Laying the foundation for implementing /

mainstreaming the VGGTand Land tenure, use

planning and management (LTPM) in the Near East

Daniel DananoLWDS, December 2013

Amman

Milestones Country assessments on

“The Status of Land Tenure, Use Planning and management have been carried out during the past 2 years in seven countries (Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Syria and Yemen) with financial and technical support of the FAO.

used as source of data and information for land use policy formulation and designing of projects and program in land use, management and tenure governance. The studies will further be of paramount importance

Workshops and action plans prepared

Current land tenure systems are failing to address age-old problems: landless households and small farmers continue to compete for limited and fragmented cropland, and pastoralists are losing control of their traditional grazing areas. Access to water is becoming an increasingly important issue as the number of users grows. It is therefore essential that efforts are made to ensure a participatory approach to decision-making that involves the rural populations concerned. (The VGGT has this tools and instruments)

Major features of land tenure

Land degradation, desertification/soil erosion by wind and

water; Small land holdings and fragmentation; Shrinking in size of arable land and water for agriculture lack of proper land use policies high costs associated with land reclamation; poor soil quality and lack of measures suiting the various

agro ecological conditions / arid and semiarid/; Lack of technologies in land management ; Prevalence of arid and semi arid climatic conditions; Poor soil quality and soil moisture stress drought and desertification lack of land use policies Soil erosion by wind and water Prevalence of arid and semi arid climatic conditions

Major issues in land from the country assessments

Global problems in land management

Land problems

Increasing population Densely populated areas present overuse of scarce resources, which frequently leads

to other problems, such as inadequate drainage and increasing salinity. Access to land among small farmers. efficiency of land operation is closely linked to existing tenure relations and security.Land Tenure and Property Rights Constraints The annual loss of agricultural land to urban expansion is high. Due to high land pressure, land reclamation efforts are needed to bring more land

under agricultural use. Insecure Tenure and Property Rights Liberalization of tenancy restrictions in the early 1990s has led to a loss of tenure

security for previously protected tenants. Inequitable Access to Land and Natural Resources Pressure on the country's limited arable land is high due to the country's large

population. holdings are inequitable; about 7 per cent of Egypt's 3 million landowners hold 50 per

cent of the land. Key Institutional issues: Insufficient information Conflict or Dispute Resolution mechanisms; there are limitations with Legal and Regulatory Framework ; Redistribution; Land Administration , Land Use Management and planning

Land tenure in existing situation

Different Tenure Types pose difficulty in managing and sometimes conflicting Land can be individually and communally owned. Legal Framework Land Administration and Institutions Land administration--surveying, registration, and land

classification--was originally established under Ottoman rule.

Conflict or Dispute Resolution mechanisms are inadequate Legal and Regulatory Framework not sufficient Redistribution Land Administration Land registration and records (lacking updating) Land Use Management and Conservation

Land tenure cont’d

There is little documentation of current land and

property rights in many countries In some countries increasing population and the

spread of poverty have strained the country's natural resources, in general, and soil, vegetative cover, and water resources, in particular.

The country's land holdings are highly fragmented. Insecure Tenure and Property Rights land registration system is inadequate, that the

creation of a clear and legally defensible land registration system should be a priority of the government.

Challenges in tenure

Introducing the VGGT: regional meetings

1. Introduction to VGGT meetings

3 were conducted in Lebanon, Cairo, Yemen and Jordan (111 persons participated)

2. Awareness raising workshops 3 workshops were conducted in Amman, Morocco and United Arab emirates (about 125 persons participated)

The VGGT

Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security promote secure tenure rights and equitable access to land, fisheries and forests as a means of eradicating hunger and poverty, supporting sustainable development and enhancing the environment.

They were officially endorsed by the Committee on World Food Security on 11 May 2012. Since then implementation has been encouraged by G20, Rio+ 20, United Nations General Assembly and Francophone Assembly of Parliamentarians

Introduction to VGGT Countries

participatedNumber of people

Amman, December 2011

6 33

Lebanon , June 2012 7 30

Egypt, November 2012

12 25

Yemen, March 2013 1 23

111

Awareness creation workshop

Amman 11 40

Morocco 9 45

UAE 7 23

108

Grand total 219

Participants in the introductory and awareness workshops on the VGGT

Introductory workshops (Cairo, Yemen and West Bank)

Participants in Amman workshop

Awareness workshops (UAE,

Recommendations of the working groups for the way forward

Aware officials in each country, apply participatory approach where all stakeholders take part in

mainstreaming VGGT in land policies, adopt integrated resource management, identify criteria for reallocation of water and land resources including coastal fisheries, base allocation of fishing rights to fishing communities or the private sector, national plans of action should include training and extension, strengthening GIS for land monitoring, establish and strengthen national data base, and seek ways for incorporating the VGGT into national policies and allocate finance for its implementation

it is necessary to develop strategy and roadmap for the implementation of VGGT, establishing a national multi-stakeholder platform

mapping of stakeholders and assigning responsibilities are required, establish multi-stakeholder working group,

budget and potential sources of funding, develop a strategy for dissemination, conducting workshops for policy and decision makers at various levels, conduct trainings and meetings, gap analysis, advocating for reviewing policies and prepare country action plans and develop school curriculum.

rangelands were not properly treated in the VGGT. However, its relevance to rangelands is high and this is acknowledged,

public policies have largely failed to address responsible governance in the forests and rangelands, traditional and indigenous knowledge and customary tenure systems are in existence; the civil society is far more active today on issues of resources management and tenure governance

In the final plenary session, participants from all countries expressed their interest, reached agreement and requested for more awareness creation meetings to be conducted at the sub regional and as well as country levels. All agreed that policy and decision makers be given awareness initially and as soon as possible.