Session 03-06: Land Governance in Latin America & the Caribbean Land and Poverty Conference 2017: Responsible Land Governance Towards an Evidence-Based Approach Session 03-06: Land Governance in Latin America & the Caribbean APPLYING AN ADJUSTED LAND GOVERNANCE ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK (LGAF) TO EVALUATE THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN LAND CADASTERS AND INFORMALITY: LESSONS FROM BRAZIL AND ECUADOR Diego Erba & Michael Donovan March 20-24, 2017 Washington, DC

Methodology Case Study Guide prepared by Sanjak and Donovan (2016). Land and Poverty Conference 2017: Responsible Land Governance Towards an Evidence-Based Approach - 2017 Methodology Case Study Guide prepared by Sanjak and Donovan (2016). Relied on the 2013 version of LGAF Implementation Manual and questions adapted from USAID Blueprint for Strengthening Real Property Rights and from the FAO Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT). Case study focused on the major urban areas as well as areas in the process of urbanization in Brazil and Ecuador. Collection process entailed visits to public institutions and private service providers, and focus groups.

Report The report contains the following 10 sections: Land and Poverty Conference 2017: Responsible Land Governance Towards an Evidence-Based Approach - 2017 Report The report contains the following 10 sections: Section 1: Country context. Section 2: Basic land governance information. Sections 3–7: Situational assessment by key land governance topics. Topic 1: Law and public policies. Topic 2: Quality of rights to land and real property. Topic 3: Registry and cadastral information systems and services. Topic 4: Land use planning and management. Topic 5: Taxation and valuation. Topic 6: Access to land in urban development and land markets. Topic 7: Special topics: linking land governance to water, fisheries, and coastal zone management, disaster risk reduction and disaster management, and country specific case study suggestions and questions. Topic 8: Monitoring progress. Section 8: Stakeholder mapping. Section 9: Overarching indicators. Section 10: Conclusions.

Land and Poverty Conference 2017: Responsible Land Governance Towards an Evidence-Based Approach - 2017 Brazil Largest country in Latin America, and the fifth largest in the world by area. Population of more than 200 million inhabitants, and over 80 percent are classified as urban population. The Federative Republic of Brazil comprises the indissoluble union of states, municipalities, and the Federal District. Three levels of government have organizational, administrative, and financial autonomy. Adapted from official information from the website of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) (www.ibge.gov.br).

Land and Poverty Conference 2017: Responsible Land Governance Towards an Evidence-Based Approach - 2017 Brazil Assessing governance in Brazil requires understanding the federative pact between the federal government, the states, and the municipalities, as well as their functions. Roles Federal Government >> coordinator and regulator, rather than an implementer per se. States >> has not been completely defined >> regional issues >> Statute of the Metropolis. Municipality >> rules for the use, occupation, and construction of urban properties.

Land and Poverty Conference 2017: Responsible Land Governance Towards an Evidence-Based Approach - 2017 Brazil Master Plan Source: IBGE, MUNIC 2015

Brazil Master Plan development Not reported Land and Poverty Conference 2017: Responsible Land Governance Towards an Evidence-Based Approach - 2017 Brazil Master Plan development Not reported Source: IBGE, MUNIC 2015

Land and Poverty Conference 2017: Responsible Land Governance Towards an Evidence-Based Approach - 2017 Brazil There is possession without ownership, and ownership without possession. Land-related conflicts >> most significant: land possession and reintegration. Land-related disputes >> very frequent: determining the value of the expropriated property. Informality Informality in large and medium-size Brazilian cities >> between 40% and 50%. Main causes: lack of preventive public policies, the high cost of land, poverty, rapid migration, the lack of inspection, the cost of usucaption (in terms of money and time) and bureaucracy

Brazil Legislation on land regularization No municipalities Land and Poverty Conference 2017: Responsible Land Governance Towards an Evidence-Based Approach - 2017 Brazil Legislation on land regularization No municipalities Source: IBGE, MUNIC 2015

Brazil Legislation on ownership legitimacy Land and Poverty Conference 2017: Responsible Land Governance Towards an Evidence-Based Approach - 2017 Brazil Legislation on ownership legitimacy Source: IBGE, MUNIC 2015

Land and Poverty Conference 2017: Responsible Land Governance Towards an Evidence-Based Approach - 2017 Brazil Registries of Properties use narratives to record entries, it makes it hard to manage data in a systematic manner Property Valuation remains a key issue. The technical norm are rather sophisticated when compared to the rest of Latin America. However, the values recorded in cadasters seldom reflect market prices, creating ongoing challenges for local governments Cadastres Rural: centralized management of data by the National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA). Urban: municipal management lead to disruptions and create challenges for the continuity of mapping.

Brazil Urban cadastre existence Land and Poverty Conference 2017: Responsible Land Governance Towards an Evidence-Based Approach - 2017 Brazil Urban cadastre existence Source: IBGE, MUNIC 2015

Brazil Value maps existence Land and Poverty Conference 2017: Responsible Land Governance Towards an Evidence-Based Approach - 2017 Brazil Value maps existence Source: IBGE, MUNIC 2015

Brazil Topics Indicators Observations B – C Land and Poverty Conference 2017: Responsible Land Governance Towards an Evidence-Based Approach - 2017 Brazil Topics Indicators Observations Legislation and public policies B – C The average of the indicators shows that there is much room for improvement in Brazil. Progress has been achieved from 2014 levels, showing positive outlook. Quality of land rights B Land rights are well defined in the legislation, and the incidence of forced eviction has fallen across the country. The legal framework provides for gender equality, although discriminatory attitudes persist in practice. Systems and services for cadastral and registry information   C There is poor correlation between cadastral data and the information documented in property registries. There is still a lot of land to be mapped and rights to be identified, both public and private. Significant progress was made in the recognition of land possession. Some indicators showed worse performance than their 2014 levels. Land use and management A – B Indicators in this category outperform the rest and many municipalities have scored an A in their indicators. There is notable progress compared to 2014 levels. Taxation and valuation B – A The indicators performed well and are approximately on par with their 2014 levels.

