Afar National Regional State Rural Lands Administration and Use Proclamation No. 49/2009.

This Proclamation of the Afar National Regional State establishes a rural land administration system that is suitable for natural resource management and protection and that incentivizes investment within the traditional clan-based communal land tenure system. Laws that pertain to lands designated as forest lands, wildlife sanctuaries, biodiversity protected lands, environmental and natural resource conservation and preservation areas shall not be affected by this Proclamation. The Proclamation, among other things: provides for survey, registration, certification etc. of the rural land use rights of pastoralists and provides for dispute resolution in respect of such rights; provides registration etc. of land use rights of agro-pastoralists; provides with respect to transfer of rights in rural lands; provides for rural land allocation and redistribution; defines duties and obligations of rural land holders and land use restrictions; requires the competent authority to develop a guiding master land use plan for land use with particular attention to water resource management; requires an equitable water use system to be established between upper and lower riparian communities; places restriction on free grazing on rural land where soil and water conservation measures have been undertaken; prohibit farming and free grazing on land the slope of which is more than 60 percent and requires trees to be planted on such land; ensure payment of fair and equitable compensation in case of expropriation of land of agro-pastoralists; provides for the rehabilitation of degraded communal land.

Implemented by: Afar National Regional State Rural Land Use and Administration Regulation No. 4/2011. (2011-06-03)