning Systems

IMCE Integrated Management of Critical Ecosystems

LTR Land Tenure Regularization

MINAGRI Ministry of Agriculture

MINALOC Ministry of Local Government

MININFRA Ministry of Infrastructure

MINIRENA Ministry of Natural Resources

NAFA National Forestry Authority

NISR National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda

NLC National Land Centre

NLP National Land Policy

NLTRP National Land Tenure Reform Programme

OLL Organic Land Law

PAFD Plan d’Aménagement Forestier de District

PAFOR Projet d’Appui A l’Aménagement Forestier Au Rwanda

REMA Rwanda Environment Management Authority

SRM Strategic Road Map


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Summary This inventory of different land tenure categories provides essential data and information to support management and decision making processes. It also contains feedback on management actions, and implementation of policies and frameworks to ensure that they deliver the information necessary for the decision makers. Attention has been focused on different land tenure categories with emphasis on state, district and individual properties by defining their location and size. To operationalise the objectives and provisions of the National Land Policy (NLP) and Organic Land Law (OLL), the Government of Rwanda decided to develop a National Land Use and Development Master Plan to guide the use and management of land in Rwanda towards efficient, effective and equitable use of the country’s natural resources. In executing it, Swedesurvey, is to carry out an inventory of different land tenure categories in Rwanda as provided for in the Organic Land Law. The objectives of the Land Use And Development Master Plan in general are to provide indications on realistic possibilities of land development, and to constitute useful tools for decision making for procedures and local administrators in the aim of adopting land use in their real aptitudes or potentials and plans for infrastructures and equipments to set up and develop in order to facilitate sustainable exploitation of land resources. The overall objective of the Plan is to bring a spatial dimension to the selection of strategic options in agricultural development, food security and land tenure security to enable potentials to be mapped, regional disparities to be seen and to guide development strategies at National and District level (TOR SDUTA).

Within efforts of this inventory as requested by its terms of reference, consultations with corresponding line institutions such as the National Land Center (NLC), National Forestry Authority (NAFA), Projet d’Appui Forestier au Rwanda (PAFOR), Ministry of Agriculture (MINAGRI), Ministry of infrastructure (MININFRA) and the District Authorities were carried out and different data banks pertaining to the inventory were visited. Specific reference was put on wetlands, lakes and rivers and forests, as well as both public and private ownerships. Secondary data was collected through consultation and analysis of specific documents such as the Organic Land Law, the Land Registration Order, the National Land Tenure Program and the District Development Plans. A field survey was conducted to carry out interviews with the District Land Officers, Agricultural Officers and officers in charge of Environment and Natural Resources whose responsibility fall under land use and management.

The inventory of land tenure categories covered the whole country, 30 districts and relevant government agencies, looking at state, district, and individual land, the general conclusion is that the state land public and private domain, such as wetlands, forests, public buildings is not recorded in any registry, whereas about 7, 500 parcels are registered under individual tenure. This may be compared to the 7.9 million parcels needed to be registered country wide in the Land Tenure Regularisation (LTR).


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Box 1- Terms of Reference for this Assignment.

3rd phase: inventory of different land tenure categories The organic law defines different land tenure categories in its articles 9-18. Which are:

1. State land (public and private) 2. District, Town and Municipality land(public and private) and City of Kigali

land 3. Individual land

An inventory and maps of these land tenure categories shall be created. These categories of lands shall be inventoried, measured and put on a map to allow decision makers to make good planning of relevant land resources.

Field consultations on land tenure in urban and rural settings reveal that land tenure reforms as envisaged under the OLL would guarantee land rights for vulnerable groups especially women. It will also facilitate buying and selling of land, which will create an active market economy for all land transactions, which is a key objective of the OLL, to make it easier to record land sales in a way that transfers land rights securely. The findings of the inventory of land tenure categories on public and private state land indicates that land tenure categories are virtually known by location, size and usage, but there is no registry or authentic document that show security of tenure for state and district land apart from a few individual or private land entities that hold title deeds. Land tenure categories in terms of percentile are, therefore, impossible to establish at present due to lack of records regarding registration of land parcels under the three tenure categories.

