Includes the dimension of poverty and the need for land; colonisation and decolonisation; the imposition of globalization; indispensable but sufficient; constructing/ building the institutional framework in Mozambique. Cites the key issues cited by Mozambican civil society – no to landless people in Mozambique; no to absentee landowners, those who let the land and do not invest; recognition of testimonial proof of land occupation by the poor; incorporation of common law systems into the legal framework; and stop the bi-modal approach for agricultural development.

Includes ProSavana strategy plan published: increased government role and fertiliser subsidies, but no word on land grabs. Claim $4.2 bn farm plan for Rio Lurio. Argues that neither new plantations nor outside investment in large farms have succeeded since independence in 1975. So time for the elite and key donors to realise that plantation or industrial farming does not work in Mozambique and encouraging giant foreign-owned farms will not end poverty. Instead need to encourage foreign investment elsewhere in the value chain and let Mozambicans do the farming.

Background paper for an IDS Sussex workshop on new ideas on the rights to land, housing and property. Contains a renewed focus on poverty and, within that, a new focus on land rights; livelihoods and rights-based approaches; the World Bank and received orthodoxy in land policy; DFID’s focus on land rights in Africa; Francophone perspectives; recent World Bank thinking; the mysteries of capitalism (a discussion of de Soto); lessons learnt.

Consultation draft of a DFID Issues Paper on Land Policy by Julian Quan, with the author looking for comments and feedback by the end of November 2002. It revises an earlier version of April 2002, ’following a series of regional workshops on land policy sponsored by the World Bank, and takes account of comments received through that process.’ Includes the significance of land rights for poverty elimination; opportunities and challenges for pro-poor land policy; integrating land into poverty strategies; implications for DFID and the international community; conclusion.

Despite programmes for rural land reform and redistribution around the world, inequitable land distribution and rural poverty remain profound in much of the rural South. Suggests a new approach to land reform and rural development. ‘Rural territorial development’ is based on and encourages shared territorial identity (distinctive productive, historical, cultural and environmental features) amongst different stakeholders and social groupings. Builds on the fact that rural people’s livelihood strategies are complex and often mostly non-agricultural in nature.

Examines evolution of land tenure reform in Kenya since Swynnerton Plan of 1954 with particular emphasis on the poverty impacts of titling. Concludes that land titling risks a negative impact on the poor.

Contains the urban poverty challenge; from illegality to formal tenure; segregation of space – an urban poverty challenge; from government to governance; the role of the state; government as a land owner; management of public land and public spaces; settlement of administrative and community boundaries; local land tenure regularisation; better information and the role of statistical data.

The focus is on management and use of wetlands in Kenya. Coverage includes their role in poverty reduction, Lake Naivasha, Yala, the Nzoia River Basin, and the need for securing wetlands as common property resources. Argues that secure access to wetlands for poor rural communities is fundamental to improving their livelihoods.

Asks what is customary tenure and what do we know about tenure systems and their consequences in Northern Uganda. Examines trends in land transactions and who is selling and buying land, certificates and titles for investment, and who owns customary land. Looks at protection from land alienation, the rights of women and children, the evolution of customary tenure and continuing changes in customary law. Concludes with policy recommendations and a plea for recognition that land is increasingly a cause of conflict and impoverishment.

A brief which takes on the myth that large mega farms are more modern and productive than smallholder farms. Concludes that by boosting the productivity of smallholders, governments and donors can increase food production and rural employment; reduce rural poverty through the commercialization of subsistence agriculture; and more effectively empower women. With secure rights to their land, access to markets, and credit and technology, smallholders can drive the growth of rural economies throughout the developing world.

Covers orphans in Africa; the problem of guardianship; the Rwandan setting; post-war situation of orphans; children and the law(s); orphans’ efforts to assert land rights – land dispute cases; rethinking care giving for orphans. The 1994 genocide, combined with the impacts of HIV/AIDS, created 300,000 orphans in Rwanda. Many are heads of households who urgently need land-use rights, but a weakened system of guardianship and increasing pressures on land often prevent this.

Chapters cover introduction and background; land tenure; housing; inheritance and marital property legislation; poverty reduction strategy; land management systems; implementation of land and housing rights; good practices; conclusions; recommendations. Argues that the challenge is to take the steps necessary to speed up full implementation of the Flexible Land Tenure System so as to revitalise the hopes and aspirations of the thousands of poor families living in informal settlements.