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About Us
We envision a world in which land governance systems, both formal and informal, are effective, accessible, and responsive for all. This is possible when land tenure and property rights are recognized as critical development issues and when the United States Government and its development partners demonstrate consistent attention and a firm commitment to supporting coordinated policies and programs that clarify and strengthen the land tenure and property rights of all members of society, enabling broad-based economic growth, gender equality, reduced incidence of conflicts, enhanced food security, improved resilience to climate change, and effective natural resource management.
Mission Statement
The USAID Land Tenure and Resource Management (LTRM) Office will lead the United States Government to realize international efforts—in accordance with the U.S. Government’s Land Governance Policy—to clarify and strengthen the land tenure and property rights of all members of society—individuals, groups and legal entities, including those individuals and groups that are often marginalized, and the LTRM Office will help ensure that land governance systems are effective, accessible, and responsive. We will achieve this by testing innovative models for securing land tenure and property rights and disseminating best practice as it relates to securing land rights and improving resource governance within the USG and our development partners.
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Resources
Displaying 211 - 215 of 440Land, Property and Conflict Training Course
On December 11-14, The United States Institute of Peace – in collaboration with USAID, the World Bank, and the International Organization for Migration – will host a Land, Property and Conflict training course. Tenure insecurity and disputes over land and property often play a major role in conflicts, both internally and intra-state. The international donor community recognizes the importance of addressing complex issues related to land tenure and property rights in order to mitigate conflict, promote stability, and foster peace and economic growth.
New Artisanal Mining Assessment Report Released for Cote d'Ivoire
In Cote d'Ivoire, a UN-imposed embargo on the export of Ivoirian diamonds to other countries has been in place since 2005 due to concerns regarding the control of diamond-mining zones by former rebel groups as well as weak internal controls over the country's diamond mining sector. Given these concerns and the role USAID's Property Rights and Artisanal Diamond Development (PRADD) program has played in helping to improve countries with their Kimberley Process compliance, USAID commissioned an assessment of the land tenure and artisanal mining sector in Cote d'Ivoire in September 2012.
Ruling Advances Women's Property Rights in Botswana
The Botswana High Court recently issued a landmark ruling: four sisters are permitted to inherit their family home even though a customary rule prohibits women from inheriting property. The High Court ruled that the customary rule violated women’s equal rights. Remarkably, the High Court issued its decision in the face of strong government support of the customary rule. The details of this watershed case are featured in a recent article by City Press.
Strengthening Women's Property Rights in Cameroon
According to a recent article from the IPS News Agency, women in Cameroon produce 80% of the country’s food needs yet own only 2% of the land. Though a 1974 Land Tenure Ordinance provides women with equal rights to property ownership, in reality customary tenure practices which discriminate against women sometimes trump national laws. In some cases, customary systems have provided women with secure rights to use land and resources however, recently women have experience greater difficulties protecting rights under these systems.
Resource Governance in the United States
Globally, there is a strong push to devolve control over natural resources, including protected areas, to regional and local stakeholders. In many developing countries, communities with long-standing customary claims to land, forests, and other natural resources contest attempts by central governments to claim these resources as “public”, held by government as national resources. In many countries, local stakeholders continue to claim rights to access and use such resources, even at the risk of being penalized for illegal uses.