Plans have been prepared and funds have been allocated to the Land Tenure Regularisation programme (LTR) so that all the individual parcels will be properly registered by 2013.


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1 Situation Today Secure land tenure and property rights are fundamental to shelter and livelihoods, and a cornerstone for the realisation of human rights and for poverty reduction. Secure land rights are particularly important in helping reverse gender discrimination, social exclusion of vulnerable groups, and wider social and economic inequalities linked to inequitable and insecure access to land. It is now well-recognised that secure land and property rights for all are essential to reducing poverty, because they underpin economic development and social inclusion. Secure land tenure and property rights enable people in rural and urban areas to invest in improved homes and livelihoods. They also help to promote good environmental management, improve food security, and assist directly in the realization of human rights, including the elimination of discrimination against women, the vulnerable, indigenous groups and other minorities (UN-HABITAT-Secure land tenure.)

In line with Rwanda’s long-term development Vision 2020 and Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS), important institutional reforms in the land sector aimed at fostering desirable spatial development across the country are underway. Amongst the key outputs of the reform process so far are the National Land Policy and the Organic Land Law (OLL) determining the use and management of land in the Rwanda. The government is enjoined to put in place a land use and development master plan to guide the use and management of land across Rwanda. The master plan should ultimately lead to more efficient, effective and equitable use of the country’s natural resources. It was in a bid to effect this requirement that the Ministry of Natural Resources (MINIRENA) under NLC constituted a team to develop the terms of references for the national land use and development master plan.

Box 1.2 – Definition of land tenure

Land tenure is defined as the terms and conditions on which land is held, used and transacted. Rules of tenure define how property rights to land are to be allocated within societies. They define how access is granted the rights to use, control, and transfer of land, as well as associated responsibilities and restraints. In simple terms, land tenure systems determine who can use what resources for how long, and under what conditions. (FAO website).


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Until the enactment of the Organic Land Law in 2005, land rights in Rwanda were effectively divided between the majority who held land under a customary or informal rights and a minority who had titles issued under the civil code introduced by the colonial era. With the OLL, the Governments priority objective is to eliminate this division so that all Rwandans hold their land under one unified legal and administrative tenure system defined by the OLL and its associated orders and laws. This presents a radical and significant reform in land administration, land tenure and development in Rwanda, especially property rights under written law extending to all lands in Rwanda including customary land. Under the civil code, Rwanda had a dual system of land tenure in which the majority of land was governed by the customary law. Some land, mostly urban land, was held under the written law by individuals and corporations either as tenants or long term leases or title deeds, under this management only a minority held legal documented titles to land. Box 1.3 - History of Land Registration in Rwanda; a case of Kigali City After the OLL was enacted in 2005, there followed an administrative reform in Rwanda, where for the case of Kigali City districts were reduced from eight to three, and prior to that land registration and titling was under the mandate of the Mayor of Kigali City, when the organic law came into force, the mandate of the registry of land titles was given to the National Land Centre. With all these happening, considerable data regarding the existing registry records were misplaced, mismanaged and to a large extent damaged and lost. This situation, therefore, made it difficult to know the category of tenure that were registered at each level. The poor custodianship of land registration and titling in Rwanda before the organic land law has to a great extent lead to lack of information regarding to different land tenure categories. For example, the individual land tenure is the most dominant category in Rwanda, but the figures got from the registry at the National Land Centre are very few compared to the existing situation.

In Rwanda, land is a resource of inestimable value. It occupies a first-rate place in the national economy since farming employs more than 90% of the working population and contributes about 93% of exports. However, out of a surface area of 26,338 km2, 52% only is usable, representing approximately 1,385,000 hectares. Marshes suitable for agriculture would add to this about 165,000 hectares. Land is, therefore, a limited hence coveted resource. National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda- Rwanda Development Indicators 2006. The Ministry of Natural Resources has developed a ‘Strategic Road Map’ (SRM) for the National Land Tenure Regularization Programme, with 7.9 million parcels to be registered, demarcated and adjudicated. This has been regarded so far as the largest land tenure regularization project in Rwanda. The programme has been planned to be executed in two phases from 2007 to 2011.


