For NELGA, the fourth Conference on Land Policy in Africa (CLPA) 2021 edition unwrapped inspiring and innovative ideas relating to land policy and its implementation in Africa. Held virtually from the 1^st to  4th November 2021, CLPA was designed to accommodate critical sessions that showcased the continent’s progress in meeting the African Union land agenda. This includes the review of land administration frameworks, innovations, land management, and opportunities presented in academic research, action plans and data analysis for Africa.

With over 1,700 participants, the CLPA, which was organised by the Africa Land Policy Center (ALPC) with support of GIZ’s SLGA programme, provided the space for NELGA to contribute to the capacity development of land stakeholders in Africa. With the CLPA theme focus on Land governance for safeguarding art, culture and heritage towards the Africa We Want, the NELGA sessions aimed to provide land education, knowledge and research that is embedded in the evolving customary dynamics prevalent in the land space. Considering the hybrid nature of the CLPA, NELGA members from all over Africa had the opportunity to submit and present scientific papers to bridge research and policy gaps for land stakeholders. The session came fully loaded with ideas carefully analysed and approved by the CLPA scientific committee for presentation at the CLPA.

Besides individual NELGA members making paper presentations, land experts from NELGA teamed up to showcase innovation, best practice and progress to improve land systems in Africa in these three areas of work – Cultural dimensions in land research and training; Innovative actions towards meeting the African Union land agenda in Africa; and Analysis of land tenure systems in Northern Africa. These sessions ran between 1^st and 3^rd November and bridged knowledge gaps by presenting the findings from the comparative experience of NELGA nodes in bringing innovative solutions for sustainable land management via diverse cultural contexts in Africa. NELGA’s Programme Officer,  Dr. Desire Tchigankong, explains that the NELGA sessions educated landowners and practitioners on relevant knowledge and skills needed in securing livelihoods, economic growth, and sustainable development through the creative economy in both the rural and urban settings. These sessions, as he explained, would contribute to achieving sustainable growth while maintaining healthy land policies and cultural practices in Africa.

Africa needs more land professionals

Dr. Judy Kariuki, Economic Officer for the ALPC, spoke during the session,  Innovative actions towards meeting the African Union land agenda in Africa, on the progress the Network is making towards improving the academic land governance space in Africa. Reported progress includes the addition of land curricula at academic institutions that are framed within the principles of the AU land agenda. PhD programmes enrollment has increased and introduced in institutions which had no designated land themed programmes. Also, research now focuses on problem-solving rather than promotions which are gradually picking up within nodes and internalised in countries. Dr. Kariuki called for an increase in the number of land professionals in Africa and the introduction of African academic findings into curricula.

In line with other speakers, they recommend the regular uptake of curricula reviews and terrain assessment which takes into consideration new findings from industry experts and exposes land scholars to collaborative research and support continuous learning through a multidisciplinary approach to adequately prepare the land stakeholders and policymakers of the future for Africa.

Leverage on Innovation

“There continues to be poor understanding of how culture and heritage influences and transforms land administration systems. However, situations like the COVID-19 pandemic presented an environment to adopt new transformational approaches and leverage on technology to drive land themed campaigns, capacity development and a stronger understanding on how such themes influence the political economy of the land space in Africa,” explains Prof. Moeniba Isaacs, NELGA technical coordinator, Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS), University of Western Cape, South Africa at the masterclass on understanding how technology and innovation can improve land administration systems in diverse cultural context. She highlighted the evolution of technological innovations and synthesised them with land administration systems, bringing to light the positive result this would bring to both urban and rural communities in Africa. She explained that such innovation is characterised by what institutions and universities such as PLAAS present.

The session looked at universities as education providers and knowledge generators through research but are criticised for having a limited impact on society. For Innovation to be achieved in Universities offering land governance programs, major changes in institutional cultureare inevitable. Innovation requires collaboration with the private sector and government agencies to foster an enabling environment for innovative practices carried out by land programmes at higher institutions. This includes streamlining innovation in teaching and research, and Universities becoming systematic about scientific impact, budget for innovation and collaboration, and plan for intellectual asset management.

