Joint press release on the occasion of the signing ceremony of a declaration of intent to launch a Network of Excellence on Land Governance in Africa (NELGA)
Addis Ababa, 13 July 2015 - Today, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) represented by its Deputy Executive-Secretary for Knowledge Delivery Ms. Giovanie Biha, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), represented by its Minister Dr. Gerd Müller, and the World Bank, represented by the Vice President Dr. Joachim von Amsberg, signed a Declaration of Intent to launch a New Network of Excellence on Land Governance in Africa (NELGA). NELGA will complement and support the work of the Land Policy Initiative (LPI), a tripartite partnership of the African Union Commission (AUC), African Development Bank (AfDB) and ECA.
Ms. Biha welcomed this trilateral partnership to establish NELGA, noting that it responds to the call by Agenda 2063 to "enhance and sustain investments in higher education, science technology and research." She further noted that the partnership is in line with ECA's strategy to promote partnerships with development partners to generate knowledge, underpinned by robust statistics, and to enhance dissemination of findings and best practices for enhanced land policy development.
Minister Müller praised the African engagement and added: "Secure access to land and other natural resources is of vital importance for the people in rural areas of Africa. Assuring that decision makers know how to develop a fair, transparent and development oriented land policy in a participatory way will be an important contribution for food security and growth in the agricultural sectors, especially for smallholders.
Dr. von Amsberg noted that improving land governance is a smart investment in many respects: it helps promote investment and agricultural productivity; it is critical for financial sector development and for controlled urban expansion; and facilitates domestic revenue generation. "To the extent that it builds analytical capacity, supports monitoring, encourages policy dialogue, and facilitates integration of land governance in country strategies, NELGA will help unlock much larger investments for operations towards strengthening land governance." he said, adding that "the World Bank is fully committed to support this effort by helping to build the required data, research and capacity".
The NELGA will support the African Union's Agenda on Land, in particular the use of the "Framework and Guidelines on Land Policy in Africa" and the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National
Food Security (VGGT). It is designed to strengthen human and institutional capacities with regards to the development, implementation and monitoring of land policies in Africa that foster economic growth, are equitable, gender sensitive and pay special attention to marginalized groups.
The NELGA will function as a network among leading African academic and research institutions and liaise with civil society, private sector, land sector practitioners, and decision makers to address gaps in training, statistics and research on land governance. A Scholarship program implemented by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) will be designed to create new training and research opportunities for African junior and senior land practitioners and researchers.
Germany and the World Bank are happy to support the Land Policy Initiative, hosted by ECA, in this process and welcome other partners to ensure sustainability of NELGA as it seeks to securing the land rights of all, but especially the poor and marginalized.
