In countries with widespread poverty, natural resources in the form of arable land, fishing waters, forests and pastures are extremely important to society for many reasons. This is first and foremost because such resources contribute to providing food for the local population, but also because the sale of any surplus resources brings in money that gives people the opportunity to buy what they cannot produce themselves.
In many areas, local usage of agricultural land and other natural resources also represents a considerable share of a country’s capital gains. Natural resources can therefore contribute to a country’s economic development and growth, which naturally supports poverty alleviation. It is also important to promote the sustainable use of natural resources. One way of doing this is to ensure that the local population is not only given the opportunity to manage the resources, but also to have secure access to them by formally being granted the right to use the land.
A question of human rights
The opportunity to influence how the agricultural land that you cultivate is used is also a question of democratic and human rights. It is as basic as being able to ensure the provision of food for your own family and society. However, improving user access and user rights to arable land, for example, also encourages people to invest capital and improve their farming methods. Such efforts also increase the chances of the resources being managed in a way that is sustainable in the long term, and ensure that the resources will provide for future generations, says Lasse Krantz, senior rural development adviser at Sida.
“It has been shown that people who are responsible for the way in which resources are used are also better at managing them economically,” Krantz says. “It is less important if the ownership is individual or collective.”
Greater interest in land resources
There are other reasons why Sida and Sweden have chosen to support efforts that strengthen the local population’s rights to natural resources. In a world where global competition for land resources is getting tougher as a result of rising food prices and a greater interest in bio fuel, it is important to ascertain who actually owns the land. In many countries, the state owns forests and other land even though the resources there are, in effect, used by local people who traditionally regard themselves as their rightful owners.
“The most important thing is to ensure local users’ rights to the land,” Krantz says. “In other cases, those who live off the resources risk finding themselves in a difficult situation. It’s then up to the local population if they choose to sell the land or use it themselves.”
Sida supports reform work
Sida is both supporting and co-operating with several networks, foundations and organizations that work globally with issues that cover areas such as ownership and land rights. These include the International Land Coalition, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN Habitat) and the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development.
Sida is also supporting the work of reforming land legislation at the national level in several partner countries. Sida can aid institutions and authorities in introducing laws, guidelines and strategies, for example, by strengthening and improving their capabilities, especially in Africa, where up to 90 per cent of all land lacks a formal, registered owner.
“It may be too costly to produce title deeds for all of the land,” Krantz says. “But in some way, we must work out how the countries can guarantee that their inhabitants receive secure and long-term access to their lands.
“Another issue is, of course, who has access to the land. Unclear ownership issues are often the basis for lengthy conflicts over natural resources. But there are also other aspects to take into account. How can we protect women’s ownership rights, for example?”
Clear ownership reduces exploitation
We can find a good example of ownership reforms within agriculture in Ethiopia, where Sida has helped about 4 million households formalize their land ownership with the help of a certificate.
In Mozambique and Tanzania, collective rights have been established for agricultural land and forests that local societies count as their own, so-called community lands, even though these are used on an individual basis.
“It has been proved that this is also one way of protecting natural resources,” Krantz says.
“The responsibility that goes with ownership not only means that people economize better with their existing resources; it also appears to reduce exploitation and environmental degradation.”