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The table below shows the programme plans for LTR and land tenure registration, which will provide concrete data to map land tenure categories in Rwanda.

Table 1: Land Tenure Regularisation Programme (2008-2011) Phase I

Phase II

Cells completed Total cells completed

Province

Actual N0 of parcels

Ave.N0 of parcels per cell

N0 of cells

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

East 1,077,835 2,286 502 1 0 250 251 502

North 1,944,495 4,967 413 1 0 206 206 413

West 2,561,415 4,895 538 1 0 268 269 538

South 2,054,342 4,016 532 0 0 266 266 532

Kigali 329,020 2,353 161 1 0 80 80 161

National 7,967,106 3,703 2,146 4 0 1,070 1,072 2,146

Source MINIRENA 2008

Considering the current progress of phase II of the land tenure regularization programme, it might be doubtful to achieve full regularization by 2011.


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The Organic Land Law stipulates in its articles 9-18 three categorizes of land ownership in Rwanda: State Land, District Land and Individual Land. Table 1.2: Land Tenure Categories in Rwanda State land District land Public Private Public Private

Individual land

1.1 State Land Public state owned land. State land, which makes up the public domain consists of all the land meant to be used by the public or land reserved for organs of state services as well as national land reserved for environmental protection. This is to say:

• Land containing lakes and rivers, shores of lakes and rivers up to the length determined by an order of the Minister having environment in his or her;

• Land occupied by springs and wells; • National land reserved for environmental conservation composed of natural

forests, national parks, reserved swamps, public gardens and tourist sites; • State roads and their boundaries; and, • Land and buildings the administration reserved for public activities or the land

used by public administration organs- OLL 2005.

Private State owned land: Private state land consists all the land that is not included in state land reserved for public activities infrastructures and land that does not belong to district, City of Kigali, towns and municipalities or individuals. The following is included in private state land:

• Vacant land, which includes land that has no owner and the land that was retaken by the state in respect to confiscation mentioned in article 75 of the organic law;

• State land previously occupied by public activities but which was excluded in that category according to law,

• Land purchased by the state, obtained through donation or land acquired through expropriation due to public use; and,

• Swamps that may be productive in terms of agriculture and land occupied by state owned forests.

The Minister having Land in his or her attributions may delegate powers to the authorities of the district, town or municipality or City of Kigali to manage that land (OLL 2005).

1.2 Local Government Land (District, Town and Municipality Land)

District, Town and Municipality Land consist of the land meant for the public domain of the district and town or municipality and their private owned land. The state may donate land to any district, town or municipality either reserved for public domain or as its own private land. A district, town or municipality may also


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receive land by purchasing it or by donation from individuals or associations, and the land shall be district, town or municipality owned for public domain or private owned land for district, town or municipality. The District, Town or Municipality and the City of Kigali land that compose the public domain; District, Town or Municipality and the City of Kigali land which make up the public domain consists of the following: [District, town or municipality land reserved for public activities land on which structures of district, town or municipality services and activities are carried out, District, town or municipality feeder roads and their edges and land for collective settlements.] The Private District, Town or Municipality and the City of Kigali land; District, Town or Municipality and the City of Kigali land not reserved to be used for public activities or structures of District, Town or Municipality and the City of Kigali services shall be considered as private District, town or municipality and the City of Kigali owned land (OLL 2005). The Organic Land Law, in its section four, articles 16-17 spells out District, Town and Municipality land. Towns and Municipalities in Rwanda do not have any authority or influence on land management and administration, but the District authorities under the District Land Office and the District Land Commissions have the mandate and are the custodians of land management and administration in Rwanda. Therefore, the present inventory suggests a simplified nomenclature in this respect as indicated in table 1.2.

1.3 Individual Ownership Individual land is composed of the land acquired through custom, written law that excludes individual public land or private district, town, municipality and the City of Kigali land, the one acquired from competent authorities, purchased land, gift, and exchange and sharing (OLL 2005).


