The Handbook on Best Practices, Security of Tenure and Access to Land--Implementation of the Habitat Agenda (2003) reviews material produced by UN Habitat partners up to and including 1999, in terms of the implementation of the Habitat Agenda. At the time of publishing, this document was the most comprehensive global overview of progress made in countries towards achieving the Habitat Agenda in the area of land tenure and land management/administration.

Everyone has a relationship to land. It is an asset that, with its associated resources, allows its owner access to loans, to build their houses and to set up small businesses in cities. In rural areas, land is essential for livelihoods, subsistence and food security. However, land is a scarce resource governed by a wide range of rights and responsibilities. And not everyone’s right to land is secure. Mounting pressure and competition mean that improving land governance - the rules, processes and organizations through which decisions are made about land - is more urgent than ever.

The study provides the background and objectives of the Athens workshop, then provides separate in-depth background and analysis of the informal development solutions being adopted in Albania and Greece. Following a review of just how ‘pro-poor’ the solutions are, the final chapter provides a series of lessons learned, many of which can be applied to other countries experiencing informal development issues.

The main purpose of the Guidelines is to provide a holistic approach to addressing land issues from the immediate aftermath of a natural disaster through early recovery and reconstruction phases. It is targeted at humanitarians and land professionals, as well as government officials. The Guidelines take an inter-disciplinary approach to land, one that also brings together humanitarian emergency relief and early recovery perspectives.

Tribal land management constitutes the largest of the three main tenure types that prevail in Botswana (tribal, State, and freehold). The land inventory is a means to support land administration, land development, land use planning, land transactions and natural resources management in Botswana. The land inventory is currently web based and GIS-enabled through the Tribal Land Information Management Systems and the State Land Information Management System. These systems now play a key role in land-related policy and management decisions.

This publication forms a part of a two volume training package on Tools to Improve Transparency in Land Administration. The training package comprises a Training Toolkit and a Trainers' Guide. The first provides content and the latter training methods. The publication is a product of a series of training workshops implemented across Sub-Sahara Africa, South and South East Asia. Under the leadership of the GLTN/UN-Habitat, the training brought together six universities from the global South and one from Europe.

This publication forms a part of a two volume training package on Tools to Improve Transparency in Land Administration. The training package comprises a Training Toolkit and a Trainers' Guide. The first provides content and the latter training methods. The publication is a product of a series of training workshops implemented across Sub-Sahara Africa, South and South East Asia. Under the leadership of the GLTN/UN-Habitat, the training brought together six universities from the global South and one from Europe.

How much should investments in new land administration systems cost? How can we disentangle and compare costs of land administration investments across countries? How can policy-makers know if they are getting value for money and achieving long-term sustainability from investments in land administration systems?

Evidence is mounting that secure
property rights have positive effects for poor people in
general and women in particular. The aim of this report is
to review what is known about women s access to and control
over land and real property in urban settings, identifying
approaches to strengthening property rights that enhance
women s agency, and sharing key lessons. Section two
synthesizes the evidence on urban women s priorities with

Afghanistan is one of the poorest and
longest suffering countries among members of the World Bank,
and has been ravaged by chronic conflict and political
instability. Afghanistan's infrastructure has been
destroyed or degraded; its human resource base severely
depleted; and its social capital eroded. Despite existing
public administration structures, the majority of state
institutions are only beginning to function effectively, and

To implement the vision of fostering
economic development, social equity, and a transparent and
effective government, the Government of Liberia has outlined
key transitions that need to be accomplished. These include
the development of infrastructure (roads, electricity),
schools, job creation and transition from war, civil
conflict and social polarization to a well functioning
society in which economic opportunities are fostered and

Land tenure security is crucial for
women's empowerment and a prerequisite for building
secure and resilient communities. Tenure is affected by many
and often contradictory sets of rules, laws, customs,
traditions, and perceptions. For most rural women, land
tenure is complicated, with access and ownership often
layered with barriers present in their daily realities:
discriminatory social dynamics and strata, unresponsive