LAND ADMINISTRATION REFORM: Indicators of Success, Future Challenges Tony Burns, Chris Grant, Kevin Nettle, Anne-Marie Brits and Kate Dalrymple Version: 13 November 2006 A large body of research recognizes the importance of institutions providing land owners with secure tenure and allowing land to be transferred to more productive uses and users. This implies that, under appropriate circumstances, interventions to improve land administration institutions, in support of these goals, can yield significant benefits. At the same time, to make the case for public investment in land administration, it is necessary to consider both the benefits and the costs of such investments. Given the complexity of the issues involved, designing investments in land administration systems is not straightforward. Systems differ widely, depending on each country’s factor endowments and level of economic development. Investments need to be tailored to suit the prevailing legal and institutional framework and the technical capacity for implementation. This implies that, when designing interventions in this area, it is important to have a clear vision of the long-term goals, to use this to make the appropriate decisions on sequencing, and to ensure that whatever measures are undertaken are cost-effective. This study, which originated in a review of the cost of a sample of World Bank- financed land administration projects over the last decade (carried out by Land Equity International Pty Ltd in collaboration with DECRG), provides useful guidance on a number of fronts. First, by using country cases to draw more general conclusions at a regional level, it illustrates differences in the challenges by region, and on the way these will affect interventions in the area of land administration. Second, by providing a framework for the different types of costs included in such projects, it takes a first step toward generating comparable cost figures for such interventions. Finally, by establishing a set of indicators for the efficiency of land administration systems—that are easily generated by the system—it establishes a - i - basis for a set of quantitative indicators of efficiency of service delivery in this sector. Given the vast differences even among the relatively limited set of study countries considered here, efforts to collect these data for a wider set of countries, in a way that will make them comparable over time, will provide important input for Bank operations at the country and sector level, as well as for further research. Gershon Feder Senior Research Manager, DECRG - ii - Acknowledgements This publication has been possible only with support from a number of experts in the field of land administration. In early 2002, the World Bank’s Land Policy and Administration Thematic Group, represented by Isabel Lavadenz and Klaus Deininger, together with Jolyne Sanjak, then with USAID, identified the need for a global study of innovations in land administration. A concept paper was prepared by all involved with assistance from Grenville Barnes at the University of Florida. Country case studies were prepared in four regions: Africa; Asia; Europe and Central Asia; and Latin America and the Caribbean. These country case studies were prepared by individual experts, often with input from key project counterparts. Regional papers were prepared by Clarissa Augustinus (Africa), Anne-Marie Brits et al. (Asia), Gavin Adlington (Europe and Central Asia), and Grenville Barnes (Latin America and the Caribbean). Land Equity International was commissioned to prepare a global synthesis of the case study experience, focusing on two key aspects: to identify the key indicators that might be used to measure efficient and effective land administration systems and to systematically identify and consider the future challenges for projects seeking to improve land administration systems. This document was prepared by Tony Burns, Chris Grant, Kevin Nettle, Anne-Marie Brits, and Kate Dalrymple. The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance in reviewing the manuscript of Gavin Adlington, Clarissa Augustinus, Grenville Barnes, Elena Panaritis, and Nigel Thompson. Klaus Deininger provided strategic advice and input into the finalization of the report. Any errors in the text are the sole responsibility of the authors, and the views expressed in this document are those of the authors. Company: Land Equity International Pty Ltd Address: Suite 12-13 / 74 Kembla St, Wollongong, NSW, Australia 2500 PO Address: PO Box 798, Wollongong, NSW, Australia, 2520 Telephone: +61 2 4227 6680 Facsimile: +61 2 4228 9944 Web page: www.landequity.com.au Email: [email protected] - iii - Table of Contents 1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background.................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Objectives .................................................................................................... 2 1.3 Country Case Studies .................................................................................. 2 1.4 Regional Papers .......................................................................................... 3 2 Land Administration ............................................................................................ 7 2.1 Definitions and General Background ........................................................... 7 2.2 Trends in Well-Developed Land Administration Systems .......................... 10 2.3 Environment for Land Administration Projects ........................................... 12 2.4 Archetypical Contexts ................................................................................ 13 2.5 Global Land Administration Issues............................................................. 15 3 Critical Regional Issues and Case Study Overviews......................................... 19 3.1 Critical Issues in Africa............................................................................... 19 3.2 Critical Issues in Asia................................................................................. 21 3.3 Critical Issues in Europe and Central Asia................................................. 22 3.4 Critical Issues in Latin America and the Caribbean.................................... 25 3.5 Country Case Study Summaries................................................................ 26 3.5.1 Africa Country Case Studies............................................................... 26 3.5.2 Asia Country Case Studies ................................................................. 29 3.5.3 Europe and Central Asia Country Case Studies ................................. 30 3.5.4 Latin America and Caribbean Country Case Studies.......................... 32 4 Land Administration System Indicators ............................................................. 35 4.1 Framework to Assess Land Administration Efficiency and Effectiveness .. 35 4.2 Policy/Legal Framework............................................................................. 36 4.3 Qualitative Indicators for Customary Tenure.............................................. 41 4.4 Quantitative Indicators for Formal Land Administration Systems............... 43 4.4.1 Indicators and Criteria for Success ..................................................... 43 4.4.2 Comparative Analysis ......................................................................... 47 4.4.3 Summary of ‘Mean’ Indicators ............................................................ 55 4.5 Property Registration as a Business Indicator ........................................... 57 5 Future Challenges............................................................................................. 63 5.1 Approach to Land Administration Reform .................................................. 63 5.1.1 Long-Term Nature of Land Administration Intervention ...................... 63 - iv - 5.1.2 Sequencing of Land Administration Interventions............................... 65 5.1.3 Community Mobilization...................................................................... 70 5.1.4 Solving Rather than Just Identifying Problems ................................... 71 5.2 Institutional Challenges.............................................................................. 72 5.2.1 Authority of the State .......................................................................... 73 5.2.2 Institutional Arrangements .................................................................. 76 5.2.3 Corruption and Governance................................................................ 83 5.3 Focus on Sustainability .............................................................................. 85 5.3.1 Technical Sustainability ...................................................................... 85 5.3.2 Financial Sustainability ....................................................................... 95 5.3.3 Participatory Sustainability.................................................................. 96 5.3.4 Capacity Building for Sustainability..................................................... 98 5.4 Land Tenure Policy .................................................................................. 101 5.4.1 Land Administration and Land Reform.............................................. 101 5.4.2 Customary Tenure ...........................................................................