Caribbean Land Policy Network LAND IN THE CARIBBEAN ISSUES OF POLICY, ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT IN THE ENGLISH- SPEAKING CARIBBEAN Edited by Dr. Allan N. Williams LAND IN THE CARIBBEAN PROCEEDINGS OF A WORKSHOP ON LAND POLICY, ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT IN THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING CARIBBEAN Edited by Allan Williams Email: [email protected] Special thanks to Jane Dennis for the final editing of this manuscript. All views, interpretations, recommendations, and conclusions expressed in this book are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the supporting or co-operating institutions. Verbatim copying of any part of this book is permitted, in any medium, provided that the copier gives a complete citation of the title, chapter, author and editor of the book, and provided that all copies made remain under these same terms and conditions which are conspicuously published on all copies. Hard copies of this book can be acquired from: Terra Institute 10900 Stanfield Road Blue Mounds, Wisconsin 53517 Email: [email protected] For further information about the Caribbean Land Policy Network, check the web site: www.terrainstitute.org or contact Caribbean Land Policy Network Steering Committee: Chairperson: Andrew Bishop, Commissioner of Land, Guyana (592) 227-2582 (ph) (592) 226-4052 (fx) [email protected] Secretary: Allan N. Williams (868) 624-2142 (ph) [email protected] Manuscript was prepared from digitised copy at the Land Tenure Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA, for publication, October 2003. Publication of this volume funded by the United States Agency for International Development. ii LAND IN THE CARIBBEAN PROCEEDINGS OF A WORKSHOP ON LAND POLICY, ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT in the English-speaking Caribbean March 19-21, 2003 Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago The Learning Workshop on Land Policy, Administration and Management in the English-speaking Caribbean involved 50 Professionals from the Public Sector in 13 CARICOM States1 and an additional 28 persons representing the private sector, civil society, regional universities and regional and international institutions. The purpose of the gathering was to consider in depth the institutional (legislative), social and environmental challenges facing the Caribbean in the administration and management of its land resources. The Workshop was sponsored by the following institutions: Ministry of Inter-American United States Department for Agriculture, Land Development Bank Agency International & Marine for International Development (UK) Resources Development The following organisations were contracted by the IDB, USAID and DFID to facilitate the Workshop: Land Tenure Center, Terra Institute Ltd. ACT Consulting University of Wisconsin- Associates (ACA) Ltd. Madison The information presented in the following Country Experience Studies was submitted as part of the Workshop on Land Policy, Administration and Management in the English-speaking Caribbean, March 19–21, 2003. All views, interpretations, recommendations and conclusions expressed in these papers are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the supporting or co-operating institutions nor the respective Governments in the Caribbean. 1 The CARICOM member states represented included Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts/Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad & Tobago. iii INTRODUCTION 1 Presentation to the Committee on Trade and Economic Development (COTED) Andrew Bishop OPENING ADDRESS Land Policy and Administration in Trinidad & Tobago 5 Honourable Mr. John Rahael SETTING THE FRAMEWORK Economic Impact of Land Policy in the English-speaking 13 Caribbean Peter Bloch History, Culture and Land in the English-speaking Caribbean 31 Jean Besson Framework Paper for Land Policy, Administration and 61 Management in the English-speaking Caribbean. J. David Stanfield, Kevin Barthel & Allan N. Williams COUNTRY CASE STUDIES BAHAMAS: Land Policy, Administration and Management in 113 The Bahamas Peter Rabley and Tex Turnquest BELIZE: Land Policy, Administration and Management in 141 Belize Joe Iyo, Patricia Mendoza, Jose Cardona, Armin Cansino & Ray Davis GUYANA: Land Policy, Administration and Management 175 Andrew R. Bishop JAMAICA: Land Policy, Administration and Management: 229 A Case Study Jacqueline daCosta, ST. LUCIA: St. Lucia Country Study of Land Administration and Management Issues 281 Alberto Vargas & David Stanfield SURINAME: The Challenge of Formulating Land Policy Harold Struiken & Chris Healy 315 iv COUNTRY DIAGNOSTIC STUDIES ANTIGUA & BARBUDA: Land Policy, Administration and Management: Country Experience 345 Allan N. Williams BARBADOS: Land Reform and the Search for