Land Administration: Indicators of Success, Future Challenges October 2006 Acknowledgements This report is based on the documentation prepared in 2003 for the first stage of a global study undertaken in support of the World Bank's Policy Research Report on land policy (Deininger 2003), which was supported by USAID, the Norwegian ESSD Trust Fund, the Australian Consultant Trust Fund, and the World Bank's Latin America Region. The initial global study was undertaken under the general supervision of Isabel Lavadenz of the World Bank and Jolyne Sanjak of USAID. A preliminary report was prepared in late 2003 by Tony Burns, Chris Grant, Anne- Marie Brits and Kevin Nettle of Land Equity International Pty Ltd (LEI) and circulated for review. In 2006 this final version of the publication was edited by Tony Burns and Kate Dalrymple from LEI. This report is intended as a base document for land administration and development practitioners. This report is the product of a number of experts’ research and field experience in land administration systems around the globe. Without their insight and dedication preparing this report, the task would have been unachievable. We acknowledge the comprehensive and astute reporting by a team of experts for the effort they put into preparing and updating regional case studies, Clarissa Augustinus (Africa), Gavin Adlington (Europe and Central Asia), and Grenville Barnes (Latin America and the Caribbean). We are also thankful for the invaluable lessons and knowledge provided by authors of the country case studies. Since preparation of the case studies progress has varied across the jurisdictions and therefore with further contributions from the respective authors progress and future proposals are presented. The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance in reviewing the preliminary report provided by Gavin Adlington, Clarissa Augustinus, Grenville Barnes, and Nigel Thompson. The final editing of this report significantly benefited from the constructive comments and critiques offered by, Gavin Adlington, Clarissa Augustinus, Grenville Barnes, Klaus Deininger and Elena Panaritis. Any errors in the text are the sole responsibility of the authors and the views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the sponsoring agencies. 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] – i - Table of Contents 1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background.................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Study Objectives .......................................................................................... 2 1.3 Country Case Studies .................................................................................. 3 1.3.1 Africa Country Case Studies................................................................. 4 1.3.2 Asia Country Case Studies ................................................................... 6 1.3.3 Europe and Central Asia Country Case Studies ................................... 8 1.3.4 Latin America and Caribbean Country Case Studies............................ 9 1.4 Regional Papers ........................................................................................ 11 2 Land Administration .......................................................................................... 13 2.1 Definitions and General Background ......................................................... 13 2.2 Environment for Land Administration Projects ........................................... 16 2.3 Archetypical Contexts ................................................................................ 17 2.4 Global Land Administration Issues............................................................. 18 3 Critical Issues and Current Trends Specific to the Regions .............................. 23 3.1 Critical Issues in Africa............................................................................... 23 3.2 Critical Issues in Asia................................................................................. 25 3.3 Critical Issues in Europe and Central Asia................................................. 26 3.4 Critical Issues in Latin America and the Caribbean.................................... 28 3.5 Trends in Jurisdictions with Well-Developed Land Registration Systems .. 30 4 Land Administration System Indicators ............................................................. 33 4.1 Framework to Assess Land Administration Efficiency and Effectiveness .. 33 4.2 Policy/Legal Framework............................................................................. 34 4.3 Qualitative Indicators for Customary Tenure.............................................. 38 4.4 Quantitative Indicators for Formal Land Administration Systems............... 41 4.4.1 Indicators and Criteria for Success ..................................................... 41 4.4.2 Comparative Study Results ................................................................ 47 4.4.3 Summary of ‘Mean’ Indicators ............................................................ 51 4.5 Property Registration as a Business Indicator ........................................... 53 5 Future Challenges............................................................................................. 59 5.1 Approach to Land Administration Reform .................................................. 59 5.1.1 Long-Term Nature of Land Administration Intervention ...................... 59 5.1.2 Sequencing of Land Administration Interventions............................... 61 – ii - 5.1.3 Community Mobilisation...................................................................... 66 5.1.4 Solving Rather than just Identifying Problems .................................... 68 5.2 Institutional Challenges.............................................................................. 69 5.2.1 Authority of the State .......................................................................... 69 5.2.2 Institutional Arrangements .................................................................. 73 5.2.3 Corruption and Governance................................................................ 79 5.3 Focus on Sustainability .............................................................................. 81 5.3.1 Technical Sustainability ...................................................................... 82 5.3.2 Financial Sustainability ....................................................................... 90 5.3.3 Participatory Sustainability.................................................................. 91 5.3.4 Capacity Building for Sustainability..................................................... 93 5.4 Land Tenure Policy .................................................................................... 96 5.4.1 Land Administration and Land Reform................................................ 96 5.4.2 Customary Tenure .............................................................................. 98 5.4.3 Alternatives to Titles ......................................................................... 104 5.4.4 Pro-Poor Emphasis and Safeguards for Vulnerable Groups............. 110 6 Conclusions and Recommendations............................................................... 123 6.1 Conclusions ............................................................................................. 123 6.2 Recommendations ................................................................................... 124 6.2.1 Approach to Land Administration Reform ......................................... 124 6.2.2 Institutional Challenges..................................................................... 127 6.2.3 Focus on Sustainability..................................................................... 128 6.2.4 Land Tenure Policy........................................................................... 130 Appendices ............................................................................................................ 135 Appendix 1 - Policy/Legal Framework Indicators................................................ 137 Appendix 2 –Customary Tenure Indicators......................................................... 151 Appendix 3 – Land Administration Parameters................................................... 165 Appendix 4 – Formal Land Administration Effectiveness Indicators ................... 173 References............................................................................................................. 179 Index ...................................................................................................................... 189 Author Index........................................................................................................... 191 – iii - Figures Figure 1 Land Management Arrangements (Dale and McLaughlin 1988:4). .................................................................................................13 Figure 2 Land Administration Project Environments............................................16 Figure 3 Tenure Security/Institutional Arrangements Matrix................................17 Figure 4