Burkina Faso's Ambitious Experiment in Participatory Land Tenure Reform

Author:
Kent Elbow
Publisher:
Focus on Land in Africa
Publication Date:
16 January 2015
Tags:
Burkina Faso, Governance, Land and Rural Issues, Legal and Judicial Affairs

On June 16, 2009, Burkina Faso adopted one of the most innovative   pieces of rural land tenure legislation yet seen in West Africa.   Understanding the lead-up, development, execution-and ultimately the   results of this sweeping experiment-offers valuable insights for other   African countries in the throes of legislative reform. By the beginning of the 2000s, the need for an overhaul of rural   land tenure legislation in Burkina Faso had become glaringly evident.   Demographic, climatic and social factors all contributed to intensifying   competition for land and natural resources. Conflicts over land and   natural resources were pervasive and increasingly violent. Each of the   two land tenure systems in Burkina Faso-the statutory regime of the   central government and local customary land tenure managers-seemed   powerless to prevent the slide into insecure landholdings and constrained   access to land.

Follow AllAfrica

AllAfrica publishes around 400 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.