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The Global Land Tool Network (GLTN) contributes to the implementation of pro poor land policies to achieve secure land rights for all
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Newsletter
No. 01-11
April 2011
Land on Top of Agenda at UN-HABITAT’s Governing Council Another
interesting
side
event
is
“Land, Property and Housing: A focus on the Muslim World”, organized in collaboration with the University of East London. The event will feature an introduction to the “Training Package on Land, Property and Housing Rights in the Muslim World” by its principal author and also highlight how the package can be used in the field. Finally,
the
GLTN
secretariat
is
participating in the pre-session meeting of the African Ministerial Conference on Housing and Urban Development (AMCHUD), hosted by the Government of Kenya. The meeting will discuss the establishment of a permanent secretariat Ms. Sheela Patel, Chair of SDI will be a speaker at the Governing Council Photo © SDI
and issues will be one of the key
L
tenure in Brazil, India and Tanzania by
topics to be discussed at UN-
grassroots organizations. The event will
HABITAT’s 23rd Governing Council
showcase the work of SDI, and two of
(GC23), taking place in Nairobi from
the Huairou Commission’s affiliates,
11 – 15 April 2011. The dialogue on
MWEDO and Espaço Feminista.
“Sustainable
Development
through
Expanding Equitable Access to Land, Housing,
Basic
Infrastructure
and
Services” will be one of the highlights at GC23, featuring renowned experts such as Sheela Patel of SDI, a GLTN partner.
for AMCHUD and the implementation of the Bamako Plan of Action. For a full list of land-related activities at UN-HABITAT’s 23rd Governing Council, see our time table on page three.
Contents 1. Land on Top of Agenda at UN-HABITAT’s Governing Council 2. Launch of Training Package on Land, Property and Housing Rights in the Muslim World 3. Key Events at UN-HABITAT’s 23rd Governing Council 4. High-level Delegation to Showcase Grassroots Participation in Land Regularization 5. GLTN Partners to Develop a Pro-poor Land Recordation System
GLTN partners are taking the lead in
5. GLTN welcomes three new partners
organizing several side events at the
6. African Land and Housing Ministries tackle Gender Equality and Grassroots Participation
Governing Council. One such event is
6. Capacity Development of the Land Sector in Kenya
“Not about Us without Us – Grassroots
7. Making the Village Land Act work for Maasai Women in Tanzania
Participation in Land”, which will
8. AMCHUD meets in Special Session at UN-HABITAT’s Governing Council
highlight ongoing efforts to secure
1
Network Partners
Launch of Training Package on Land, Property and Housing Rights in the Muslim World
1. Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) 2. Bill and Melanda Gates Foundation (BGMF) 3. Commonwealth Association of Surveying and Land Economy (CASLE)
I
programme in Iraq. GLTN encourages
of East London, GLTN is launching
practitioners and academia to adopt
the new “Training Package on Land,
the training package and carry out
Property and Housing Rights in the
research to further strengthen the
Muslim World” at a side-event of the
understanding of Islamic dimensions
8. FIAN International
23 Governing Council of UN-HABITAT
of land.
9. GIZ
on Thursday 14 April 2011. The
10. Groupe d’Echange et de Recherche Technologiques (GRET)
training package is intended for policy
The training package is based on GLTN’s
11. Hakijamii Trust
makers, practitioners and students
previous work on Islamic dimensions,
12. Huairou Commission (HC)
who are looking to develop innovative
including the book on Land, Law and
13. Habitat International Coalition (HIC)
and
land
Islam: Property and Human Rights
14. Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS) International
administration, urban planning and
in the Muslim World by Sait & Lim,
slum upgrading in the Muslim world.
published in 2006. This work was
4. Cities Alliance 5. Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) 6. FAO 7. Federation des Geometres Francophone (FGF)
15. Alliance on Land Tenure and Administration (IALTA)
n collaboration with the University
rd
authentic
solutions
for
endorsed by leading non-Muslim and
16. International Federation of Surveyors (FIG)
The training package analyses the
Muslim stakeholders, including the
17. International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA)
relevance of Islamic land tools and
seat of Islamic scholarship, the Al-
presents the basic features of Islamic
Azhar in Egypt.
