Land and Property Services

Transcription

Andre Teyssier: Imagine if you were an African farmer. You have no car. You have no bank account. The sole asset you have is this piece of land, where you have built your home and where you are cultivating to produce the livelihood you need for you and your whole family. If you lose that, you lose everything. Narrator: The African farmer's situation is no different from a farmer in Colombia or Timor-Leste. Land is the centerpiece of his or her life. It's the same in many countries around the world; land forms the cornerstone of economic activity and underpins markets for agriculture, labor and credit. Access and rights to land improves household food security and encourages resource conservation. Secure land tenure reduces conflict between communities, neighbors and families, allowing people to refocus time and financial resources into more productive activities. For billions of people around the world, land is essential for survival, and forms the foundation of their cultural and social identity, wealth and power. Donald Steinberg: Land security and especially the involvement of women and the ownership of land by women, is essential to all our development goals. Tim Hanstad: Land is the important source of food, of income, of security, wealth, power, status. One's relationship to land defines one's opportunity. Narrator: Today, pressure on the world's land and natural resources is increasing globally. The world's population exceeds 7 billion people. Each month, an additional 10 million people are born. This growing population places extreme pressure on the world's natural resources and as demand for land, resources, and food continues, competition grows and the potential for conflict increases. Melanne Verveer: Look at the world today. We have a severe hunger problem. We have rising food prices. We have incredible needs for greater food productivity. Narrator: Governments, donors, the private sector, and civil society seek ways to secure agricultural land and property that can be used to meet this increasing global demand for food. At the same time, other interest groups try to protect undeveloped land and forests for the sake of biodiversity conservation. Global climate change will cause sea levels to rise, displacing populations and intensifying human migration. When individuals are displaced due to climate change or conflict, or when marginalized populations are precluded from owning land, they become extremely vulnerable to poverty, hunger and conflict. Displaced populations are often forced to migrate into lands or territories that are already occupied, further increasing the potential for conflict. These various factors work together to exert tremendous pressure on the world's available land and natural resources. Through the following modules, you will explore key land tenure concepts and terms that will put this critical issue into context. You'll learn about the ways that access to land can slow climate change and improve economic growth, food security, natural resource management, and conflict mitigation. You'll also be introduced to USAID tools and approaches used to mitigate land tenure challenges. This training film series illustrates how issues relating to land tenure and property rights affect many development objectives, which can be incorporated into a variety of development programming. Strengthening the land and property rights of all members of society will create a cascade of positive outcomes across the developing world.