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Table 1.3: Land Use Classes and their predominant Tenure Categories Land Use Classes Predominant Tenure Category Protected land; National park Exclusively State land Protected land ;Forestry Predominantly State land Wetlands Exclusively State land Water bodies Exclusively State land Agriculture Individual land Urban areas (industry, commerce & services) Individual land It should be noted that the majority of individual land is held on long term lease. The change of use and development control will be based on the conditions of the leases issued.


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2 Findings Consultations with government agencies and district authorities indicate that state and district land tenure is known by its location and by its approximate area coverage. However, there are no records or archives that indicate the tenure categories of these properties found in any registry where similar data could be found. Swamps and forests are the dominant state property with open land which is occupied by individuals. State and district land tenure is covered by forests, marshland/swamps, rivers, lakes and plain land, which is settled on by a population who acquired it through illegal means mainly because there were no laws defining those categories of land and their management. What is clear is that the organic land law is in place, the law on wetlands and their management has been approved and the draft forestry law is being debated. All these legal instruments will streamline the registration of state properties both at national and district levels, hence defining different categories of land tenure in Rwanda. Box 2.1: Example of Land Tenure Categories in Rwanda [Projet d’Appui Forestier au Rwanda (PAFOR), (Forestry Support Project of Rwanda ) under the National Forestry Authority (NAFA), have financed districts to develop the District Forestry Development Plans (Plan d’Amanagement Forestier de District PAFD) for a five year period, with the main objective of looking at the contribution and development of forestry at national level and the development of the forestry sector at the district level as well as other different functions from forestry, with an aim of efficient and effective management of forestry resources in Rwanda.] The district forestry development plans have detailed forestry resources up to the sector level by defining its location, size and also their coordinates using GPS. The tenure was classified under three categories: state forests, district forests and individual forests. A total of 125,557 hectares were inventoried representing close to 8.7% of the total land surface area, with 30% under state tenure, 11% under district tenure, whereas 58.9% is under individual ownership as shown in the chats below.


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The map above (figure 1) indicates tenure categories for state public land, district land and individual land under forest cover by province in Rwanda. Each graph represents a province on the map. The above figures are exclusive of national parks and buffer zones. What is evident is that, forest cover is small compared to the total area in relation to other tenure categories. For example, individual tenure for which we do not have sufficient data. In preparation for the systematic land registration, the district land offices in conjunction with the district land commissions are currently carrying out an inventory on all land use categories to ensure the tenure. Many people claim to have settled on state land without knowing whereas others claim to have been given the land by past local leaders, ie ‘Burgomasters and Counseilles’. Considerable hectares of land occupied and cultivated by residents have been identified and the occupants have been informed about the status of their tenure. With regard to wetlands, all wetlands have been categorized under state public domain land and are under the supervision of Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA). The law was declared by the Ministerial order establishing the organization, rules of management and use of swamps in Rwanda. The order also establishes a list of all swamps in Rwanda under the tenure of state public land, as shown under the table below.


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Table 1.4: Public State Wetlands ID District Total Wetlands (ha ) 101 Nyarugenge 2,370 102 Gasabo 3,256 103 Kicukiro 4,197 201 Nyanza 10,121 202 Gisagara 14,267 203 Nyaruguru 7,407 204 Huye 8,035 205 Nyamagabe 3,430 206 Ruhango 8,682 207 Muhanga 3,876 208 Kamonyi 7,909 301 Karongi 1,038 302 Rustiro 481 303 Rubavu 522 304 Nyabihu 1,457 305 Ngororero 1,108 306 Rusizi 4,755 307 Nyamasheke 3,452 401 Rulindo 6,554 402 Gakenke 4,080 403 Musanze 1,244 404 Burera 9,251 405 Gicumbi 6,734 501 Rwamagana 4,912 502 Nyagatare 33,536 503 Gatsibo 27,211 504 Kayonza 28,754 505 Kirehe 15,996 506 Ngoma 11,705 507 Bugesera 23,926 Total 260,266 Source: REMA/ IMCE September 2008


