The Role of University Networks in implementing the AU Agenda on Land: EALAN Achamyeleh Gashu, Bahir Dar University World Bank Land Conference/2016 Washington, DC

I NTRODUCTION Land is a primary asset for survival and development in Eastern Africa. Various stakeholders have supported training institutions to set up programs on Land administration Remarkable growth of academic programs in land administration in various Eastern African countries has shown in the last seven. The need to partner and collaborate among universities in the region to draw and share lessons and exchange of knowledge and ideas Bahir Dar University is among the pioneering institutions for the Eastern African Land Administration Network (EALAN) and ETHIOLANDNET

EALAN-Regional Network The opening of B.Sc. Programs in Land Administration at Bahir Dar University, Kenya Technical University Kenya, Ardhi University and Makerere University were supported by Sida Sweden and KTH. After the SIDA capacity building program ended in 2010, the four universities decided to continue working together in order to harmonize their respective B.Sc. programs. Thereafter United Nations University (UNU) School of Land Administration Studies at ITC became involved and supported the development of the network. Since then, EALAN has grown to become an important platform fostering land related education and research in the Eastern Africa region.

Current EALAN Membership Institution NameCountry Bahir Dar UniversityEthiopia Dar University of BurundiBurundi Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD) Kenya Technical University of Kenya (TUK)Kenya National University of RwandaRwanda INES RuhengeriRwanda University of JubaSouth Sudan Ardhi UniversityTanzania Makerere UniversityUganda Woldia UniversityEthiopia University of NairobiKenya

Goal of EALAN  To become a platform for sharing and exchanging ideas, skills, experiences, knowledge, plans and programs in land administration and management through training, education, research, in Eastern Africa.

Functions of EALAN Provide a network of support and contact for member institutions and professionals in land related activities in Eastern Africa; Provide a forum for exchange of experiences, ideas and data on land related issues of regional concern; Establish staff and student exchange, joint research projects, staff development projects, and other programs pertaining to the Network objectives; Establish joint academic programs pertaining to land administration and management; Establish regional/international fora to benchmark and discuss common challenges and opportunities within land administration and management; Promote networking with other organizations dealing with land administration and management; Promote capacity development within the Network. Work closely with Government institutions/ministries responsible for land matters in each Member State; Advocate for better land administration and management at policy level.

Achievements made so far Comparison and harmonisation of BSc and MSc Curricula; Joint curriculum reviews MoUs have been formulated among some partner institutions to facilitate staff & student exchange, Joint research activities etc.; Launched “Journal of Land Administration in Eastern Africa” Jointly writing a reference book “A Compendium on Land Administration Practices in Eastern Africa”; Regional Annual conferences held since Admitted as a Global Land Tool Network (GLTN) Partner

Challenges There exists a big gap between the training needs from different countries; Need to Strengthen the Secretariat to ensure that it fully meets its functions; Need to create more visibility for EALAN; Publications from the network still need to be supported. Financial sustainability still remains a challenge;

C ONCLUSION Universities as key stakeholders in the land sector or in land policy implementation need to collaborate to address land governance challenges in the region. University networking enhance the capacity of universities so as to provide better service to the government or land policy implementing agencies This is both a challenge and an opportunity for the universities

Thank you