As a follow-up to the GIZ LandHub Conference in Berlin, we are pleased to share the Land Governance Toolkit a practical resource that translates more than ten years of experience and lessons highlighted during the conference into concrete, ready-to-use guidance. The toolkit responds to a clear demand from practitioners and partners for tools that make land governance actionable across sectors and contexts.

Building on proven approaches, the toolkit compiles success factors, target groups, potential benefits, and key stakeholders into structured and adaptable tools that can be applied in diverse project settings. It covers core land governance areas such as land administration, systematic land registration, digitalisation of land information systems, sustainable financing, participatory land use planning, and community-based land governance mechanisms. Each thematic section provides practical steps, implementation considerations, and links to additional resources.

A key strength of the Land Governance Toolkit is its cross-sectoral perspective. It demonstrates how land governance contributes to outcomes in agriculture and food security, climate and environmental protection, social development, peace and security, sustainable infrastructure, and economic development. By making these connections explicit, the toolkit supports the integration of land governance into broader development programmes rather than treating it as a stand-alone technical issue.

Designed for practitioners, policymakers, and development partners, the toolkit helps strengthen tenure security, prevent land-related conflicts, and promote sustainable and inclusive land use. It serves as a practical reference for translating policy principles and conference discussions into effective, on-the-ground action.

Download the toolkit Land-Governance-Toolkit-Practical-land-governance-solutions-for-cross-sectoral-application.pdf

The African Journal on Land Policy and Geospatial Sciences (AJLP-GS) has published its November 2025 Regular Issue (Vol. 8, No. 9). This issue brings a collection of peer-reviewed articles that advance knowledge on land policy, geospatial sciences, climate dynamics, and urban development across Africa.

Under the theme Land Policy and Regulatory Framework, the issue features studies examining ethical challenges in land management in Kenya, climate variability and vegetation dynamics in Ethiopia, and the impacts of customary land acquisition on tenure security in refugee-host communities in Northern Uganda.

The section on Geospatial Sciences and Land Governance presents diverse applications of geospatial tools and remote sensing, including rainfall trends in Senegal’s Saloum Delta mangrove ecosystem, community-based flood early warning systems in Malawi, spatial relationships between farmlands and hydrography in Cameroon, and remote sensing approaches to monitoring land degradation in Kenya’s Narok County.

The issue also addresses Urban Development and City Resilience, with research analysing the spatial distribution of informal motorcycle parking stations in Tanzania’s Ubungo Municipality, highlighting urban planning challenges in rapidly growing cities.

Overall, Vol. 8, No. 9 reflects AJLP-GS’s commitment to promoting interdisciplinary, policy-relevant research that supports sustainable land governance and spatial planning across Africa. The full issue is available online, with articles accessible in both English and French.

Vol. 8 No. 9 (2025): Regular Issue – November | African Journal on Land Policy and Geospatial Sciences

The Government of Uganda, through the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development and support from Network of Excellence on Land Governance in Africa through SLGA programme, convened a national workshop in Kampala to advance the review and validation of the 2025 Draft National Land Policy and its implementation strategy. The workshop brought together representatives from government institutions, NELGA, civil society organizations, development partners, and donors, and was graced by the Honorable Minister.

Held from 10–12 December 2025, the engagement provided a platform for shaping Uganda’s land governance priorities in a rapidly evolving socio-economic and environmental context. Discussions focused on strengthening land tenure security, land use and management, land administration, and land markets, with a strong emphasis on enhancing transparency and accountability.

Participants highlighted challenges, including gaps across statutory and customary tenure systems, gender inequalities, and limited access to land for youth, pastoralists, internally displaced persons, and other marginalized groups. The workshop also underscored pressures on land resulting from agriculture, mining, urbanization, environmental conservation, refugee settlement, and climate change, calling for policy responses that are inclusive, responsive, and forward-looking.

The policy review process continues to benefit from technical inputs and multi-stakeholder collaboration. Contributions from NELGA played an important role in anchoring discussions in evidence and regional experience.

“Land belongs to the ancestors for the unborn. It is only under the custody of those who are alive,” said His Royal Highness Drani Stephen Izakari of Uganda, capturing the essence of Africa’s enduring relationship with land.

