This study aims to examine current land access and youth livelihood opportunities in Southern Ethiopia.  We used survey data from the relatively land abundant districts of Oromia Region and from the land scarce districts of Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ (SNNP) Region. Although access to agricultural land is a constitutional right for rural residents of Ethiopia, we found that youth in the rural south have limited potential to obtain agricultural land that can be a basis for viable livelihood. The law prohibits the purchase and sale of land in Ethiopia. We found that land access through allocation from authorities is virtually nonexistent while land that can be obtained from parents through inheritance or gift is too small to establish a meaningful livelihood.

The land rental market has restrictions, including on the number of years land can be rented out. Perhaps as a result of limited land access, the youth have turned their back on agriculture. Our study shows that only nine percent of youth in these rural areas plan to pursue farming as a livelihood. The majority are planning non-agricultural livelihoods. We also found a significant rural-urban migration among the youth and especially in areas with severe agricultural land scarcity. Our econometric analyses show that youth from families with larger land holdings are less likely to choose a non-agricultural livelihood as well as less likely to migrate to urban areas. We suggest here some measures to improve rural livelihood such as creation of non-farm employment opportunities and improvement of land rental markets. We also argue that as a certain level of rural-urban migration is unavoidable, investigating youth migration is essential to design policies that help the migrating youth as well as the host communities.

Secure land and property rights for all are essential to reducing poverty because they underpin economic development and social inclusion. Secure land tenure and property rights enable people in urban and rural areas to invest in improved homes and livelihoods. Although many countries have completely restructured their legal and regulatory framework related to land and they have tried to harmonize modern statutory law with customary ones, millions of people around the world still have insecure land tenure and property rights.

This report addresses and assesses the issue of tenure security  in several countries where government, civil society, the private sector and development cooperation initiatives have been implemented for decades. The selected case studies from fifteen (15) countries (Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia, Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, The Philippines, Thailand, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Guatemala) ensure not only ageographic balance but they also represent countries with different socio-economic and land-related histories and that have followed different pathways. The studies’ key findings underline the still precariousstate of tenure security in many countries.

The land challenge is central to the broader youth dynamics of migration, employment, livelihoods and belonging. The more than 1.8 billion youth living worldwide represent not only a land challenge, but an untapped potential in moving the tenure security agenda forward.

Youth-led Action Research on Land builds on previous youth and land engagement and consultations that have identified critical needs and knowledge gapsin the space of youth and land.

Today, there are more than 1.2 billion youth in the  world, the largest number of youth ever to have  existed. These youth live, by and large, in cities and towns; the cities of the   developing world account for over 90 per cent of the world’s urban growth and youth account for a large percentage of those inhabitants. It is estimated that as many as 60 per cent of all urban dwellers will be under the age of 18 by 2030. This urban demographic “youth bulge” represents both a challenge as well as an untapped potential in moving the land rights and tenure security agenda forward. Youth are increasingly mobile, social and creative in a rapidly transforming world. This means that the needs and attitudes toward land are changing too.

This technical publication documents and draws lessons from the Philippine's experience in implementing alternative approaches in securing tenure for the urban poor. It also explores how these approaches can be institutionalized to achieve a larger scale and ensure sustainability.

The study examines three approaches: presidential land proclamations, the Community Mortgage Program, and the usufruct arrangement. The key features of each approach are described and their application illustrated through two actual cases.

The approaches are then analyzed in terms of the legal and institutional frameworks that supported their implementation and the benefits they delivered, both as perceived by the beneficiaries and in terms of meeting the broader social need for secure housing and tenure. The analysis also explores the factors which helped in the successful implementation of the approaches, as well as the constraints and difficulties encountered in the process.

Developing capacity in the land sector is central to the goals, objectives and activities of the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN), and we have embraced the idea of finding better ways to do it. We are actively engaged in integrating capacity development into everything we do. To guide us, we have formulated a comprehensive capacity development strategy, which is presented in this booklet.

The GLTN Capacity Development Strategy gives guidance on GLTN policy, operations and purpose. It provides the principles, strategic framework and operational guidelines needed to significantly gear up GLTN's work at the global, regional and, in particular, country level. Ultimately, the strategy will enable the development of the capacity of partners and institutions, necessary to test and implement pro-poor and gender responsive land tools for the achievement of land and property rights for all.

This publication is the summary of the proceedings of the Regional Learning Workshop on "Land and Natural Resources Tenure Security" held in Nairobi, Kenya from 29-31 May 2012 as jointly organized by UN-Habitat/Global Land Tool Network and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

The aim of the workshop was to deepen the understanding of land and natural resources tenure security issues and to identify opportunities to strengthen land tenure security and land access of the rural poor and marginalized groups in sub- Saharan Africa.

This report is also available in french.

This publication documents and draws lessons from the Philippines' experience in implementing alternative approaches in securing tenure for the urban poor. It also explores how these approaches can be institutionalized and ensure sustainability. The study examines three approaches: presidential land proclamations, the Community Mortgage Program, and the usufruct arrangement.

The key features of each approach are described and their application illustrated through two actual cases. The approaches are then analyzed in terms of the legal and institutional frameworks that supported their implementation and the benefits they delivered, both as perceived by the beneficiaries and in terms of meeting the broader social need for secure housing and tenure.

Pendant l’atelier, les participants ont partagé leurs propres défis et expériences d’amélioration de l’accès des pauvres et autres population vulnérables à la sécurité de la tenure et aux ressources naturelles.

La rencontre a aussi permis de discuter les bonnes pratiques, méthodes et outils existants ainsi que leurs applications dans des contextes spécifiques.Les participants ont identifié les opportunités de magnifier et de partager les leçons apprises à une échelle plus grande. Il a été aussi question de partager les méthodes et outils et renforcer les cadres de dialogues.

En anglais

This document is intended to support the development of information about land (use, access, ownership, taxation, value, transfer and development potential) in a sustainable and effective way to facilitate urban land management. This framework draws on a range of field operations by UN-Habitat and others. It is the culmination of lessons learnt from a number of case studies covering a variety of developing and post-conflict countries (UN-Habitat, 2012).

The study of countries' experiences, based on the framework, focused on three main urban land management applications, namely: land administration (security of tenure and property administration), spatial planning (including regional and urban planning, settlement upgrading and regularization) and environmental management and planning. This framework is developed as a normative product in line with UN-Habitat's Medium Term Strategic and Institutional Plan (MTSIP) and its Enhanced Normative and Operational Framework (ENOF).