securing land rights and active community participation in local development: lessons on land...

Securing land rights and active community participation in

local development: lessons on land demarcation in

Mozambique

Eunice Cavane, Laura German, Almeida Sitoe, Carla Braga

CENTRO DE ESTUDOS DE AGRICULTURA E GESTÃO DE RECURSOS NATURAISFaculdade de Agronomia e Engenharia Florestal. Universidade Eduardo Mondlane

CEAGRECEAGRE

Securing Land Rights and Active Community Participation: lessons on land demarcation in Mozambique

1. Mozambique’ s Land Law recognizes and protects land rights acquired via land occupation, but this by itself yields no official document.

land delimitation and demarcation processes provide mechanisms to formally document these rights

Delimitation confers non-exclusive rights to communities

Demarcation confers exclusive rights in the name of producer’s associations

2. Mozambique’s Community Lands Initiative (iTC) supports Land delimitation and demarcation processes to register community land rights.

iTC’s experiences on land registration provide an opportunity to learn and improve practice in securing local land rights.

Background

Study Objectives


To systematize iTC’ experiences with land delimitation, land demarcation, and establishment of partnership in five provinces in Mozambique, with ultimate goal of drawing lessons to improve practice of land registration for securing community land rights and enabling community participation in local development.

The specific objectives of this presentation on land demarcation are:

to identify the benefits of land demarcation; and

to explore the factors associated with different perceptions on land tenure security.


Stakeholder interview in provincial capitals:

iTC personnel, service providers & oversight bodies

Government agencies (cadastral services, forestry, investment promotion)

Investors

Case studies in target communities:

Focus group discussions with beneficiary communities: leaders, women, men

Focus group discussions “comparison group”: neighboring communities and non-association members.


Types of associations with demarcated land Types of Associations

# associations Demarcated area (ha)

Commercial Agriculture

11 9,5 – 874

Community Grazing Areas (charcoal)

2 3,000

Mining 1 240 Total number os associations = 14

3 categories of associations engaged in income generating activities


Groups’ perceptions of benefits of land demarcation

Benefits Who Increased land tenure security

Protection against land being taken away

Confirmation of limits of demarcated area

Implantation of identification plates

Mostly associations. Community in cases of:

cultivating in demarcated areas

common grazing areas



Benefits Who Economic benefits

Commercialization of vegetables, seed, timber, precious stones Confidence to request loan Increased food availability

Mostly associations Communities in case of demarcation within context of delimitation, food production and mining.



Benefits Who Social benefits and active participation

Reduction of internal conflicts Knowledge of agricultural techniques Knowledge of associations’ structure/leadership Participation in management of NR through control of extraction mineral resources, timber, and control of wild fires

Associations


1. For members of associations increased land tenure security2. For non-association members weakened land tenure security

Factors influencing increased land tenure security:

participatory approach, featured by general meetings involving all community members, creation of CGRN and ACGRN and elaboration of community development agenda

effectiveness of land demarcation process in reducing internal land conflicts

consolidation of knowledge of community rights to use natural resources in the community

development of sense of capability for defending the land

Factors influencing perceptions on changes in land tenure security


Factors influencing weakened land tenure security:

Non association members working in demarcated land believe their land tenure security depends on goodwill of association members

Factors influencing perceptions on changes in land tenure security


1. Social Preparation Approach contributed to active participation in local development through elaboration of CDA.

Valuation of land and natural resources and therefore land rights and concretization of local aspirations/vision.

2. There is a need to go beyond formal titling to support community development and business plans to concretize the benefits of titling and avoid frustration until able to self-mobilize.

3. There is also a need for a process to identify existing land users/uses and explore consequences of demarcation to non- beneficiaries (implication of differential effects of formalization of land rights)


1. Additional support to help the already created local development engage in self- mobilization. This implies conducting needs assessment at community level.

2. Contextualize land demarcation in a broader community development strategy to ensure the concerns of non-association members, regarding land tenure security in demarcated areas, are addressed.


3. Structured monitoring and learning through experiences that enable lessons from implementation to inform policy and iTC interventions

Adapted from Kolb, 1984.

Thank you!

Eunice Cavane, Laura German, Almeida Sitoe, Carla Braga

CENTRO DE ESTUDOS DE AGRICULTURA E GESTÃO DE RECURSOS NATURAISFaculdade de Agronomia e Engenharia Florestal. Universidade Eduardo Mondlane

CEAGRECEAGRE