Public Disclosure Authorized IMPROVING LAND SECTOR GOVERNANCE IN THE GAMBIA Public Disclosure Authorized Implementation of the Land Governance Assessment Framework (LGAF) Public Disclosure Authorized AMIE BENSOUDA & CO LP OFF BERTIL HARDING HIGHWAY NO. SSHFC CRESCENT KANIFING INSTITUTIONAL AREA Public Disclosure Authorized KANIFING MUNICIPALITY Email – [email protected] Telephone Nos. 4495381 / 4496453 AUGUST 2013 i TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgement 3 Acronyms 4 1. Executive Summary 6 1.1 Introduction 6 1.2 LGAF Methodology 6 1.3 Overview of Land Policy Issues in the Gambia 7 1.4 Assessment of Land Governance in the Gambia 11 1.5 Policy Priorities 23 1.6 Conclusion 26 2. Consolidated Scorecard 27 3. Introduction 31 4. Methodology 32 4.1 Adapting the LGAF to the Country Situation 32 4.2 Government Engagement 32 4.3 Collection of Background Data and Panel Workshops 33 5. Context 34 5.1 Geographical Description 34 5.2 Historical Evolution 35 5.35.2 Key Social and Economic Indicators 35 5.4 Administrative Structure 37 5.5 Political System 37 5.6 Land Tenure System 39 5.6.1 Historical Context 39 5.6.2 Freehold Title 39 5.6.3 Leasehold 41 5.6.4 Deemed Lease 41 5.6.5 Customary Tenure 41 5.6.6 Forests Parks, Wild Life Reserves and Land Acquired for Public Purposes 42 5.6.7 Area and Population by Tenure Type 42 6. Tenure Typology 43 6.1 Institutional Map 49 6.2 Urban Planning 55 6.3 Three Growth Centres of Brikama, Farafenni and Basse 56 6.4 The Tourism Development Area (TDA) 56 6.5 Forestry 57 6.6 Current Situation 57 7. Substantive Findings 58 7.1 Thematic Area 1: Legal and Institutional Framework 58 7.1.1 Recognition of a Continuum of Land Rights, Urban/Rural 58 7.1.2 Enforcement of Rights: Registration of Property 64 7.1.3 Mechanisms for Recognition of Rights: Formalization, Registration Fees 72 7.1.4 Restrictions on Land Use, Ownership, Transferability: Urban/Rural 80 7.1.5 Clarity of Institutional Mandates 84 7.1.6 Equity and Non-Discrimination in the Decision-Making Process 87 7.2 Thematic Area 2: Land Use Planning, Management and Taxation 91 7.2.1 Transparency of Land Use: Land Use Plans and Public Capture of Benefits 91 7.2.2 Efficiency of Land Use Planning: Urban Development, Plot Size Adherence 93 7.2.3 Speed and Predictability: Building Permits 96 1 7.2.4 Transparency of Valuations: Valuation Rolls 99 7.2.5 Tax Collection Efficiency: Tax Collection and Exemptions 103 7.3 Thematic Area 3: Management of Public Land 108 7.3.1 Identification of Public Land 108 7.3.2 Justification of Expropriation 114 7.3.3 Transparency of Expropriation Procedures 116 7.3.4 Allocation of Public Land 121 7.4 Thematic Area 4: Public Provision of Land Information 125 7.4.1 Completeness of Registry: Searchability and Accessibility 125 7.4.2 Reliability of Records: Up-to-date Registry and Customer Satisfaction 130 7.4.3 Cost-effectiveness, Accessibility, and Sustainability of Land Administration 132 7.4.4 Transparency of Service Costs 135 7.5 Thematic Area 5: Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management 137 7.5.1 Assignment of Responsibility for Dispute Resolution 137 7.5.2 Level of Pending Conflict 144 7.6 Forestry Module 149 7.6.1 Commitments to Sustainability and Climate Change Mitigation 149 7.6.2 Recognition of Public Goods Aspects and Promotion of Sustainable Use 154 7.6.3 Supporting Private Sector Sustainable Investment 159 7.6.4 Livelihood of Forest-Dependent Communities 162 7.6.5 Forest Land Use, Tenure, Conversion 165 7.6.6 Controlling Illegal Logging and Forest Crimes 169 8. Policy Issues and Recommendations 172 9. Conclusion 174 10. Annexes 176 Annex 1: Glossary 176 Annex 2: LGAF Timeline 180 Annex 3: Revised LGAF Definitions Regarding Concepts and Terminology 181 Annex 4: List of Experts and Qualifications 182 Annex 5: Distribution of Tasks to Expert Investigators 183 Annex 6: Table of Dimension Allocation 184 Annex 7: Land Governance Indicators Assessed by Panels 185 Annex 8: List of Panel Members and Qualifications 186 Annex 9: Population Distribution by LGA List of Key 187 Annex 10: List of Key Legal and Policy Documents Related to Land 189 Annex 11: List of Participants- Technical Validation Workshop, May 28-29, 2013 192 Annex 12: Policy Recommendations, Proposed Actions, and Monitoring Indicators 194 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to record my gratitude to all the various experts in The Gambia both public and private who participated in this LGAF process and readily shared their experiences and expertise at all stages of the process. This report is theirs and I hope that I have been successful in capturing their concerns. I appreciate that their motivation is the strong desire to collaborate and work with Government and development partners for the creation of a robust institutional framework for land governance in the recognition that it should be one of the main planks in the country‟s national development strategies. This has been repeated to me in different words throughout the process. My sincere appreciation goes to all the Government and non-governmental agencies that have supported this study. I would like to thank in particular