Land tenure reform is the big topic across sub-Saharan Africa amongst governments and donors alike. But how does it work, what are its consequences and how do interventions imposed from outside intersect with existing tenure and land governance arrangements? These are some of the questions explored in a new open access book, Land Tenure Reform in Sub-Saharan Africa: Interventions in Benin, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe by Steve Lawry, Rebecca McLain, Margaret Rugadya, Gina Alvarado and Tasha Heidenrich.
Across nine chapters, the book focuses in on four case studies, where interventions are analysed. Three focus on registration and certification projects (Rwanda, Ethiopia and Benin) and one on a land redistribution intervention (Zimbabwe). Through a realist evaluation approach that explores the outcomes of these interventions in relation to such criteria as tenure security, economic activity, finance/credit leverage, gender empowerment and so on (essentially the claims of the project promoters), the book explores how the interventions landed in these different contexts.
This article is from Zimbabweland, a blog written by IDS Research Fellow Ian Scoones. Zimbabweland focuses on issues related to rural livelihoods and land reform in Zimbabwe.
