Landesa - Land Rights 101

The Case for Land Rights

2The Case for Land Rights


Why Do Secure Land Rights Matter?

Landlessness is one of the best predictors of poverty

In rural India,15 million extremely poor families are

landless

Traditional poverty alleviation efforts

(micro-credit, education) largely bypass landless

poor


Why do Secure Land Rights Matter?

Control over the land you farm leads to economic opportunity

When the land you till belongs to you, your individual and

family assets increase

Macro economic growth across

whole communities and countries

bypass landless poor



Weak land rights facilitate “land grabs”

Without legal rights, poor rural families are at risk for land grabbing

and displacement, making them more vulnerable to extreme poverty

and malnourishment.



Women can be empowered through land rights

Women produce a majority of food in

the developing world, yet rarely

own their own land

When women and girls have land rights, health, education and

earning power all improve


What’s Preventing 1 Billion People from Having Secure Land Rights?

Inadequate legal

framework

Lack of expertise or will to

implement an existing framework


What Effective Land Rights Look Like

• Legally and socially recognized

• Well-defined

• Enforceable

• Long-term

• Transferrable

• Withstand changes in the structure of families and communities

• Equal for women and men


Impact of Land Rights for FamiliesLegal rights to land helps break generational poverty cycles

Improved health and nutrition

Increases access to credit

Lower birth rates

Increased productivity and investment

Bolsters status and empowerment, especially for women

Enables greater access to education


Impact of Land Rights for SocietiesLand helps unlock the power of the market

Stronger economic

growth

Regional and national security

Gains in health and education

Less conflict

Environmental stewardship

Increased food production


40 Years. 40 Countries. 400 Million People Benefited.

Landesa’s Work


Landesa’s Approach

Assist• Invited to assist• Research problems, in

coordination with local officials

• Develop specific solutions

• Policy assistance

Implement• Partner with

governments• Develop and scale pilots• Legal aid and

awareness• Training

Monitor and Evaluate• Initial diagnostic

assessments in the field• Track govt

implementation• Evaluate outcomes for

families

Throughout our work, we advocate for and champion the cause of land rights as a key lever to alleviate extreme rural poverty within

the international development sector.


What Makes Landesa’s Work Distinctive and Effective

Women

Economic Opportunity

Structural Change

Durable

Security


Case Study: China

In the past 30 years the greatest poverty reduction success in human history has occurred in China.

What was driver? Rural land rights reform in early 1980s.

> 300 million rural Chinese pulled themselves out of poverty in first six years after land rights reform.


Case Study: Microplots

Background• A microplot is a plot of land often the

size of a tennis court owned by a family

• Through decades of research, Landesa determined that a family could climb out of poverty on 1/10th of an acre of land.

• Landesa and its partners have distributed microplots to families in:

2010 – 124,000 in India 2011 – 129,000 in India;

1,500 in Pakistan

Advantages of a smaller sizeScalable: Government can purchase and distribute land to more families


Benefits of microplots• Sustainable model• Improved nutrition• Supplemental income• Asset against shocks• Status• Access to public services,

especially education• Better environmental

stewardship• Scalable

Microplot given to Naleswar and Mamata of Dorko Village in West Bengal, India.

Case Study: Microplots


Our Strategic Goal:

20 Million More Families with Legal Rights to Land by 2015


Our Strategy and Focus

• Microplots, tenancy reform, legal aid• Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, OdishaIndia

• Partnership with national government on policy reform

• 30-year land tenancy provisions have reached 200 million families

China

• Projects underway in Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia, Liberia, Ghana and MaliSub-Saharan Africa

• Landesa Center for Women’s Land RightsWomen and Girls

• Using our voice to increase awareness and action among international development expertsAdvocacy


Advocacy

New Opportunities

Women’s Land Rights

• Implementation of Women’s Land Rights Centre in Odisha, India

India• Expand micro

land ownership in three states

China• Establish a Land

Registration Pilot project

• Grow existing research capabilities around 17 province survey

Africa• Rwanda Land

Tenure Regularization Program

• Establish Landesa office (likely Uganda)


Thank You

Landesa - Land Rights 101

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