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A paper describing recent developments with alternative approaches to land rights registration at scale in Mozambique and containing recommendations for both policy and practise.
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... As such, while ESIAs might result in a cancelled project, this is not often the case. The land administration system is also weak due to relevant authorities often being over-burdened and under-resourced [24,61,62] or sometimes ignoring the system altogether [40,45]. Different individuals or authorities may influence land provision to investors for their own benefit, and changes to the Land Law of 1997 and the Constitution have led to rollback of some rights [24]. ...
Based on a case study in each country, this study documents the views of Mozambican and Tanzanian smallholders regarding Chinese agricultural investments and the extent to which investors abide by their legitimate land tenure rights as defined by the Voluntary Guidelines for the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Forests and Fisheries in the Context of National Food Security (VGGTs). The VGGTs offer guidelines to government on how to protect the land tenure of rural communities when land is being acquired for large-scale land investments. The study also assessed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on smallholders. Due to COVID-19, instead of fieldwork, we conducted telephone interviews with 20 smallholders in Mozambique and 35 in Tanzania. The Mozambican case showed that even when land set aside for investors was not in dispute, smallholders still had unmet expectations, especially regarding investors’ corporate social responsibility activities. In the Tanzanian case, even though the land leased by the Chinese investor had been designated as general land, it had laid fallow for a long period, and smallholders had moved back onto the land, only to be displaced in 2017. Although smallholders’ views on the investment were mixed, the case underscored the need for government to assess current land use before allocating it to investors—regardless of how the land is classified and especially in areas where land shortages are creating conflict. The cases show that even if communities are consulted about proposed land investments, guidelines need to include clauses that allow for ongoing communications between investors, communities and government officials such that if communities are unsatisfied with the results of the investment, renegotiation is possible. Further, in the event of crises, such as COVID-19, investors should partner with communities and government to limit the extent of harm in communities as a result of the crisis
... Follow up online discussions carried out by the authors with three interviewees from the group of experts on land delimitation in 2020 offer evidence that such reform process will likely go ahead, but because several institutions and actors have overlapping roles, this could become a rather complex and confusing process (cf. Norfolk et al. 2020). Table 1 within land delimitation, cooperation, or advisory work as well as researchers concur that Mozambique lacks a genuine, long-term, and strategic-oriented spatial planning process. ...
... Decentralization of the financial responsibilities and planning process to the district and provincial levels took place but was hampered by poor transition planning and erratic fund delivery from central government (Ministry of Agriculture of Mozambique 2007). This is typical in spatial planning approaches in low-income countries (Spaliviero et al. 2019, Todes 2012, including in Mozambique as reported by Monteiro et al. (2017) and Norfolk et al. (2020). Other initiatives intended to, for instance, boost economic development of local communities by organizing it across different agroecological zones were also Ecology and Society 27(2): 5 https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol27/iss2/art5/ ...
... They further contend that what is needed are "political commitment and the skills to support land policies that are pro-poor and inclusive" (Filipe and Norfolk 2017:14). Norfolk et al. (2020) reinforce this by underlining that Mozambique public authorities need to find ways of "facilitating the participatory mapping and planning of current and future land and resource uses within the community and identifying local threats and opportunities related to their acquired rights to own and manage the land and natural resource assets" (p. 45). ...
Land-use frontiers are territories with abundant land for agriculture and forestry, availability of natural resources relative to labor or capital and predisposed to rapid land-use change, often driven by large-scale land investments and capitalized actors, producing commodities for distal markets. Strategic spatial planning (SSP) represents a consolidated long-term governance practice across high- and low-income countries. One of the objectives of SSP processes is to articulate a more coherent and future-oriented spatial logic for the sustainability of land-use patterns and typologies, natural-resources protection, and investments. SSP may thus constitute a useful approach in addressing some of the challenges affecting land governance in frontier settings; to date, its potential contribution to land-use frontiers lacks explicit exploration. In this paper, we examine how SSP can play a role in governing land-use frontiers through a case-study analysis of Mozambique as an emerging frontier, located on the southeast coast of Africa. We gathered empirical evidence by interviewing experts involved in resource management, territorial planning, and development in the country. The theoretical spine of the paper builds on the literature focusing on land-use challenges and SSP. We show that emerging land-use frontiers face several challenges, such as transnational land deals and the intensification of commercial plantations. Interview data show that several structural factors are hindering the establishment of a long-term territorial development strategy. These are, among others, the short-termism of political cycles and the absence of a long-term strategic vision. Our analysis reveals that SSP processes could contribute to addressing land-use challenges in frontier contexts, such as poverty traps and land degradation spirals, should various local and distant actors join forces and marry interests. We conclude by presenting a systematic rationale, explaining how SSP could play a role in governing land-use frontiers, with a view to promoting the well-being and sustainability of rural communities.