18. International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) 19. International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) 20. International Institute for Geo-Information (ITC) 21. International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) 22. International Land Coalition (ILC) 23. International Research Group on Law and Urban Space (IRGLUS) 24. International Union for Land Value Taxation (IU)
law. Topics covered include Islamic human rights & land, Islamic land
In most Muslim countries, Islamic law,
tenures, inheritance laws, property
principles and practices are important
rights
waqf
factors in governing access to land. Over
philanthropy
20 percent of the world’s population is
of
Muslim
(endowment),
women,
Islamic
influenced to some degree by Islamic
and Islamic microfinance.
principles and practice, either through The
course
collaboration
was with
pilot-tested the
in
official systems or informal practices.
Islamic
Yet global approaches to secure tenure
25. International Union of Notaries (IUNL)
International University in Malaysia in
rarely acknowledge that Islamic land
26. Landesa
late 2009. The course will first be rolled
principles
27. Lantmateriat (National Land Survey of Sweden)
out by the UN-HABITAT programme
enhancing property rights.
28. Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
for Somali, with interest also being
29. Millenium Challenge Corporation (MCC)
expressed to implement a training
offer
opportunities
for
30. N-AERUS 31. Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs 32. Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors RICS) 33. SIDA 34. Slum/Shack Dwellers International (SDI) 35. Statens kartverk (Norwegian Mapping Authority) 36. Technical University Munich (TUM) 37. Terra Institute 38. UNECA 39. UNEP 40. UN-HABITAT 41. University of East London (UEL) 42. University of West Indies (UWI) 43. UN-WOMEN 44. World Bank 45. World Vision International
Architectural details from buildings in Muslim countries
2
GLTN aims to establish a continuum of land rights, rather than just focus on individual land titling.
Photo © UN-HABITAT
Key Events at UN-HABITAT’s 23rd Governing Council
Birds-eye view of the plenary at the Governing Council
DATE Sat 09 Apr
TIME 9:30 am – 5 pm
ROOM CR 3
EVENT
Photo © IISD
NOTES
Meeting of the Bureau of the African
By invitation only
Ministerial Conference on Housing and Urban Development (AMCHUD) 6 pm –
TBC
AMCHUD Cocktail hosted by Government
By invitation only
of Kenya Mon 11 Apr
10 am – 1 pm
CR 2
Opening of UN-HABITAT’s 23rd Governing Council
Tue 12 Apr
12.30 pm – 2pm
CR 12
“Not About Us Without Us: Grassroots Participation in Land” (side event)
Wed 13 Apr
9.30 am
CR 1
Dialogue
on
development – 6 pm
“Sustainable through
urban
expanding
equitable access to land, housing, basic services and infrastructure”
6.30 pm – 8 pm
UN Rec.
Cocktail on Renewing Commitment to
Centre
the Bamako Declaration and Action Plan, hosted by UN-HABITAT
Thu 14 Apr
12:30 pm – 2pm
CR 3
“Land, Property and Housing: A focus on the Muslim World” (side event)
Fri 15 Apr
10 am – 1 pm
CR 2
Closing of UN-HABITAT’s 23rd Governing Council
Sat 16 Apr
9am – 4 pm
TBC
GLTN
International
Advisory
Board
By invitation only
Meeting
GLTN aims to improve and develop pro-poor land management as well as land tenure tools.
33
High-Level Delegation to Showcase Grassroots Participation in Land Regularization While the Constitution ensures equal land rights for women and men, experience shows that women are often discriminated against in land regularization
processes.
