General

The Land Reform in Afghanistan (LARA) project seeks to develop a robust, enduring, and Afghan-owned and managed land market framework that encourages investment and productivity growth, resolves/mitigates land-based conflict, and builds confidence in the legitimacy of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA). LARA provides technical assistance and support to GIRoA institutions that address land issues, particularly the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL), the Supreme Court, and the Ministry of Urban Development Affairs (MUDA), and will create Afghan capacity to successfully design, manage, and implement needed land tenure reform for land market development. Objectives More secure property rights for Afghan citizens through improved institutional, policy, and legal systems Improved public awareness of and ability to exercise property rights, especially in vulnerable populations (women and minorities) Improved economic growth and increased private-sector investment Increased revenue to GIRoA from leases of government land Increased sanitation tax revenues at the municipal level Properties registered with municipal and Supreme Court registration offices Outcomes Established and piloted a model process for land rights formalization of informal settlement in Afghanistan. Mapped 100% of land parcels in Jalalabad; Completed a land parcel/household inventory of 2,780 land parcels covering 2 informal settlements in Jalalabad applying the model formalization process. Completed infrastructure upgrading activities in 2 informal settlements in Jalalabad. Established a Women’s Land Rights Task Force with leading Afghan men and women representing national and local government and civil society to advise LARA on land rights and inheritance issues affecting women in Afghanistan Supported women’s land rights conferences, training sessions and public information awareness campaigns that lead directly to the exercise inheritance rights by women which were successful Conducted gender-mainstreaming training within land administration institutions Installed Cadastral Data Management and Land Records Management systems within the Land Authority (ARAZI) and trained 805 government staff in key land management skills. Installed a Deeds Registry Archive Conversion System for Land Titles (to convert paper deeds into electronic format within a dedicated database) within the Supreme Court. Developed community-based dispute resolution guidelines and conducted associated training to communities and government institutions. Completed a BizCLIR analysis of Afghan laws and advised on the amendments to the Land Management Law and Cadastral Law. In consultation with GIRoA counterparts and key stakeholders, completed a series of maps of Jalalabad identifying donor and government investments in the city, and a Land Ownership Status Map identifying informal settlements that could be the target of project activities. Conducted Three Urban Planning Clinics in Jalalabad with government counterparts for the purposes of drafting a series of thematic maps representing land use, project use, Community Development Council (CDC) boundaries, environmental hazards, and gozar boundaries. Hosted a three-day Informal Settlements Upgrading and Formalization workshop with 140 leading stakeholders in land issues. The workshop was coordinated jointly with MUDA and the Kabul Urban Reconstruction Program. Using local and international partners, conducted and completed a Gender and Dispute Resolution Assessment in two informal settlements in Jalalabad. The data from the assessment has identified key strategies for approaching gender issues in the context of project activities in the selected informal settlements in Jalalabad. Identified and mapped key water networks and road infrastructure in Jalalabad city, in parallel to the assessment of infrastructure servicing targeted informal settlements. With a local subcontractor, conducted and completed a Socio-Economic and Housing Baseline Survey (SES) in Jalalabad involving over 400 household surveys. Completed institutional assessments for relevant Afghan institutions: MAIL/Arazi and AGCHO, MUDA, IDLG/GDMA, and the Supreme Court insofar as their respective activities touch land administration. Completed a Business Climate Legal and Institutional Reform (BizCLIR) Assessment of Real Estate. Supported and contributed to MAIL/Arazi’s national training seminar on land leasing and other land policy-related issues that was attended by over 160 staff.

General

The Economic Growth Hubs Project is a Cooperative Agreement with the Asia Foundation. The project has three objectives: Better Provision of Infrastructure, Better Performing Economic Growth Hubs, and Promoting a political economy approach to economic policy reform process. One of the activities under Better Performing Economic Growth Hubs was the provision of technical support for the passage and effective implementation of the Residential Free Patent law in the Philippines. The Residential Free Patent Act (RA 10023), passed in March 2010, creates a low-cost, administrative procedure to more efficiently title the estimated 8,000,000 untitled residential parcels in the country and unlock “dead capital” to drive economic development. Objectives Better Provision of Infrastructure: a) Through improved public-private partnerships (PPP) – This activity will seek to establish an enduring policy and institutional environment that promotes competitively bid and properly implemented PPP infrastructure projects; b) Through increasing transparency and accountability in budget and spending – The goal is to broaden participation in the allocation and implementation of infrastructure investments. The project will provide technical assistance to civil society, business associations and/or government institutions to increase understanding and participation in the decision-making and implementation processes of infrastructure projects in the Philippines; c) To expand Philippine Roll On, Roll Off (RoRo) network both domestically and regionally Better improving growth hubs: a) Improve the institutional capacity of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA); b) Develop the Subic-Clark as a major tourism and logistics hub; c) Assist in the effective implementation of the Residential Free Patent law Promoting a political economy approach to economic policy reform process – to develop material to increase understanding of the political economy of reform, to develop policy entrepreneurs, inform the design of donor project activities, and support new reform initiatives (with AusAID and World Bank) Outcomes To improve the security of property rights in the Philippines, USAID supported the implementation of the Residential Free Patent Act (RA 10023), passed in March 2010, that creates a low-cost, administrative procedure to more efficiently title the estimated eight million untitled residential parcels in the country and unlock “dead capital” to drive economic development. To further institutionalize reform, the project help established robust partnerships between national Department of Environment and Resources (DENR) and local governments. These partnerships leverage the authority of DENR to issue titles and the resources and interests of LGUs in land titling. Since the pilot was launched in Cebu in January 2011, over 100 local governments have established “land offices”. Based on lessons from the field and working with the DENR’s Land Management Bureau, the project also developed a manual to guide DENR and LGU personnel on establishing and operating land offices.