1. Securing women’s land rights in customary settings: Lessons from Africa Harold Liversage, Land Tenure Adviser, IFAD h.liversage@ifad.org World Bank Land & Poverty Conference, Washington, March, 2014 h.liversage@ifad.org

2. Context  Increasing policy and statutory recognition of diverse customary tenure systems.  Growing recognition of the role of women in agriculture and of the need for women’s empowerment.  Sometimes in tension – how to resolve?  Recognize that “custom” is not cast in stone.  Exploit opportunities in both customary and modern institutions and systems – multiple, complementary interventions.  Above all: ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT in context of rural transformation.

3. Some tools  Community self-analysis of poverty and power.  Understanding women’s social empowerment, especially how they influence decision making in diverse social systems.  Working with but also transforming customary decision making systems  Eg:  Local Livelihood Fora, South Nyanza, Kenya – HIV/AIDS, widow inheritance and intra-family land grabbing from widows and orphans.  Household mentoring in Uganda

4. More tools  Mapping multiple land & natural resource use – either linked to recognizing or changing these uses  Support for intra-family & local dispute resolution – often involves elderly men but women can influence, linked to para-legal services – eg: Burundi (also ULA in Uganda)  Co-spousal registration and women’s representation in land admin (Ethiopia, Rwanda)  Inheritance laws – challenges in cultural practice, requires civic education, linked to household mentoring. Don’t assume that fathers don’t want their daughters to inherit.  Linked to will writing & literacy training

5.  Economic empowerment and transformation of rural economies  Improving access to CPRs (eg: forest reserves around Mount Kenya) – linked to land use planning and support for strengthening / formalization of CPR institutions (eg: Forest Associations).  Improving income generating opportunities for women – in farming (eg: chicken, goats, pigs and fish and fodder production in pastoralist communities) - & off-farm (eg: processing, trading) – a basis for securing use rights & buying land in their own right. Tools continued

6. Regional & global KM & dialogue  Have formulated a corporate land policy to guide project / programme design & implementation.  ESA’s Tenure Security Learning Initiative – 5 thematic areas, women’s land access as one thematic area  African Land Policy Framework & Guidelines – AUC, UNECA, AfDB – women’s access to land one thematic area  FAO led Voluntary Guidelines on Tenure Security  WB led Land Governance Assessment Framework Final Word