At the 2025 Conference on Land Policy in Africa (CLPA 2025), the Network of Excellence on Land Governance in Africa (NELGA) convened scholars and traditional leaders to reflect on a decade of progress in strengthening Africa’s land governance systems. The session underscored the vital role of traditional leaders in managing customary land which accounts for up to 90% of land in many African countries and in ensuring that local values, justice, and identity remain central to governance.

Discussions drew lessons from Zambia’s dual tenure system, Cameroon’s borderland governance, Ghana’s urban land challenges, and Nigeria’s initiatives to harmonize customary law. Speakers noted that while customary systems have sustained community cohesion and stewardship for generations, they continue to face challenges linked to colonial legacies, such as unclear succession, limited legal recognition, and exclusion of women and youth.

Participants emphasized the need for collaboration between governments, traditional institutions, and academia to align customary and statutory systems. Researchers were called upon to bridge indigenous knowledge and formal frameworks to promote inclusive and sustainable land management.

The message was clear: for Africa’s land governance to be just and resilient, it must embrace its traditional custodians those who have protected the land for the past, the present, and the future.

“Just land governance begins with people — and with places.” This message set the tone for the GIZ side event, “Towards Just Land Governance,” held during the 2025 Conference on Land Policy in Africa (CLPA) in Addis Ababa.

The session brought together policymakers, researchers, and practitioners from across the continent to reflect on lessons learned from over a decade of collaboration through the Global Programme on Responsible Land Policy (GPRLP) and the Strengthening Advisory Capacities for Land Governance in Africa (SLGA) programme. Discussions emphasized that inclusion, evidence, and innovation remain central to achieving equitable land systems.

Cissy Namuddu Settumba Kiyaga from the Buganda Land Board highlighted that partnerships between governments, civil society, and traditional leaders are crucial to building trust and driving meaningful change at the community level. Similarly, Michel Delor Atangane Mbang from Cameroon’s Centre pour l’Environnement et le Développement stressed the importance of cross-country learning to promote transparency and prevent land-related conflict.

Adding a broader perspective, Professor Uchendu Eugene Chigbu urged participants to move beyond the principle of “leaving no one behind” to “leaving no place behind,” underscoring the need to integrate rural areas fully into land reform and development initiatives.

These reflections echo the Berlin Land Week Declaration, which calls for secure land rights to be embedded in agricultural, environmental, and social policies to achieve justice, sustainability, and shared prosperity.

📄 Read the Berlin Land Week Declaration – https://nelga.uneca.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Shaping-the-Future-of-Land-Governance-A-Global-Call-to-Action-for-Food-Security-and-Fair-Life-for-All.pdf

The Youth Initiative for Land in Africa (YILAA) Namibia Network has officially been launched, marking a milestone in empowering young Namibians to engage meaningfully in land governance and sustainable development. This initiative is dedicated to connecting youth to land and creating opportunities for their active participation in shaping Namibia’s land future.

Through collaboration with NELGA, the National Youth Council of Namibia, the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), and the FIG Young Surveyors Network of Namibia (YSN-Namibia), the initiative builds a strong foundation for inclusive and sustainable land management.

The YILAA Namibia Network aims to enhance youth access to knowledge, innovation, and participation in land-related decision-making processes. By bringing together diverse expertise and fostering collaboration, the network promotes responsible and equitable land governance ensuring that young voices are heard and valued in shaping Namibia’s development pathways.

The Fifth Regional Conference of National Land Institutions, held from 14–16 October 2025 in Freetown, Sierra Leone, marked a milestone in Africa’s journey toward inclusive and equitable land governance. The event brought together over 500 participants, including high-level government officials, traditional land chiefs, NELGA members, development partners, and civil society representatives from across the continent.

The opening session was graced by Sierra Leone’s Vice President, Dr. Mohamed JuldehJalloh, alongside Johannes Behraus, Head of Cooperation at the German Embassy to Sierra Leone, and Raphael Frerking, GIZ Country Director for Sierra Leone and Liberia. Their presence underscored the growing political and development cooperation around securing community land rights and strengthening local governance structures.

Co-organized by the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Country Planning, in partnership with the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) and the African Land Policy Centre(ALPC), the conference served as a platform to exchange experiences, share best practices, and identify actionable pathways for improving land and forest tenure security—particularly for women and youth.

Through NELGA, under the Strengthening Advisory Capacities for Land Governance in Africa (SLGA) program implemented by GIZ and commissioned by BMZ, Africa continues to build stronger, more equitable land systems.