... Securing land rights on a collective basis offered a legal and cost-effective basis to protect the de facto land rights held by communities and their members, but provides no guarantees of tenure security for individuals' land rights beyond the rules prevailing in local customary practice. In the absence of systematic land rights mapping and certification of the rights of individuals ( Norfolk et al ., 2020 ), it remains extremely difficult and prohibitively expensive for rural Mozambicans to secure official land titles which requires travel to distant provincial capitals, and compliance with a series of bureaucratic steps, in most cases beyond their means. ...
... parcels (approximately 2100 parcels) were registered solely to women, with a further 3% registered as joint spousal co-titles. Some women co-registered land with their daughters or sisters to ensure that inheritance rights were maintained in the event of death, separation or divorce, as women's family land may be exposed to counterclaims from men ( Norfolk et al . 2020 ). Between 2017 and 2019, ORAM supported the mapping and certification of over 66,000 ha of community land and over 10,000 family and individual land parcels. 2 In addition, the land delimitation process also acted as a key entry point to establish community land associations. ORAM registered 20 community land associations and organized t ...
This book delivers new conceptual and empirical studies surrounding the design and evaluation of land governance, focusing on land management approaches, land policy issues, advances in pro-poor land tenure and land-based gender concerns. It explores alternative approaches for land management and land tenure through international experiences. Part 1 covers Concepts, debates and perspectives on the governance and gender aspects of land. Part 2 focuses on Tenure-gender dimensions in land management, land administration and land policy. It deals with land issues within the interface of theory and practice. Part 3 covers Applications and experiences: techniques, strategies, tools, methods, and case studies. Part 4 focuses on Land governance, gender, and tenure innovations. Case studies discussed include China, Ethiopia, Ghana, Lesotho, Germany, Mexico, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Korea, etc. Themes include Islamic tenure, reverse migration, matriarchy/matrilineal systems, structural inequality, tenure-responsive planning, land-related instabilities and COVID-19, urban-rural land concerns, women's tenure bargaining, tenure-gender nexus concerns in developing and developed countries. This book: · Includes theoretical or empirical studies on land governance and gender from a diverse group of countries.· Provides the basis for a new land administration theory to be set against conventional land administration approaches.· Offers, in an accessible manner, a range of new tools for design and evaluation of land management interventions.The book will be valuable for students and researchers in land governance, urban and rural planning, international development,natural resource management, agriculture, community development, and gender studies. It is also useful for land practitioners, including those working within international organizations.
... Securing land rights on a collective basis offered a legal and cost-effective basis to protect the de facto land rights held by communities and their members, but provides no guarantees of tenure security for individuals' land rights beyond the rules prevailing in local customary practice. In the absence of systematic land rights mapping and certification of the rights of individuals ( Norfolk et al ., 2020 ), it remains extremely difficult and prohibitively expensive for rural Mozambicans to secure official land titles which requires travel to distant provincial capitals, and compliance with a series of bureaucratic steps, in most cases beyond their means. ...
... parcels (approximately 2100 parcels) were registered solely to women, with a further 3% registered as joint spousal co-titles. Some women co-registered land with their daughters or sisters to ensure that inheritance rights were maintained in the event of death, separation or divorce, as women's family land may be exposed to counterclaims from men ( Norfolk et al . 2020 ). Between 2017 and 2019, ORAM supported the mapping and certification of over 66,000 ha of community land and over 10,000 family and individual land parcels. 2 In addition, the land delimitation process also acted as a key entry point to establish community land associations. ORAM registered 20 community land associations and organized t ...
