Land Tenure Governance in the First Decades of the 21st Century: Progress, Challenges, and Lessons from 18 Countries

This article is based on a review of the governance of land tenure in 18 countries – 16 in Africa and two in Asia - carried out from 2021 to 2023. It uses international guidelines on land policy and tenure governance as benchmarks to assess progress in each country through reviewing policy documents and literature, and getting inputs from key informants. There has been significant progress on land tenure policies that have improved the recognition of customary and other communal land rights and improved women’s land rights. The formal registration of individual communal land rights has now been done cost effectively, and with more rights going to women in a number of settings, and it has not led to widespread commoditisation or land dispossession. There is a mixed picture with countries trying different ways to grapple with common challenges such as securing customary tenure rights, unlocking development potential, improving women’s land rights, and managing the contesting interests in land. There are important examples of best practices in some countries that can be learnt from, such as the legislation of FPIC requirements and fit for purpose land rights certification. Despite progress, too many people are not enjoying the benefits of improved land tenure security with some countries still needing to bring in new legislation and others needing to improve implementation. More needs to be learnt from the range of different approaches to dealing with land tenure as national governments attempt to find solutions that accommodate contesting interests. The lessons and trends identified will be of value to country level and international work on improving land tenure governance.