The conference reaffirmed that collaboration, innovation, and evidence-based dialogue remain central to advancing community land rights and ensuring that land governance contributes to peace, inclusion, and sustainable development across Africa.

The Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) is marking three decades of transformative work in land governance, research, and policy engagement across Africa and the Network of Excellence on Land Governance in Africa (NELGA) is proud to support this journey in building one of the most influential partnerships on the continent’s land governance agenda. By combining PLAAS’s academic rigour with NELGA’s African academic institutional reach, this collaboration is laying strong foundations for more inclusive, equitable, and responsive land policies.

PLAAS serves as a special node under NELGA, particularly in designing and implementing high-impact short courses on The Political Economy of Land Governance in Africa and Climate Change and Land Governance in Africa. These courses, co-funded by the African Land Policy Centre (ALPC) and GIZ, are developed, accredited, and awarded by PLAAS at the University of the Western Cape. Since their inception in 2018, the short courses have trained over 180 land professionals to date, drawn from dozens of African countries.

The joint work is delivering impact in several ways:

• Capacity building: By equipping land professionals—including researchers, policymakers, practitioners—with conceptual, technical, and regional knowledge, the training helps fill gaps in understanding customary versus statutory land tenure, gender dimensions in land rights, and the political economy of land policies.

• Policy relevance: PLAAS-NELGA courses are more than academic exercises; they engage government officials and decision-makers, facilitating translation of research into policies and tools for land governance reform.

• Adapting to new challenges: For example, the “Climate Change and Land Governance in Africa” course pilot in April 2025 tackles intersections between climate mitigation, land tenure, and equity—an increasingly urgent set of issues. Plaas

Read more NELGA | Plaas

Originally published on GIZ Akzente International

Secure land rights are a foundation for peace, development, and sustainable growth. Across Africa, unclear land ownership and weak governance systems often limit investment and fuel disputes. To address these challenges, the Network of Excellence on Land Governance in Africa (NELGA) – an initiative of the African Union supported by GIZ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) – is working to strengthen education, research, and policy dialogue on land governance.

NELGA brings together more than 70 universities and research institutions across the continent. It focuses on four core objectives: improving land governance education and training, promoting networking among African experts, supporting evidence-based policy research, and strengthening data-driven reforms.

The impact is already visible. 29 study programmes have been updated in 23 countries, and NELGA experts are influencing policy reforms in Ghana, Namibia, Chad, and Senegal, among others. Through its collaboration with the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), over 160 scholarships have been awarded to African scholars, empowering young professionals like Frieda Nangolo from Namibia, whose NELGA-supported studies opened new career opportunities in land and spatial sciences.

By connecting research with policy and practice, NELGA is helping shape Africa’s journey toward fairer, more secure land rights – a key step toward achieving the African Union’s Agenda 2063 vision: “The Africa We Want.”

Read the full article on Africa’s path to fairer land rights | GIZ

The Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) is celebrating 30 years of transformative research, training, and policy engagement in land governance across Africa. Established in 1995 at the University of the Western Cape, PLAAS has become a leading voice in advancing understanding on land, agriculture, and natural resource management — with a focus on equity, inclusion, and sustainable development.

In collaboration with GIZ–Strengthening Advisory Capacities for Land Governance in Africa (SLGA) and the Network of Excellence on Land Governance in Africa (NELGA), PLAAS hosted a five-day event that brings together researchers, policymakers, civil society representatives, and development partners to reflect on its three-decade journey and chart the way forward for land governance in Africa.

A central highlight of the celebration was the impact of NELGA short course the “Political Economy of Land Governance in Africa and Master Class” on “Climate Change, Pastoralism, and Agro-Pastoral Conflicts in Africa”, which explores how environmental shifts, resource scarcity, and pastoral mobility intersect to shape conflict and cooperation across the continent. The session provided a platform for participants to exchange knowledge, share policy experiences, and propose actionable solutions to strengthen resilience in vulnerable communities.

The event also featured networking opportunities, a field visit connecting academia with practitioners, and the launch of the NELGA–PLAAS Alumni Network, fostering continued collaboration among African land governance experts.

As PLAAS marks this milestone, NELGA and GIZ–SLGA reaffirm their commitment to supporting knowledge exchange and capacity development that empower African institutions and professionals to drive just, inclusive, and sustainable land governance.