Tenure Rights and Property Rights Studies at CIFOR

5 Feb, 2015

Nairobi, Kenya

Systematic Review on environmental outcomes of different property rights regimes across resource types in developing countries

Global comparative study on securing tenure rights for forest dependent communities in developing countries

Two of several projects at CIFOR

What is a systematic review?

A comprehensive and careful analysis of existing literature using agreed protocols to analyze relations between interventions and outcomes

Motivation

Despite the existence of different property rights arrangements (state, private, community, mixed/joint) over the last 3 decades, it remains elusive to conclude which regime is ideal for attaining desirable environmental outcomes

Systematic Review, July 2013- July 2015

There is extensive and varied literature on this topic: obtained over 30,000 publications and included 200+ using agreed inclusion criteria

• Difficult to conclude which regime type is ideal for attaining intended environmental outcomes

• There is evidence of positive as well as negative environmental outcomes under different property rights arrangements

• Calls for analysis on how contextual factors mediate the relationship between property rights and environmental outcomes

• National political context using corruption and democracy indices

• Local socio-economic contexts using poverty and population data

Systematic Review: Preliminary Findings

• Motivation

• Objectives

• Approach

• Progress

• Funded by IFAD and GEF

GCS: securing tenure rights for forest dependent communities,

Jan 2014 – Dec 2016

Motivation: On the ground?!

Close to 2 decades of reforms ostensibly aimed at securing local tenure (rights recognition)

Improve livelihoods

Incentives for sustainable land management

Uneven, with mixed results:

Not ambitious enough/full rights?

Customary systems unaccounted for

On-going external threats via competing uses

Internal differentiation, including gender

Implementation gaps/bottlenecks

Introduction (2)

How reform implementation can be made more effective at increasing tenure security?

How reform implementation can be better aligned with on-the-ground practices?

The puzzle

Objectives

Establish how forest tenure reforms emerge, and document experiences and options for formal approaches to securing customary rights.

Identify factors that constrain reform implementation.

Identify impacts of tenure reform on rights and access of women, poor men and ethnic minorities to forests and trees.

Disseminate lessons learned and knowledgegenerated at sub-national, national, regional and international levels.

Consultative & partnering—diverse actors with multiple roles and interests, using three interactive pillars:

Research: comparative; diagnostic; good practice principles; indicators for monitoring tenure security; tools/strategies for integrating multiple interests

Multi-stakeholder engagement: joint problem solving; scenarios development; experience sharing;

Knowledge sharing and capacity enhancement: workshops; needs assessments; tools (eg conflict resolution; gender integration); tenure literacy;

Approach

Main countries

Uganda

IndonesiaPeru

Comparison countries

DRC

Nepal

Ecuador

• Established research teams in each country

• Developed methods and instruments

• Selected study sites

• Formed multi-stakeholder project advisory committees (PAC)

Progress since Jan 2014