Land Rights for African Development From Knowledge to Action

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• Land Rights for African Development From
  Knowledge to Action
• A collaborative program development process
• Nairobi, 31 October 3 November 2005

Land, Agricultural Change and Conflict in West
Africa Regional Issues from Sierra Leone,
Liberia and Côte dIvoire Donata Gnisci, Sahel
and West Africa Club - OECD
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ADDRESSING CHANGE IN WEST AFRICA AND THE SWAC

• SWACs work
• Regional coherence (subsidiarity between levels)
• Strategic questions (medium- and long-term
  development perspectives)
• Networking and partnership
• Debate leading to innovative action

Agriculture Transformation and Sustainable
Development Unit
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THE SWACS INITIATIVE IN A NUTSHELL
I Phase 03/2005 02/2006 II Phase March 2006
onwards
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LAND AS A COMPLEX SET OF CONVERGING ISSUES

• Address specific themes nationally to help
  establish a regional picture
• Identify necessary action at regional,
  national and local levels

Agriculture Transformation and Sustainable
Development SWAC's Unit
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1. ISSUES FROM ONGOING WORK Land and Conflict

• Contemporary West African conflicts have a land
  component
• Land a conflict issue in the region
• Land and agrarian issues overlooked in
  peacebuilding reconstruction

• Insecurity of tenure can feed instability at
  different levels (e.g. cross-border)
• Land issues easily politicised at the national
  level
• Agrarian relations under stress in rural areas
  due to social transformation and
  intergenerational tensions
• Specific problems with land conflict in each
  country but regional dimensions emerge
• Land and conflict trend likely to continue
  unless appropriate reform is implemented

Agriculture Transformation and Sustainable
Development SWAC's Unit
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2. ISSUES FROM ONGOING WORK Need for Reform

• Need to reform land tenure systems acknowledged
  region-wide
• Wave of reforms since 1990s with mixed results
• Ways forward land policies developed via
  participatory processes consistent with poverty
  reduction and agricultural development

• Targets land capitalisation sustainable
  development regime harmonisation
• Core stakes dualism of regime formalisation of
  rights rural-urban links formal/informal land
  markets land-related disputes and conflicts
• Contents primacy of statutory rights yet
  valorisation of local customary practices
  recognition of individual ownership land
  management and administration in the context of
  decentralisation
• Pending issues full implementation foreigners
  rights to land links with agricultural policies
  cross-border aspects of land management, access
  and use

Agriculture Transformation and Sustainable
Development SWAC's Unit
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3. ISSUES FROM ONGOING WORK Regional level

• Greater coordination of agricultural policies at
  the regional level
• Relevance or need for regional action rarely
  acknowledged nationally
• Land issues regionally considered in relation to
  conflict prevention shared resources
  management free movement and residence rights

• ECOWAS Agricultural Policy of ECOWAS (ECOWAP)
• WAEMU Agricultural Policy of the Union (PAU)
• CILSS Praia Process Proposal for a Regional
  Land Tenure Charter
• Other African initiatives e.g. AU/NEPAD/AfDB/UNECA
  Process

• Subsidiarity between regional, national, local
  land regimes and policies to be explored
• Diversity of land tenure systems and contexts
  intrinsic to land access analysis and frameworks
  of action
• Information sharing exchange of experiences
  where regional action can add value

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4. ISSUES FROM ONGOING WORK Development
partners support to land reform

• Multilaterals involved in supporting land
  legislation and reform processes
• Direct support by bilaterals to land-related
  programmes
• Land issues in peacebuilding and reconstruction
  what role for development partners?

• Core issues include land-related conflict
  management at the local level strengthen land
  rights for vulnerable groups support to
  decentralised land management, links with NRM
• Targets are mainly Sahelian countries but also
  Ghana, Côte dIvoire, etc.
• Others development partners seem interested in
  land issues region-wide (e.g. Austria)
• Growing interest by partners in addressing land
  issues in situations emerging from conflict

Agriculture Transformation and Sustainable
Development SWAC's Unit
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SUMMARY KEY EMERGING ISSUES

• Land and conflict issues at the core of the
  change process in West Africa population, social
  and historic dynamics are key
• Land agrarian problems to be tackled in
  peacebuilding and reconstruction
• Land reform processes necessary in peaceful and
  exit from conflict situations
• Development partners play a role in strengthening
  the reform process
• Regional approaches to land reform need to
  assess appropriate level of subsidiarity between
  regional, national and local land policies and
  regimes

Agriculture Transformation and Sustainable
Development SWAC's Unit
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QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

• Who are the winners and losers from changing
  entitlements to land in the agricultural
  transformation process in West Africa? How can we
  address this situation so to encourage inclusion
  and mitigate risks of violent conflict?
• What lessons can we learn from reconstruction and
  peacebuilding strategies elsewhere that have
  addressed land and agrarian issues?
• What is the overall assessment of land reform
  implementation across West Africa? How has
  external support taken account of what is working
  and what needs to be improved ?
• What is the added value of tackling land issues
  regionally? What might be the most appropriate
  level of subsidiarity between local, national and
  regional land regimes and policies?

Thank you for your attention!
Donata Gnisci, SWAC / OECD Tel [phone]
59 Email donata.gnisci_at_oecd.org Website
www.oecd.org/sah/agritransformation