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REMA and Integrated Management of Critical Ecosystems (IMCE) in 2008 carried out a rapid inventory of national swamps indicating their location, name and surface area. The inventory indicates the type of wetland, exploitation at national and local level and mapped as well as indicating protected and non protected wetlands. [The total numbers of wetlands inventoried are 260,266 hectares representing 10.6 per cent of the total surface area of the country, with 56,118 ha of protected wetlands and a total of 206,731 ha of unprotected wetlands, 41 per cent of the surface area of wetlands inventoried are covered by natural vegetation while 53 per cent is used for agricultural activities.] 101 lakes covering a surface area of 149,487 ha and 861 rivers covering 6,462km were also inventoried. (REMA – IMCE 2008)


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3 Way Forward None of the towns in Rwanda has any databases available to aid in decision making. This is a reality affecting acquisition of public land, land registration, status of the real estate market, land requirements for housing and economic activities, estimated costs of expropriation/land compensation, etc. Furthermore, specialized data relating to the functions and activities of urban settlements are not available, with respect to their economic potential, their location in national and regional context and their relationship with the urban network vis-à-vis urban and rural areas (National Urban Housing Policy 2008). With the upcoming land tenure regularization program and systematic land registration and titling, the process will streamline land tenure categories by registering each tenure as classified by the organic land law. Currently there is little registration of land tenure categories despite the fact that state and district land tenure are known by location size and usage. Individual land tenure is registered with a negligible number of people owning land titles. The solution, therefore, shall be provided through systematic land tenure registration, regularization and titling program, the main objective is to record all existing rights in land and clarify their status under the OLL. Valid rights can then be converted into a form that is recognised under the OLL and registered. Just as the individual land holder will be required to clarify his/her rights in land through the Land Tenure Regularisation (LTR) process, the State also has an obligation to do the same. Sound land policies should protect people from forced removals and evictions, [or where displacement is determined by legitimate processes as necessary for the greater public good and is carried out in conformity with national and international norms,] ensure that people have access to adequate compensation. Another critical dimension is ensuring gender equality, because women face such widespread discrimination in questions of land and property. Yet when women enjoy secure and equal rights, everybody benefits. Also, a secure land rights for all citizens contributes to conflicts reduction and improvement in environmental management as well as household living conditions. The custodian of land registration, titling and documentation as established by the organic land law shall be the National Land Center and will handle all data related to the land tenure categories in Rwanda. This will ease access of information to the public and further research. The National Land Center should be the overall custodian, with the District Land Offices keeping copies of the registry for respective districts. Detailed maps related to the land tenure categories in regard to the present inventory are not detailed because data on individual land tenure could not easily be available. [Therefore, the National Land Tenure Project after the exercise of land registration and titling, the data shall be the basis of producing accurate maps of different land tenure categories in Rwanda, hence tools for decision making and planning relevant to the land resources.]


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The map below (figure 1.2) gives a comprehensive overview of the current knowledge of land tenure in a wide perspective. Referring to the relationship between land use and land tenure, the map illustrates the predominant land tenure categories. As more data will be captured, LTR will provide a successively more precise picture of the situation.