Land and North Africa

To improve the body of contemporary research work for policy reform on land governance in    Africa, the node embarked on a scoping study to gather baseline information on land systems in North Africa. The research provided data on capacity gaps and needs in creating an enabling environment for land reforms in Algeria, Tunisia, Mauritania, Morocco, Egypt, and Sudan. The research findings launched in 2021 provide a foundation for curricula development in line with AU curricula guidelines on land governance in Africa.  The Scoping study was reviewed and provided context for the captured countries at the masterclass which was conveyed by the NELGA North Africa node under Prof. Moha El-Ayachi and featured  Nabila Zouhiri, Siraj Sair, Heba Allah Khalil, Sait El Azark, and Salwa Saidi as speakers.

NELGA North Africa Coordinator Prof. Moha explained during the masterclass that scoping study showcase the important role of capacity development to land management, “Capacity development is crucial to addressing land conflicts, cadastral development, urban planning, and land use strengthens the local economy. One of the ways NELGA closes these capacity gaps is by setting up  Masters degree programs on land management and building a partnership program with its North Africa member universities.” He also stressed the need for more training and research actions. In bridging this gap,  the node has set up at IAV Hassan II university a Capacity Building Centre (CBC) to build capacity gaps identified in the regional scoping study.

The preparations for the 6^th GIZ LandHub Meeting are in full progress and the GIZ Land Governance Team kindly invites you to join this year´s digital LandHub from 6 – 7 December. The GIZ LandHub Meeting stands for long-term exchange of knowledge and experience within the international land community and is the perfect opportunity for you to get in touch with colleagues from the GIZ and other organizations.

We would like to give you the opportunity to actively contribute to the event. There are two options:

Organize a full 90-minute online session on December 6 from 11:00 to 12:30 (UTC+1)

Contribute a 25-minute online input on December 7 from 11:00 to 12:30 (UTC+1)

Under this year’s title “Alliances for Impact: What have we achieved together?” we would like to have sessions and inputs along the following thematic tracks:

T1: Climate and Environment

T2: Gender Transformative Approaches

T3: Youth and Employment

T4: Sustainable Supply Chains and Private Sector Cooperation

T5: Securing Land Rights at Scale

T6: Policy Dialogue and Civil Society Engagement

If you would like to contribute to the upcoming LandHub, please submit your proposals for contributions to landmanagement@giz.de by November 10. Kindly fill out the forms for a 90-minute online session and/or a 25-minute online input attached to this e-mail

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us, and please feel free to share this call for proposals with your colleagues.

We look forward to seeing you at the next GIZ LandHub!

The Land Governance Team

landmanagement@giz.de

Interested in regular updates from GIZ land projects? Please register for our Newsletter under this link: https://www.giz.de/de/mediathek/newsletter.html Our newsletter is the 8th in the list of Thematic Newsletters.

The preparations for the 6^th GIZ LandHub Meeting are in full progress and the GIZ Land Governance Team kindly invites you to join this year´s digital LandHub from 6 – 7 December. The GIZ LandHub Meeting stands for long-term exchange of knowledge and experience within the international land community and is the perfect opportunity for you to get in touch with colleagues from the GIZ and other organizations.

We would like to give you the opportunity to actively contribute to the event. There are two options:

Organize a full 90-minute online session on December 6 from 11:00 to 12:30 (UTC+1)

Contribute a 25-minute online input on December 7 from 11:00 to 12:30 (UTC+1)

Under this year’s title “Alliances for Impact: What have we achieved together?” we would like to have sessions and inputs along the following thematic tracks:

T1: Climate and Environment

T2: Gender Transformative Approaches

T3: Youth and Employment

T4: Sustainable Supply Chains and Private Sector Cooperation

T5: Securing Land Rights at Scale

T6: Policy Dialogue and Civil Society Engagement

If you would like to contribute to the upcoming LandHub, please submit your proposals for contributions to landmanagement@giz.de by November 10. Kindly fill out the forms for a 90-minute online session and/or a 25-minute online input attached to this e-mail

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us, and please feel free to share this call for proposals with your colleagues.

We look forward to seeing you at the next GIZ LandHub!