Security of 361 Tenure Timothy Maynard DOMINICA: Land Policy, Administration and Management: 381 Country Experience Allan N. Williams GRENADA: Land Policy, Administration and Management: 391 Country Experience Allan N. Williams MONTSERRAT: Land Administration Experiences 409 Franklyn Greenaway ST. KITTS/NEVIS: Land Policy, Administration and 419 Management: Country Experience Allan N. Williams ST. VINCENT & THE GRENADINES: Land Policy, Administration and Management: Country Experience 433 Allan N. Williams TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Land Policy, Administration and Management: The Trinidad & Tobago Experience 443 Asad Mohammed NEXT STEPS Final Workshop Report 465 Allan N. Williams and J. David Stanfield v Acknowledgements This book is the outcome of presentations made at the Workshop on Land Policy, Administration and Management in the English-speaking Caribbean held in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, March 19-21, 2003. The Workshop was attended by senior professionals from all the English-speaking territories and Suriname. As a follow-up to the Workshop, a Steering Committee of eight (8) representatives from the region was established to activate a Caribbean Land Network. All of us, who have benefited from this event, are grateful to the Government of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago, the Inter-American Development Bank, the United States Agency for International Development and the Department for International Development (UK), for funding the Workshop and to USAID for funding this manuscript. We would also like to commend the staff of the Land Tenure Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Project Co-ordination Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Marine Resources and the Terra Institute Ltd., for their invaluable contributions to the success of the event. We would like to recognise the contributions of Prof. J. David Stanfield, Land Tenure Center, Dr. Allan N. Williams and Dr. Andrew Pienkos of ACT Consulting Associates (ACA) Ltd., in preparing this manuscript for publication. Finally we would like to acknowledge the inspiration provided by the many persons who attended the workshop, made presentations and continued the exchange of information and ideas after the event. This reflects our commitment here in the Caribbean to seek sustainable solutions to the land issues of the day. Mr. Andrew Bishop Chairman, Network Steering Committee Commissioner of Lands & Surveys Georgetown, Guyana June 11, 2003 vi INTRODUCTION A Caribbean Land Network: Presentation made to the Committee on Trade and Economic Development (COTED), CARICOM Andrew Bishop 1. BACKGROUND Most debates about land policies in the Caribbean are driven by three overlapping and sometimes conflicting objectives: • The creation of a more vibrant land market, with the aim of increasing productivity and investment, through secure, documented and transparent title to land. • The elimination of poverty, through equitable access to land and other natural resources and the provision of security of tenure to poor households, allowing them to transform their land assets into sustainable livelihoods. • The conservation of the natural environment and improvement of the built environment, though land use planning and environmental regulations. The challenge for the Caribbean is to find the legal, institutional and policy measures to balance these three overlapping objectives. In the post-colonial State-led agrarian reform era of the 1960s and 1970s efforts were made to increase medium- and small-scale private holdings of agricultural land, mainly through State acquisition of large estates and the re-distribution of land to the peasant sector. These programmes have now largely been abandoned. In their wake an enormous amount of activity is occurring around tenure regularisation, land titling and property registry modernisation. Parallel efforts are under way to establish environmental zoning, promote eco-tourism, manage urban expansion, protect coastal zones and control deforestation. These efforts have often meshed poorly with the trend towards marketisation of individual rights. State ownership of land remains important in the Caribbean, as well as a variety of mechanisms for encouraging the private use of the land through leases and other arrangements. As land managers become more subject to private land market pressures and opportunities, but also increasingly responsible for planning, implementing, regulating and evaluating societal values in land, the institutions of land administration must also change. The institutional transformation of land management has been significant, through programs of Caribbean Network Report 1 privatisation, individualisation and (in some cases) internationalisation of land tenure. This evolution of land