Land Tenure Specialists Reflect on World Bank Conference

April 30, 2014

Last month, nearly 1,000 members of the land rights community gathered at the 15th annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty to present field-based research, announce new initiatives, and develop partnerships. According to the World Bank, the conference aims to “foster dialogue and the sharing of best practices on the diversity of reforms, approaches, and experiences that are being implemented in the land sector around the world.”

With a special focus on governance, the conference had one of its highest attendance rates with representatives from governments, civil society, academia, the development community, and the private sector. A few themes rose to the top—including women’s rights, community empowerment, and donor coordination efforts, including the Voluntary Guidelines.

DAI’s own land tenure specialist Steven Lawry presented a systematic review he and colleagues performed for the U.K. Department for International Development to analyze quantitative literature on the effects of tenure formalization in developing countries. The review confirmed that while formal registration of individual land rights increases investment, productivity, and household consumption, Africa lagged behind Asia and Latin America for various reasons.

Two colleagues from HTSPE, a member of the DAI group, presented on successful land tenure projects in Rwanda and Mozambique.

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