Without
the participation of women in the regularization process in Recife, history is likely to repeat itself leaving women without titles to land and housing. Women’s empowerment and gender equality is at the core of the land regularization process in Ponte do Maduro. The Global Land Tool Network (GLTN) will document the use of the Residents of Ponte do Maduro informal settlement in Recife, Brazil Photo © Malcolm Boorer / UN-Habitat
delegation from Brazil’s Pernam-
A
resolve disputes and ensure an inclusive
buco state and the local commu-
planning process.
present their experiences on grassroots
The Brazilian Constitution commits the
participation in land regularization at a
state to provide housing as a right to
GLTN side event at GC23. The applica-
the city. The City Statute of 2003 further
tion of gender evaluation criteria in the
recommends that public land is used
Recife land regularization process is a
for social purposes. Consolidation of
pioneering initiative and potentially an
existing informal settlements on public
inspiration to policy makers and grass-
land is thus one way for the government
roots organizations worldwide.
to meet housing needs.
nity of Ponte do Maduro in Recife will
Gender Evaluation Criteria and the land regularization in Ponte do Maduro to encourage replication in Brazil and the rest of the world. The GLTN Gender Evaluation Criteria is an evaluation instrument for large scale land projects jointly developed by land professionals and grassroots organizations. The criteria were first piloted in Brazil, Ghana and Nepal in 2010.
Ponte do Maduro is one of the oldest informal settlements in Recife and home to 55,000 people. Residents had struggled for 45 years to gain secure tenure when the land regularization was announced at the World Urban Forum in March 2010. More than 8,000 lowincome families will gain ownership to the land they occupy through the first phase of land regularization. A local committee in Recife will plan, monitor and evaluate the process of land regularization. The committee has a broad representation from the government, grassroots, community leaders, social researchers and civil society. The members will work to
4
GLTN aims to unblock existing initiatives.
A neighborhood in Ponte do Maduro that will be regularized Photo © Malcolm Boorer / UN-Habitat
GLTN Partners to Develop a Pro-Poor Land Recordation System
Participants at the EGM on Pro-poor Land Recordation in Paris, France. 15 - 16 March 2011
Photo © UN-HABITAT
G
development
15 - 16 March 2011 to develop a
recordation system. While arriving at
land recordation at key global land
land recordation system that recognizes
a consensus on key entry points and
events in 2011.
the land rights of poor people. In
priorities, they acknowledged the need
his opening address at the meeting,
for further research into institutional
The Global Land Tool Network (GLTN)
Jean-Paul Decorps, the President of
arrangements, tools and country-level
organised the expert group meeting
the International Union of Notaries
application.
in cooperation with the International
LTN partners met in Paris, France on
land
advocacy efforts to promote pro-poor
of
a
pro-poor
Institute for Geo-Information Science and
(UINL), emphasized the importance of this initiative as current land record
Prof. Jaap Zevenbergen of ITC drafted
Earth Observation (ITC) of the University
management systems are not affordable
the background paper which guided
of Twente and the International Alliance
to the poor and therefore inappropriate
discussions at the meeting. Based on
on Land Tenure and Administration
for developing countries.
the deliberations at the meeting, GLTN
(IALTA). The International Union of
partners will revise the background
Notaries (UINL) and Conseil Supérieur
the
paper and prepare an article for
du Notariat (CSN) hosted the event.
elements,
publication in a scientific land journal.
requirements and priorities in the
Network partners will further carry out
The
GLTN
meeting
partners
identified
attending core
GLTN welcomes three new partners As a testimony to its success, the
“Joining the Global Land Tool Network
Global Land Tool Network (GLTN) saw
has given UINL access to a collection
three more partners join at the end of
of tools and lessons learned that can
2010: World Vision International, the
sharpen our awareness and improve our
International Alliance on Land Tenure
response to various land issues”, said
and Administration (IALTA) and the
Ztéphane Zecevic, Council Member of
International Union of Notaries (UINL).