This book delivers new conceptual and empirical studies surrounding the design and evaluation of land governance, focusing on land management approaches, land policy issues, advances in pro-poor land tenure and land-based gender concerns. It explores alternative approaches for land management and land tenure through international experiences. Themes include Islamic tenure, reverse migration, matriarchy/matrilineal systems, structural inequality, tenure-responsive planning, land-related instabilities and COVID-19, urban-rural land concerns, women's tenure bargaining, tenure-gender nexus concerns in developing and developed countries.
... Securing land rights on a collective basis offered a legal and cost-effective basis to protect the de facto land rights held by communities and their members, but provides no guarantees of tenure security for individuals' land rights beyond the rules prevailing in local customary practice. In the absence of systematic land rights mapping and certification of the rights of individuals ( Norfolk et al ., 2020 ), it remains extremely difficult and prohibitively expensive for rural Mozambicans to secure official land titles which requires travel to distant provincial capitals, and compliance with a series of bureaucratic steps, in most cases beyond their means. ...
... parcels (approximately 2100 parcels) were registered solely to women, with a further 3% registered as joint spousal co-titles. Some women co-registered land with their daughters or sisters to ensure that inheritance rights were maintained in the event of death, separation or divorce, as women's family land may be exposed to counterclaims from men ( Norfolk et al . 2020 ). Between 2017 and 2019, ORAM supported the mapping and certification of over 66,000 ha of community land and over 10,000 family and individual land parcels. 2 In addition, the land delimitation process also acted as a key entry point to establish community land associations. ORAM registered 20 community land associations and organized t ...
This book delivers new conceptual and empirical studies surrounding the design and evaluation of land governance, focusing on land management approaches, land policy issues, advances in pro-poor land tenure and land-based gender concerns. It explores alternative approaches for land management and land tenure through international experiences. Themes include Islamic tenure, reverse migration, matriarchy/matrilineal systems, structural inequality, tenure-responsive planning, land-related instabilities and COVID-19, urban-rural land concerns, women's tenure bargaining, tenure-gender nexus concerns in developing and developed countries.
... Securing land rights on a collective basis offered a legal and cost-effective basis to protect the de facto land rights held by communities and their members, but provides no guarantees of tenure security for individuals' land rights beyond the rules prevailing in local customary practice. In the absence of systematic land rights mapping and certification of the rights of individuals ( Norfolk et al ., 2020 ), it remains extremely difficult and prohibitively expensive for rural Mozambicans to secure official land titles which requires travel to distant provincial capitals, and compliance with a series of bureaucratic steps, in most cases beyond their means. ...
... parcels (approximately 2100 parcels) were registered solely to women, with a further 3% registered as joint spousal co-titles. Some women co-registered land with their daughters or sisters to ensure that inheritance rights were maintained in the event of death, separation or divorce, as women's family land may be exposed to counterclaims from men ( Norfolk et al . 2020 ). Between 2017 and 2019, ORAM supported the mapping and certification of over 66,000 ha of community land and over 10,000 family and individual land parcels. 2 In addition, the land delimitation process also acted as a key entry point to establish community land associations. ORAM registered 20 community land associations and organized t ...
This book delivers new conceptual and empirical studies surrounding the design and evaluation of land governance, focusing on land management approaches, land policy issues, advances in pro-poor land tenure and land-based gender concerns. It explores alternative approaches for land management and land tenure through international experiences. Themes include Islamic tenure, reverse migration, matriarchy/matrilineal systems, structural inequality, tenure-responsive planning, land-related instabilities and COVID-19, urban-rural land concerns, women's tenure bargaining, tenure-gender nexus concerns in developing and developed countries.
... Since 2011, land rights registration has been conducted with five different complex programmes but most of the donors involved have been discontinuing their support. Despite the potential opportunities, implementation challenges included lack of capacity, funding to develop a database of community landholdings, difficulties in maintaining the register, and the weak integration of local communities' data into governmental datasets [33,34]. In the cases of Canada and Malaysia, for example, risks have been jointly mitigated between parties through re-investment, sustaining allocation of resources and agreeing on an extension of the project duration [9]. ...
