Land Law Reform In Eastern Africa Traditional Or Transformative

Land Law Reform in East Africa reviews development and changes in the statutory land laws of 7 countries in Eastern Africa over the period 1961 – 2011. The book is divided into two parts. Part 1 sets up the conceptual framework for consideration of the reforms, and pursues a contrast between transformational and traditional developments; where the former aim at change designed to ensure social justice in land laws, and the latter aim to continue the overall thrust of colonial approaches to land laws and land administration. Part 2 provides an in-depth and critical survey of the land law reforms introduced into each country during the era of land law reform which commenced around 1990. The overall effect of the reforms has, Patrick McAuslan argues, been traditional: it was colonial policy to move towards land markets, individualisation of land tenure and the demise of customary tenure, all of which characterise the post 1990 reforms. The culmination of over 50 years of working in this area, Land Law Reform in East Africa will be invaluable reading for scholars of land law, and of law and development more generally.

"Introduction: The conceptual framework of the paper; PART 1: From c.1961 to c.1990:Chapter 1: An overview of the land laws at independence; Chapter 2: 1961 - c.1990: The lack of any land reform; Chapter 3: Two case studies from this era; PART 2: The era of land law reform c.1990 onwards; Chapter 4: The global intellectual climate for land law reform; Chapter 5: Zanzibar; Chapter 6: Mozambique; Chapter 7: Uganda; Chapter 8: Tanzania; Chapter 9: Somaliland; Chapter 10: Rwanda; Chapter 11: Kenya; Chapter 12: Urban planning law reform in the region; Chapter 13: Gender and land law in the region; Chapter 14:Transformational, traditional or political: the reforms assessed; Appendix; Table of principal land laws 1961- 2012; References"--

This book is a collection of essays honouring and engaging with the work of the late Professor Patrick McAuslan. It is a collection that narrates, analyses and critiques McAuslan’s contributions, as well as offering substantive perspectives on how his work has impacted the legal fields in which he was involved: including those of land law, urban planning law and policy, land use and participation in developing countries, democratic constitutionalism, and legal education. The essays present McAuslan’s contributions in the contexts in which they emerged, and according to both the circumstances and motivations that shaped them, as well as the challenges they encountered. It thus provides an ideal point of engagement for scholars, students and policy makers that have already interacted with McAuslan’s ideas and work, or who have yet to do so.

"Land Law Reform examines the wide-spread efforts to reform land law in developing countries and countries in transition, drawing in particular upon the experience of the World Bank and the Rural Development Institute. The book considers the role of land law reform in the development process and analyzes how the World Bank has sought to support these legal changes in client countries. It reviews the experience with reform of laws affecting land access and rights in achieving gender equity, identifies opportunities for reinforcing environmentally sustainable development through land law reform, and examines from both growth and poverty alleviation perspectives the effectiveness of reforms to formalize property rights and liberalize land markets. The concluding chapter recommends some basic priorities for land law reforms. John W. Bruce is a senior counsel in the Legal Vice-Presidency of the World Bank, and a former director of the Land Tenure Center of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has published extensively on land law and land policy in developing countries. Renee Giovarelli, David Bledsoe, Leonard Rolfes, and Robert Mitchell are staff attorneys with the Rural Development Institute of Seattle, Washington, a nonprofit organization that promotes and advises on land-related policy and legal reform in developing and transition countries. All have done fieldwork and advised extensively on land law reform and have published widely on this topic."

This book analyses the nexus between land access and the extractive industries in Africa, specifically highlighting the gaps in energy, land and mining laws and the practical solutions needed to settle the increasing number of land disputes in resource-rich areas. Access to land is essential for the successful operation of energy and mining projects. However, there are often social, environmental and economic issues associated with acquiring land for these projects. Socially, many people are relocated; economically, local communities are not given adequate compensation; environmentally, pollution negatively impacts on the agricultural and fishing industries relied on by over 80% of the local communities. Against this stark background, and drawing from the author's fieldwork research, this book addresses the important question of whether the different land tenure systems, coupled with administration and registration procedures, are adequate to address the increasing land disputes in oil and mineral-rich African countries.

Across Africa land is being commodified: private ownership is replacing communal and customary tenure; Farms are turned into collateral for rural credit markets. Law reform is at the heart of this revolution. The Politics of Land Reform in Africa casts a critical spotlight on this profound change in African land economy. The book illuminates the key role of legislators, legal consultants and academics in tenure reform. These players exert their influence by translating the economic and regulatory interests of the World Bank, civil society groups and commercial lenders in to questions of law. Drawing on political economy and actor-network theory The Politics of Land Reform in Africa is an indispensable contribution to the study of agrarian change in developing countries.

Annotated bibliography on land tenure and agrarian reform in Africa and the Middle East.