UINL on the occasion of the organization
At the start of its fifth year of operation
joining the network.
the network has 45 partners, up from 33 partners at the end of 2008. GLTN aims to work with partners to assist Governments in implementing land policies that are pro-poor, gender sensitive and at scale.
55
African Land and Housing Ministries tackle Gender Equality and Grassroots Participation “We
fully
support
this
training
program”, said the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development of the Government of Mali. He added that, “this training will contribute to the deliberations [of] AMCHUD [and] make our land related activities more gender responsive and participatory”. The
GLTN
training
sensitized
the
participants to the theme of AMCHUD III - “Land in the Context of Sustainable Urbanization”. It resulted in gender African Government officials ready to tackle gender equality and grassroots participation Photo © UN-Habitat
S
Participation
through
and pro-poor measures being anchored in the Bamako Action Plan which was approved by African ministers and
enior officials from 11 African land
Grassroots
and housing ministries discussed
Good Land Governance” took place
women’s land rights and grassroots
from 19 to 21 November 2010. It
The
participation as key aspects of good
was organized in conjunction with
from Mali, Benin, Burkina Faso, Kenya,
land governance at a recent GLTN
the 3rd African Ministerial Conference
Uganda, Tanzania, Togo, Swaziland,
training in Bamako, Mali. The training
on Housing and Urban Development
Cote D’Ivoire, Liberia and DRC.
on “Improving Gender Equality and
(AMCHUD III).
heads of delegations. training
attracted
participants
Capacity Development of the Land Sector in Kenya The independent consultants leading the research effort will assess the capacity required to implement land reform in Kenya as stipulated in the Constitution and the National Land Policy. As a part of the research exercise they will meet key actors in the land sector and visit a dozen districts across Kenya.
The
consultants will further develop a methodology for needs assessment that can also be used in other land reform initiatives. Participants of workshop on building capacity in the Kenyan land sector Photo © Peter Ngao / UN-HABITAT
6
6
ore than 40 Government, NGO
M
land sector in Kenya. The workshop
and donor representatives met
was organized by the Kenyan Ministry
in Nairobi on 04 March 2011 to discuss
of Land to discuss an inception report
the need for human capacity develop-
on the topic and guide further research
ment and a training program for the
into the matter.
UN-HABITAT
and
International
Development
the
Swedish Agency
(SIDA) are funding the needs assessment and development of a training program for the Kenyan land sector.
GLTN aims to assist in the development of gendered tools which are affordable and useful to the grassroots.
Making the Village Land Act work for Maasai Women in Tanzania
GLTN Upcoming Events UN-HABITAT 23rd Governing Council Location: Nairobi, Kenya. April 11 th-15 th, 2011 Expert Group Meeting on Security of tenure: monitoring and indicators Location: Washington D.C., USA April 21 st, 2011 GLTN Write Shop
Location: Nairobi, Kenya. November 8th - 12th, 2011 GLTN Partners’ Meeting
Location: Nairobi, Kenya. November 14th - 16th, 2011 More at http://www.gltn.net/en/upcomVillage leader in Longido district, Tanzania
E
Photo © Asa Jonsson / UN-HABITAT
ducating women about their rights
to explore options for affordable pro-
has proved an effective way of
poor surveying. The project is one of 4
granting access to land for Maasai
initiatives supported by GLTN through
women in rural Tanzania, according to a
the Grassroots Mechanism.
ing-events-2.html
New Publications
recent review of a project supported by Tanzania’s Village Land Act of 1999 for
the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN).
the first time grants women access to 82 plots of land have so far been
land. It further authorizes the village
allocated to women groups in 9 villages
leadership to allocate land rights to
in Longido and Kiteto districts as a result
individuals and groups without approval
of the project, which is implemented
of the regional and central government.
by the Maasai Women’s Development
However, in impoverished rural villages
Organization (MWEDO). However, the
without a tradition of individual land
prohibitive cost of land surveying is a
ownership there is often a gap between
major obstacle preventing the women
the letter of the law and what is
from acquiring certificates documenting
happening on the ground.