Public-private partnerships (PPPs) may facilitate the implementation of fit-for-purpose land administration (FFPLA); however, the approach can be compromised when funding for land registration is insufficient or donor projects end. This paper aims to introduce a new form of PPP to the literature on FFPLA, further extending the discourse and options available on PPPs for FFPLA. A background review finds that whilst PPPs have had long standing application in land administration, there is room to explore approaches that seek increased involvement of non-conventional land sector actors. A case study methodology is applied to analyse recent developments of FFPLA in Côte d’Ivoire that includes a partnership between the government and a consortium of private sector companies. Results describe the novelty, challenges, opportunities, and success factors for the approach, when compared to existing forms of PPPs. It is found that the innovative partnership approach may create novel avenues for financing FFPLA in developing countries and for more active forms of participation of the private sector in improved land tenure governance. The model potentially creates sustainable buy-in from private sector corporations, who whilst not conventionally closely undertaking land administration efforts, rely intrinsically on it to achieve corporate social responsibility objectives.
... Follow up online discussions carried out by the authors with three interviewees from the group of experts on land delimitation in 2020 offer evidence that such reform process will likely go ahead, but because several institutions and actors have overlapping roles, this could become a rather complex and confusing process (cf. Norfolk et al. 2020). Table 1 within land delimitation, cooperation, or advisory work as well as researchers concur that Mozambique lacks a genuine, long-term, and strategic-oriented spatial planning process. ...
... Decentralization of the financial responsibilities and planning process to the district and provincial levels took place but was hampered by poor transition planning and erratic fund delivery from central government (Ministry of Agriculture of Mozambique 2007). This is typical in spatial planning approaches in low-income countries (Spaliviero et al. 2019, Todes 2012, including in Mozambique as reported by Monteiro et al. (2017) and Norfolk et al. (2020). Other initiatives intended to, for instance, boost economic development of local communities by organizing it across different agroecological zones were also Ecology and Society 27(2): 5 https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol27/iss2/art5/ ...
... They further contend that what is needed are "political commitment and the skills to support land policies that are pro-poor and inclusive" (Filipe and Norfolk 2017:14). Norfolk et al. (2020) reinforce this by underlining that Mozambique public authorities need to find ways of "facilitating the participatory mapping and planning of current and future land and resource uses within the community and identifying local threats and opportunities related to their acquired rights to own and manage the land and natural resource assets" (p. 45). ...
Strategic spatial planning (SSP) represents a consolidated long-term governance practice across developed and developing countries. It articulates sectoral policies, and it involves vision making and an array of stakeholders regarding land use and development issues around urban and rural territories. Land-use frontiers are territories with abundant land for agriculture and forestry, availability of natural resources relative to labor or capital, and rapid land-use change, often driven by large-scale investments and capitalized actors producing commodities for distal markets. Among various reasons, one of the objectives of SSP processes is to articulate a more coherent and future-oriented spatial logic for sustainable land-use patterns, resource protection and investments. SSP may thus constitute a useful approach to address some of the challenges posed to the governance of land-use frontiers, thus far, its potential contribution in land-use frontiers lacks an explicitly exploration. Here, we examine how SSP can play a role in governing land-use frontiers, through a case-study analysis of Mozambique as an emerging investment frontier. We gathered empirical evidence by interviewing experts involved in resource management, planning and strategizing territorial development in the country, complemented by a content analysis of literature and policy documents. We show that emerging land-use frontiers face several challenges, such as transnational land deals and intensification of commercial plantations. Interview data show that Mozambique lacks a strategic territorial vision, and the short-termism of political cycles hinders long-term territorial development, primarily in rural areas with plentiful land. Our analysis shows that SSP processes could contribute to address both global and country-specific challenges such as poverty traps and land degradation spirals, if various local and distant actors join forces and marry interests. We conclude by presenting a systematic framework explaining how SSP could play a role in governing emerging land-use frontiers for sustainable pathways.
At present the land rights of millions of South Africans who hold their land in the former homelands (Bantustans), in informal settlements and on transferred land are uncertain. This comparative chapter outlines the position in South Africa and explores briefly experiences in Mozambique, Kenya and Ghana in order to suggest ways forward. Tenure is important because rural and peri-urban communities are amongst the poorest and their rights should not be neglected. Mozambique has attempted a community-based policy, under the control of the state, which nevertheless permits outsiders to lease land. Kenya has largely pursued privatization, with some protection for customary land. In Ghana, roughly 80% of land is still under the control of chiefs. This chapter suggests that the rights of existing family landholdings should be prioritized. The experience of Machakos and Narok in Kenya offer interesting alternatives to current policy in South Africa—privatization from below that facilitated production.