The Land Governance Team

landmanagement@giz.de

Interested in regular updates from GIZ land projects? Please register for our Newsletter under this link: https://www.giz.de/de/mediathek/newsletter.html Our newsletter is the 8th in the list of Thematic Newsletters.

The Africa Land Policy Center (ALPC), through NELGA, held its first NELGA Knowledge Exchange (NEX) webinar on September 30, 2021. The Webinar, which was hosted by NELGA technical node for Southern Africa, the Institute for Poverty Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS), University of the Western Cape, featured speakers from the region and focused on the sharing case studies on hybrid municipal land governance in South Africa as a route to fixing land administration and structures in South Africa. The Webinar was supported by GIZ’s Strengthening Advisory Capacities for Land Governance in Africa (SLGA) program. It featured diverse participants from across Africa, including Chiefs of stakeholder organisations, academics, land experts, doctoral students, and professionals working in the purview of land governance and administration. 

Dr. Joan Kagwanja, Chief of ALPC, expressed her delight to participate at the NEX inaugural  Webinar as knowledge gained from such learning spaces makes its way into policy spaces and strengthening institutions where land rights are discussed and promoted leading to the prosperity of the people.

Organised in both English and French, Prof. Andries Du Toit from PLAAS chaired the NEX  with presentations from Dr. Gaynor Paradza, a land expert from the public affairs research institute, and Taki Sithagu lecturer at Wits University. In setting the scene, Prof Du Toit explained that it is important to consider technical and political solutions in addressing dysfunctional land systems in South Africa. Considering that to govern the land is to govern the people on the land, Prod Du Toti stated that it is important to institutionalise knowledge that improves land administration for countries such as South Africa with its wide range of land administration systems.

The two presentations delivered in the session focused on South Africa. Dr. Gaynor Paradza insightful presentation shed light on the benefits and problems of land administration, fixing the challenges of land administration, roles of formal and informal institutions, which are municipalities and traditional leaders.  According to Dr. Paradza, “a functional land administration system is fundamental to land reform, economic growth and equitable change and pursues widely accepted national land policy goals, plans and strategies. In South Africa, however, these objectives are often discordant or contested.” Dr. Paradza based her presentation on a framework that outlines a joint project among PLAAS, South African Local Government Association (SALGA) and the Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI) which calls for reforms that focus on innovative and integrated land administration as a means to reconceptualise the institutional domain of land governance and help to overcome the fragmentation that undermines land administration. To emphasis the need for innovative land administration and data management systems, she states that “the people at Google Maps know more about African land data more than land practitioners here in Africa.” (20210907_LandAdminDiagnostic.pdf (nelga.uneca.org))

The Webinar also featured a compelling presentation from Taki Situgu titled -Hybrid land administration in rural municipalities (South Africa). This presentation enabled participants to reflect on hybrid land administration as a tool to address land dysfunctions, especially on neo-customary land systems. (Hybrid Land administration (nelga.uneca.org))

Read the full report here.

Registration is now open to the 2021 Conference on Land Policy in Africa.

The fourth edition of the Conference on Land Policy in Africa (CLPA) will be held in a hybrid format on November 2- 4 2021, under the theme: “Land governance for safeguarding art, culture and heritage towards the Africa We Want”.

The Conference’s theme aligns to the African Union Declaration of 2021 as African’s Year of Art, Culture and Heritage through the theme, “Arts, Culture and Heritage: Levers for Building the Africa We Want”.

Participants should register for CLPA-2021 by clicking on this link https://www.conftool.org/africalandconference2021/ to have access to the event agenda, paper abstracts, and synopses of plenary sessions, masterclasses and side events, and to presented papers, upon the completion of the event, in addition to access to individual links to all sessions.

As the conference will use Zoom as its video streaming platform, participants are also invited to register on the following zoom link, https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMvc-ytrz0rHt1THarIdfOGtJGgKcOZVA8R.

However, on the zoom link, the registration details are minimal as you will only be required to provide your name and email address. Those who have not registered on the conftool platform will not have access to any of the event sessions through the Zoom links.

