For the past few decades, statutory tenure systems in African countries were subjected to small legalchanges whose main feature was the devolution of rights and responsibilities to peripheral actors; local communities, in particular. In countries in other sub-continents (Latin America, South-East Asia, and the Far East) more decisive and substantive changes have significantly affected the structure of land and forest tenure rights by recognizing and allocating property rights to local and indigenous communities.

InFocus

Govts Giving Land Away Quickly, Reports Say

African governments are doing more to protect land rights of rural and indigenous people but are also moving quickly to give away community lands for development, according to two ... Read more »

• Africa: Reports Reveal African Governments Giving Land Away Quickly
• Resource Document Social and Environmental Impacts of Agricultural Large-Scale Land Acquisitions in Africa—With a Focuson West and Central Africa