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4 Appendix

Appendix 1. Forest Cover per District in km2

ID District State Land

District Land

Individual Land

Total Forest Cover

Total District Area

101 Nyarugenge 2.6376 3.9477 2.775 9.3603 133.95 102 Gasabo 12.3287 2.6012 40.1919 55.1218 429.2 103 Kicukiro 0.746 1.305 2.965 5.016 166.7 201 Nyanza 8.5466 3.8206 13.56 25.9277 672.143 202 Gisagara 8.68529 7.14562 7.30989 23.1408 679.196 203 Nyaruguru 29 8.903 115.5818 153.4848 1010.2677 204 Huye 9.534 6.1126 25.792 41.4386 581.52 205 Nyamagabe 27.9 40.26 68.16 1090.359 206 Ruhango 10.8711 1.416 35.359 47.6461 626.777 207 Muhanga 26.2423 3.564 43.694 73.5003 647.714 208 Kamonyi 3.3132 10.6039 17.146 31.0631 655.53 301 Karongi 8.8147 7.7869 52.472 69.0736 993.0322 302 Rustiro 12.6095 10.6085 26.196 49.414 1157.29 303 Rubavu 6.491 3.295 10.086 19.872 388.338 304 Nyabihu 6.9014 1.7846 21.521 30.207 531.497 305 Ngororero 11.5083 7.16 29.1733 47.8416 678.985 306 Rusizi 13.88 0.528 27.85 42.258 958.5922 307 Nyamasheke 9.1654 4.8029 34.9373 48.9056 581.527 401 Rulindo 11.728 0.745 27.1353 39.6083 566.982 402 Gakenke 7.3431 7.3431 27.4396 42.1258 704 403 Musanze 5.5284 1.0947 17.4841 24.1072 530.38 404 Burera 4.0662 7.7036 17.6595 29.4293 644.559 405 Gicumbi 13.3693 37.0447 50.414 829.516 501 Rwamagana 3.7969 0.537 4.3339 681.962 502 Nyagatare 39.2144 2.5329 22.5587 64.306 1920.112 503 Gatsibo 47.6106 6.2512 19.0637 72.9255 1582.32 504 Kayonza 8.36 3.2 9.7438 21.3038 1934.963 505 Kirehe 5.1195 9.5262 14.6457 1184.85 506 Ngoma 1.261 3.914 4.9813 10.1563 867.742 507 Bugesera 13.08 16.5412 11.199 40.82 1290.56


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Appendix 2. Categories of people interviewed.

# Institution Category of persons interviewed

1 National Land Center Deputy registrar of land titles, Northern Province

2 National Land Center In charge of archives

3 MINAGRI Agronomist

4 REMA Wetland management

5 CGIS-NUR Soil and mapping expert

6 NAFA Director General

7 Nyarugenge District Natural resource and environmental officer

Land officer

8 Gasabo District Natural resource and environmental officer

9 Eastern province Natural resource and environmental officers

10 Rulindo district Land officer

11 Gakenke district Land officer

Natural resource and environmental officers

12 Burera district Land officer


13 Musanze district Land officer


14 Huye district Land officer

15 Gisagara district Land officer

16 Muhanga district Natural resource and environmental officers

17 Kamonyi district Land officer


18 Nyamagabe district Director of planning


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19 Nyaruguru district Land officer


20 Nyanza district Land officer


21 Karongi district Land officer

22 Nyamasheke district Land officer

23 Rusizi district Natural resource and environmental officers

24 Ngororero district Land officer

Land officer


25 Rubavu district Land officer



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Reference List MINIRENA. 2004. National Land Policy. GOR

MINIRENA. 2005. Organic Land Law (OLL) Determining the use and management of

land in Rwanda. GOR.

MINIRENA. 2006. Presidential order determining the structure, the powers and the

functioning of the office of the Registrar of Land Titles.

MINIRENA. 2004. Forest policy. GOR

MINIRENA. 2008. National Land Tenure Reform Programme, (NLRP) Strategic Road

Map for Land Reform. DFID, HTSPE.

MINIRENA. 2009. Draft Ministerial order establishing the organisation rules of

management and the use of swamps in Rwanda.

MININFRA. 2008. National Urban Housing Policy for Rwanda. GOR

MINALOC. 2008. District Development Plans (DDP) 2008-2012.

MINIRENA. 2008. District Forestry Management Plans 2008-2012.

MINECOFIN.2007. Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy for

Rwanda.

NISR. 2008. Rwanda Development Indicators 2006 National Institute of Statistics of

Rwanda. Kigali

MINIRENA. 2008. Project De Gestion Integree des Ecosystems Critiques,(INITERE –

REMA- IMCE) Etablissement d’un inventaire national rapide du marais et elaboration

de 5 avant projets d’arretes Ministeriels relatifs aux marais. Rapport final modules 1 et

4. SHER Ingenieurs-conseils s.a, I- Mage consult, WES Consult

UN-HABITAT. 2009. Secure Land Tenure and Property Administration.

<http://www.unhabitat.org/landtenure.

FAO. 2009. Land tenure. Access and tenure of natural resources

<http:// www.fao.org/nr/tenure.

http://www.fao.org/nr/tenure

land tenure

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