CLPA is organized by African Land Policy Centre (ALPC), a joint initiative of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the African Union Commission (AUC), and the African Development Bank (AfDB). It will be co-hosted by the Government of Rwanda

Joan  Kagwanja, Chief of ALPC notes that land in Africa is at the centre of culture and heritage, which provides a framework for a continental discourse towards improving the land governance space and attaining “The Africa We Want” as envisioned in the AU Agenda 2063.

She further observed that the ALPC recognizes the potential role of arts, culture, and heritage in catalysing the socioeconomic development and integration of the African continent. Hence, the proposed theme draws inspiration from the AU Agenda 2063 as a shared strategic framework and blueprint for inclusive growth and sustainable development.

“The year of arts, culture and heritage happens at a time when AU Member States are grappling with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which imposes heavy human, financial and economic costs to the land governance space in Africa,” said Ms Kagwanja.

The overall objective of the Conference is to deepen commitment and strengthen capacity for land policy development, implementation and monitoring in Africa through improved access to knowledge and information in support of evidence-based land policymaking.

The CLPA conference is expected to improve knowledge in support of evidence-based land policy development, implementation and monitoring in Africa; enhanced and deepened consensus amongst African policymakers and stakeholders on promising avenues for addressing land governance challenges; improved networking, partnerships and resources for land governance and land policy in Africa; better appreciation of the role of land for safeguarding Africa’s art, culture, and heritage on livelihood particularly for marginalised groups.

Held every two years, the conference draws participants from government, academia, research, traditional authorities and other non-state actors, private sector and development partners to disseminate and exchange knowledge to promoting dialogue, networking, advocacy and partnerships in support of implementation of the AU agenda on land. Central to this agenda is evidence-based land policy development, review, implementation and monitoring.

About ALPC

ALPC was launched in 2017 as a successor to the Land Policy Initiative (LPI) established in 2006. Key achievements of the LPI include the development of the Framework and Guidelines on Land Policy in Africa (F&G), prepared to provide guidance on the development and implementation of sound national land policies and the Guiding Principles on Large- scale Land based Investments (GPs) availed to AU member states in support of the negotiation of fairer and more sustainable land investments.

Issued by:
Communications Section
Economic Commission for Africa
PO Box 3001
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Tel: +251 11 551 5826
E-mail: eca-info@un.org

For more information on the conference, click here : https://www.uneca.org/stories/rwanda-to-host-the-2021-conference-on-land-policy-in-africa

South Africa’s land governance is an outcome of diverse processes that include but are not limited to land administration.  A focus on land administration’s history, ongoing research and initiatives to improve land administration reveal how the country experiences the challenges and outcomes of attempts to resolve the problems.

The webinar will provide an overview of the challenges of  South Africa’s dysfunctional land administration system, which is marred by a deep dualism that leaves an estimated 60% of South Africans without de facto institutional support for informal and customary rights in land and also highlight insights gained from ongoing attempts to  address the challenges

The webinar will touch on the following subjects:

1. The colonial origins of South Africa’s dualistic land administration system and the practical consequences.

2. A case study of hybrid land management institutions that have evolved in response to experienced dysfunction, highlighting both the opportunities and the risks involved.

3.  Findings from a pilot project exploring the scope for reform of dysfunctional systems through processes of social dialogue and institutional learning.

You are invited to a Zoom meeting.

When: Sep 30, 2021 01:00 PM Nairobi

Register in advance for this meeting:

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMrcumuqDMtGdxBRjMqrNRYQhnhcGx8LkrD

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

The Land Administration Unit at Ardhi University which hosts the NELGA Eastern Africa Node organized the NELGA Land Data Hub Sensitization Workshop jointly with the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD) from July 5 to 9, 2021 at the university.

NELGA’s Land Data Hub is a platform developed to ensure the collation, documentation and real-time analysis of land data in Africa. The Hub is currently piloted in Tanzania and the workshop provided land stakeholders and users from research institutions, academics and government representatives the opportunity to share useful inputs to the RCMRD Team on the Land Data Hub particularly on issues of access to data, functionalities of the developed data hub and the themes.

