Land Governance Strategy

Guidance on the Review of Land Governance Strategy

The Africa Union Commission (AUC) through the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment (DARBE), and the African Land Policy Centre (ALPC) have developed a draft Land Governance Strategy (LGS) to guide concerted efforts on land governance in Africa.

The overall goal of the strategy is to ensure that land is equitably governed with secured land rights and tenure for all to have sustainable livelihoods, human settlements, ecosystems and socio-economic development in Africa. This goal is expected to be achieved through the following five (5) strategic objectives:

1. To strengthen the capacity of AU institutions (AU-Commission, ALPC, AUDA and Regional Economic Communities) to implement the AU agenda on land;
2. To advocate for the advancement of land policies, laws and administration systems in the AU Member States;
3. To promote responsible land-based investments in Africa that are environmentally sound, scalable and inclusive, contributing to the sustainable development of the country and meeting community needs;
4. To enhance the security of land tenure and access to land and other productive resources for women, youth, persons with disabilities, pastoralists and other vulnerable groups in Africa; and,
5. To facilitate and support the operationalization of Monitoring and Evaluation of Land in Africa (MELA) as a tool for measuring progress towards achieving the AU agenda on land in Africa.

We request that you review the draft land governance strategy before responding to the questions below.

Guiding Questions for the Review of the Land Governance Strategy

Bearing in mind that the large public’s contribution towards land governance strategy development is paramount to ensure that it responds to real challenges faced by the African continent, AUC desires to collect views and inputs on the following:

1. Land related issues and challenges: Are there any issues and challenges that are not captured in the strategy but need particular attention?
2. Strategic objectives: The aforementioned five strategic objectives have been proposed to address land related issues and challenges in Africa. Are the above-mentioned strategic objectives relevant and are they sufficient to address land governance issues in Africa? If not, would you suggest additional ones or possible amendments to the aforementioned strategic objectives?
3. Strategic interventions or actions: A number of strategic interventions or actions have been proposed for each of the above strategic objective. From your perspectives, are the proposed strategic actions relevant to address land governance issues in Africa? If not, would you suggest additional ones?
4. Any additional comments or recommendations in line with the draft Land Governance Strategy?

All comments on the Draft Land Governance Strategy should be sent to the Dr. Aime Tsinda (email: aime.tsinda@gmail.com), with copy to Dr. Janet Edeme (email: EdemeJ@africa-union.org), and Ms. Nsama Nsemiwe Chikolwa (email: nsama.chikolwa@giz.de).