Land and Poverty Conference 2017: Responsible Land Governance Towards an Evidence-Based Approach - 2017 Ecuador Population 14,5 million inhabitants, and over 62 percent are classified as urban population. Land use planning by the State is conducted on the regional, provincial, cantonal, and parochial level. Land use planning also contemplates special regimes and encourages the formation of associations. Adapted from official information from the website of the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (INEC) (www.ibge.gov.br).

Land and Poverty Conference 2017: Responsible Land Governance Towards an Evidence-Based Approach - 2017 Ecuador Understanding the relationship between the “decentralized unitary system” explicitly stated in the Constitution and the provisions of effective decentralization proposed in the Organic Code of Land Use, Autonomy, and Decentralization. Roles Central Government >> guidance in matters pertaining to land use, habitat, and housing, as well as legislates on land management. Municipal Government >> land administration through regulating land use and occupation, defining taxation and planning policies, and maintaining the land cadaster.

Ecuador Urban Planning legislation Land and Poverty Conference 2017: Responsible Land Governance Towards an Evidence-Based Approach - 2017 Ecuador Urban Planning legislation Source: MIDUVI, 2014

Ecuador Ordinances regulating land use and management Land and Poverty Conference 2017: Responsible Land Governance Towards an Evidence-Based Approach - 2017 Ecuador Ordinances regulating land use and management Source: MIDUVI, 2014

Land and Poverty Conference 2017: Responsible Land Governance Towards an Evidence-Based Approach - 2017 Ecuador Promulgation of the Organic Law on Rural Land and Ancestral Territories, and the Organic Law on Land Use, Planning, and Management. Informality Main causes: demographic dynamics in the process of home building, strict regulation on the area size of subdivisions, concept of individual ownership (Ecuador does not have a culture of renting, commodatum, or trusteeship), cost of bureaucracy in terms of money and time, high cost of land, underdeveloped capacity of authorities to generate affordable urban land for low-income sectors.

Ecuador GADMs with Informal Settlements Land and Poverty Conference 2017: Responsible Land Governance Towards an Evidence-Based Approach - 2017 Ecuador GADMs with Informal Settlements Source: MIDUVI, 2014

Land and Poverty Conference 2017: Responsible Land Governance Towards an Evidence-Based Approach - 2017 Ecuador There is no one-size-fits-all model for property registries across the country. Regulations on property valuation (the municipal cadaster policy) should be reviewed, as the methods proposed are inflexible and inappropriate. Cadastres Data gathering and systemization methods are outdated, it is hard to tell whether the data themselves are necessarily outdated. Cadaster coverage is uncertain and varies greatly among different parts of the country.

Ecuador Urban cadastre coverage Land and Poverty Conference 2017: Responsible Land Governance Towards an Evidence-Based Approach - 2017 Ecuador Urban cadastre coverage Source: MIDUVI, 2014

Ecuador Topic Indicators Observations B Land and Poverty Conference 2017: Responsible Land Governance Towards an Evidence-Based Approach - 2017 Ecuador Topic Indicators Observations Legislation and public policies B The Civil Code with the recently approved laws on land create a framework that should lead to public policies, more promising in terms of equity. Quality of land rights Rights are well defined, provide for gender equality, and allow for the recognition of ownership, which leads to a decrease in land takeovers. Systems and services for cadastral and registry information C The municipalization of Property Registries facilitated their integration with the Municipal Cadasters. However, there is still a lot of land to be mapped as well as rights to be identified and legalized, both public and private. Land use and management A new framework has been created using new planning instruments, but it is yet to be put into practice. Implementation will require policy decisions and training of officers for them to have an in-depth understanding. Taxation and valuation There is ample room for improving municipal finances and for allowing greater independence of local management. The new financing instruments should be created with policy decisions which can lead to more fair cities.

Progress Brazil Ecuador Land and Poverty Conference 2017: Responsible Land Governance Towards an Evidence-Based Approach - 2017 Progress Brazil Ecuador Progress has been made in the regulatory frameworks for sectoral policies regarding sanitation, mobility, and particularly on housing (Minha Casa, Minha Vida). The most significant progress in land governance in Brazil is in the federal legal framework The most recent progress includes the promulgation of the Organic Law on Rural Land and Ancestral Territories and the promulgation of the Organic Law on Land Use, Planning, and Management.

Challenges Brazil Ecuador Land and Poverty Conference 2017: Responsible Land Governance Towards an Evidence-Based Approach - 2017 Challenges Brazil Ecuador Remaining challenges should be addressed mainly at the municipal level. Overcoming weaknesses in institutional capacity so as to implement urban policies. Biggest environmental challenges: framing the problem of land occupation in high-risk areas involving home relocations. To demonstrate that the municipalization of property registries was a right step in enhancing effectiveness and efficiency, and in integrating the registries with land cadasters.

Land and Poverty Conference 2017: Responsible Land Governance Towards an Evidence-Based Approach - 2017 Conclusions LGAF has been an effective tool for identifying the strengths and weaknesses in land governance in Latin America. LGAF can inform about land policies, and it points out the need for collaboration in all matters related to land administration Progress was achieved in sanitation, mobility, and housing, but most of the policies have been fragmented and incoherent. In Latin America, only a few countries include informal settlements in their cadastral maps and taxation systems. Information gaps and scattered data create challenges for policy formulation and have negative effect on land governance.