Developed by RCMRD and Geo Consult International (GCI) with support from Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the NELGA Land Data Hub aims to accumulate and store country- and region-specific sources of land-related information. It also intends to guide land governance stakeholders and end-users in obtaining this information.

An Action Plan for improving the data hub was drawn with a timeline of two months i.e. 13^th July – 2^nd September 2021.

To read up on the data hub, click here: RCMRD and GCI Holds Workshop to Showcase NELGA Land Data Hub – The Network of Excellence on Land Governance in Africa

The Land Administration Unit at Ardhi University, the NELGA Node for East Africa, embarked on a Community Outreach Project from July 12 to 17, to sensitize local leaders in community districts on land laws with an ultimate goal to spearhead good land governance.

These were carried out through a series of awareness-raising workshops in three districts i.e. Kilwa, Lindi Rural (Mtama) and Ileje. Over 200 local leaders drawn from among members of Village Councils, Village Leaders (Chairpersons and Village Executive Officers), Ward Executive Officers and Councillors, and members of the Ward Tribunal from the respective districts participated in the workshops. In addition, District land professionals and representatives of District Commissioners and District Administrative Secretaries participated in the workshops.

The Workshops were participatory and focused on the legal framework governing access to land touching on village land management, land rights of various groups such as women, youth and pastoralists.  The outreach programme addressed land challenges from the gender perspective and their related bundle of rights, and highlight land rights, land acts, and policies in Tanzania as instruments against gender discrimination to land, and develop a system to create common solutions. Such instruments are key to empower women and reduce related land conflicts at the grassroots level before seeking resolution for land disputes through other means.

Frieda Nangolo is a 2020 NELGA-DAAD scholarship holder at Namibian University of Science and Technology (NUST) Department of Land and Property Sciences (DLPS).  She shares her story on the impact of the NELGA experience post-graduation.

In 2017, Frieda Nangolo was granted the opportunity to further her studies with a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), a financial support through the Network of Excellence on Land Governance in Africa (NELGA). An optimist by nature, Frieda believed that hard work and a positive attitude were the keys to getting the scholarship and excelling as the first graduate within her scholarship group in 2020.

“I grew up in Onkani village in the northern parts of Namibia. After High School, I moved to Windhoek, where I enrolled for an undergraduate degree in Property Studies at Namibia University of Science & Technology (NUST). I completed my degree in 2014 and graduated in 2015. I started working as an intern at Windhoek Municipality, where I gained working experience in the land industry. However, I felt there was more I needed to learn. In 2017, I got a golden opportunity to further my studies with a scholarship from DAAD for a Masters in Spatial Sciences,” said Frieda.

The scholarship covered Frieda’s tuition, personal needs, and study materials. This came in handy, as she balanced her studies while having a full-time job, running an online masters degree concurrently and her family life. Excelling at her graduation, Frieda opined that, “My experience studying with DAAD was a good one. It  challenged me at some points as it brought out a different side of me which I never thought I have.”

Frieda was fortunate enough to complete her studies in 2020 before the Covid-19 pandemic hit Namibia.

In 2019, NELGA officially launched its Central Africa node in Cameroon with a regional hub at the University of Yaoundé I. The node partnered with institutions across the region, recording successes, including developing an adopted road map to address conflict challenges between herders and farmers in Mbororo, Cameroon and making policy recommendations into the Revised Rural Sectarian Development Strategy and the National Agricultural Investment Plan (SDSR/PNIA) in Cameroon. In 2021, it became necessary to expand the node’s reach to other francophone academic and research institutions, especially in Chad, Gabon, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

In July 2021, the NELGA team were in DRC to meet with various universities rectors, vice-rectors, deans, teachers, and students in fulfilling the above mandate. The team visited relevant land-focused departments at the University of Lubumbashi and the University of Likasi, making a compelling case to join the NELGA network.

The Universities stated their willingness to be part of the network. They identified focal persons for further engagement in bringing the institution into the network. Students working on land issues were ecstatic about the opportunities provided by NELGA, including the DAAD scholarship and online seminars. They looked forward to being part of upcoming meetings and events.

Click here to read more about this advocacy visit.