the Ministries of Lands and Regional Government, Agriculture, Justice, Finance and Economic Affairs, the Department of Forestry and the Judiciary for their Cooperation. I hope that they will use this report as an important contribution to the development of a much needed cross sectoral dialogue on land. To my office LGAF team, please accept my gratitude for your diligence. Finally, I would like to thank the World Bank for giving me the opportunity to coordinate the LGAF for my country and for the opportunity to share the experiences of other countries on the drive to put land in the forefront of the global agenda in the fight against poverty and hunger. I would like to specially acknowledge in this regard the guidance and encouragement I have received from Thea Hilhorst, the LGAF Global Coordinator. 3 ACRONYMS AGC - Attorney General‟s Chambers ANR - Agricultural and Natural Resource AMRC - Assets Management and Recovery Corporation ANR - Agriculture and Natural Resources AU - African Union BAC - Brikama Area Council BCC - Banjul City Council CBD - Convention on Biological Diversity CBO - Community based organizations CoO - Certificate of Occupancy CF - Community Forest CFMA - Community Forest Management Agreement CFS - Committee on World Food Security CILA - Commission of Inquiry on Land Allocation CITES - Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna CRR - Central River Region DDLS - Director Department of Lands and Surveys DIFID - Department for International Development DLS - Department of Lands and Surveys DoF - Department of Forestry DPPH - Department of Physical Planning and Housing DPWM - Department of Parks and Wildlife Management FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations GAMTEL - Gambia Telecommunication Company Limited GNAIP - Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan GDP - Gross Domestic Product GBOS - Gambia Bureau of Statistics GPA - Gambia Ports Authority GTA - Gambia Tourism Authority GTB - Gambia Tourism Board IFAD - International Fund for Agricultural Development IFPRI - International Food Policy Research Institute KMA - Kanifing Municipal Area KMC - Kanifing Municipal Council LGA - Local Government Area LGAF - Land Governance Assessment Framework LRIS - Land Resources Information System LRR - Lower River Region LFF - Local Forest Fund MOL - Minister of Lands MOA - Minister of Agriculture MOFE - Minister of Forestry and the Environment MoLRG - Ministry of Lands and Regional Government NAWEC - National Water and Electricity Company NBR - North Bank Region NBSAP - National Biodiversity Strategy Action Plan NEA - National Environment Agency NEMA - National Environment Management Act 4 NFF - National Forest Fund NGO - Non- Governmental Organizations PACAB - Poverty Alleviation and Capacity Building PAGE - Programme for Accelerated Growth and Employment PCFMA - Preliminary Community Forest Management Agreement RGD - Registrar General Department SSFHC - Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation TDA - Tourism Development Area UNCCD - United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification UA-MTIP - Urban Audits and Medium Term Investment Plans UN - United Nations UNDP - United Nations Development Programme UNFCCC - United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change UNWTO - United Nations World Tourism Organization URR - Upper River Region WCR - West Coast Region 5 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.1 Introduction The Government of the Gambia has acknowledged that a prudent and sustainable management of the country‟s limited land resources is an essential precondition to poverty reduction and national food security. A critical step towards the realization of current national strategic objectives would be an evaluation of the land governance environment to determine where the country stands. In order to evaluate and prioritize these issues more systematically, country experts utilized the Land Governance Assessment Framework (LGAF) developed by the World Bank and its partners. In general, the recognition of rights to land and forests is strong in the Gambia in both rural and urban areas, as is the accessibility of forums for dispute resolution. However, the country has no unified land policy, very little incorporation of equity considerations, overlaps in the legal framework and a lack of adequate regulation and procedures required for implementation. Most urban land is registered, but procedures for the registration of customary land are weak, while the process for transferring customary land to leaseholds lacks transparency. Urban plans and other spatial information are more than two decades out- of-date, and cannot guide the fast expansion of urban development or the availability of t housing. The LGAF panels identified a number of recommendations to address the most pressing issues of land governance in the Gambia in the short-term. A comprehensive reform would require the establishment of a National Land Commission as proposed in the Constitution. This chapter synthesizes and summarizes the key findings of the LGAF process in the Gambia and outlines proposals for moving forward.