their land rights. As part of a mid-term evaluation, UNGLTN provides technical support to
HABITAT/GLTN staff visited MWEDO
MWEDO to educate men and women
from 24 - 26 November 2010. The
about their rights under the Village
evaluation included field visits to the
Land Act. We will continue to support
villages of Longido and Kimokouwa to
MWEDO
meet Maasai women benefiting from
to
up-scale
their
highly
successful education programme and
the project.
facilitate contact with land professionals
“If people see me wearing my clothes, they know the clothes are mine.
• A Training Package: Improving Gender Equality&Grassroots Participation through Good Land Governance • Financing Affordable Housing & Infrastructure in Cities: Towards Innovative Land & Property Taxation • Strategic Citywide spatial planning: A situational Analysis of Metropolitan Portau-Prince, Haiti
But for land this is not the same. We need to find a way so that people
“
More at
Village leader, Longido district, Tanzania.
http://www.gltn.net/e_library
also know who the land belongs to.
GLTN aims to improve global coordination on land.
77
AMCHUD meets in Special Session at UN-HABITAT’s Governing Council
Honourable Gakou Salamata Fofana, Minister of Housing, Lands and Urban Development, Mali Chair AMCHUD3 Photo © Traore / UN-HABITAT
OTHER EVENTS
special session of the African
A
2012. For example, African countries
Ms Gakou Salamata Fofana, Minister of
Ministerial Conference on Housing
committed to support the organization
Housing, Lands and Urban Development
and Urban Development (AMCHUD)
of an international conference to share
of Mali, was elected AMCHUD Chair for
will be organized on Saturday 9 April
experiences on slum upgrading, security
the next two years at the conference in
on the sidelines of the 23rd session of
of tenure and access to shelter for all.
November 2010. Ms Gakou hailed the
UN-HABITAT’s Governing Council. The
importance of the Bamako Declaration
special meeting will discuss the progress
Addressing AMCHUD 3 in November
and Plan of Action and stated that
of the Bamako Declaration and Plan
2010, The Executive Director of UN-
Africa could not succeed without good
of Action and review institutional and
HABITAT, Dr. Joan Clos, hailed the
urban land management.
financial arrangements, in particular the
Joint Land Policy for Africa which has
hosting of AMCHUD’s secretariat.
been developed by the African Union Commission, the Economic Commission
The Bamako Declaration and Plan of
for Africa and the African Development
Action were concluded at the third
Bank,
AMCHUD
Global Land Tool Network.
conference
which
took
supported
by
UN-HABITAT’s
place in Bamako, Mali, from 22-
8
24 November 2010. The Bamako
The Land Policy for Africa process
Declaration underscores the crucial role
started in 2006 and culminated in
of land in supporting housing delivery
the development of a Framework and
and
urban
Guidelines on Land Policy in Africa,
development. The Declaration further
which were endorsed by the African
encourages African governments to
Heads of State and Governments in
improve systems for land management
2009. African Governments attending
and provide secure access to land for all
the AMCHUD 3 conference adopted a
population segments.
series of actions on the Land Policy for
achieving
sustainable
Africa, agreeing to develop or overhaul The Bamako Plan of Action outlines
their land policies and land laws in
specific
line with the guidelines set out in the
land-related
activities
to
be undertaken between 2010 and
8
Contact Information For your comments, suggestions and further information, please contact us: GLTN Secretariat Land,
Tenure
and
Property
Administration Section Shelter Branch UN-HABITAT P.O. Box 30030 Nairobi 00100, Kenya Tel. +254 (0)20 762 5199 Fax. +254 (0)20 762 42 56 Email: gltn@unhabitat.org website: www.gltn.net
policy.
GLTN aims to improve the general dissemination of knowledge about how to improve security of tenure.