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Cross-cutting challenges to innovation in land tenure documentation

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  • Lengoiboni, Monica
  • Richter, Christine
  • Zevenbergen, Jaap

Abstract

Since around 2011 pilot projects to innovate land tenure documentation are being implemented in various countries in the global south in order to address the shortcomings of formal land registration. A longer-term question, underlying the present study, is how these innovations relate in the longer run to existing institutional arrangements of land governance in the respective context of implementation. Guided by this more general question, we discuss in this paper first the characteristics for 6 of these approaches. And second, we discuss four closely related challenges identified through a thematic analysis from interview transcripts with representatives of the initiatives. Regarding characteristics, we find a basic commonality of the initiatives is the general approach to tenure documentation through community based digital data capture, in many cases via mobile applications, and the acknowledgment of the plurality of land tenure regimes, which are often not accounted for in statutory land tenure registration laws and/or administrative procedures and practices. Looking at the initiatives in more detail a number of differences become apparent in terms of financing mechanisms and organizational characteristics, as well as application domains. We identify four challenges in the process of implementation. One is the need to strike a balance between inclusion of diverse land tenures, on one hand, and necessary adjustments to existing institutional norms and regulations in land governance. A second pertains to questions of purpose and longer-term goals as implementation requires a fair amount of flexibility in practice. The third challenge relates to the question of the legitimacy of both collected digital data and the paper documents that are being issued. And finally, on the side of digital data production, a longer-term challenge pertains to finding an good balance between transparency and openness, on one hand, and protection of people’s land data, on the other. Based on these challenges, we discuss directions for future implementation, evaluation and research.

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  • Lengoiboni, Monica & Richter, Christine & Zevenbergen, Jaap, 2019. "Cross-cutting challenges to innovation in land tenure documentation," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 21-32.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:85:y:2019:i:c:p:21-32
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.03.023
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jean‐Louis Van Gelder, 2009. "Legal Tenure Security, Perceived Tenure Security and Housing Improvement in Buenos Aires: An Attempt towards Integration," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(1), pages 126-146, March.
    2. Abubakari, Zaid & Richter, Christine & Zevenbergen, Jaap, 2018. "Exploring the “implementation gap” in land registration: How it happens that Ghana’s official registry contains mainly leaseholds," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 539-554.
    3. Hendriks, Bob & Zevenbergen, Jaap & Bennett, Rohan & Antonio, Danilo, 2019. "Pro-poor land administration: Towards practical, coordinated, and scalable recording systems for all," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 21-38.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ana García-Morán & Simon Ulvund & Eva-Maria Unger & Rohan Mark Bennett, 2021. "Exploring PPPs in Support of Fit-for-Purpose Land Administration: A Case Study from Côte d’Ivoire," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-20, August.
    2. Aditya, Trias & Santosa, Purnama Budi & Yulaikhah, Yulaikhah & Widjajanti, Nurrohmat & Atunggal, Dedi & Sulistyawati, Miranty, 2021. "Title Validation and collaborative mapping to accelerate quality assurance of land registration," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    3. Baslyd B. Nara & Monica Lengoiboni & Jaap Zevenbergen, 2020. "Implications of Customary Land Rights Inequalities for Food Security: A Study of Smallholder Farmers in Northwest Ghana," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-20, June.
    4. Monica Lengoiboni & Christine Richter & Paul van Asperen & Jaap Zevenbergen, 2021. "Initial Insights on Land Adjudication in a Fit-for-Purpose Land Administration," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-16, April.
    5. Rosemond Owusu Ansah & Zaid Abubakari & Benjamin Quaye & Dimo Todorovski & Chipofya Malumbo & Christiaan Lemmen, 2024. "Navigating the Terrain of Digital Transition: Ghana’s Journey of Developing a Digital Land Information System," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-28, April.
    6. Gochberg, William, 2021. "The social costs of titling land: Evidence from Uganda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    7. Tahir, Abdifatah Ismael, 2022. "Legal pluralism, obscure reforms and adjudication of land conflicts in Hargeisa, Somaliland," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    8. Michael Barry & Rosalie Kingwill, 2020. "Evaluating the Community Land Record System in Monwabisi Park Informal Settlement in the Context of Hybrid Governance and Organisational Culture," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-34, April.
    9. Clarissa Augustinus & Ombretta Tempra, 2021. "Fit-for-Purpose Land Administration in Violent Conflict Settings," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-18, February.
    10. Zaid Abubakari & Christine Richter & Jaap Zevenbergen, 2020. "Evaluating Some Major Assumptions in Land Registration: Insights from Ghana’s Context of Land Tenure and Registration," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-14, August.
    11. Manara, Martina & Pani, Erica, 2023. "Institutional pluralism and pro-poor land registration: Lessons on interim property rights from urban Tanzania," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    12. Abbas, Hafiz Waqar & Guo, Xuesong & Anwar, Bilal & Naqvi, Syed Asif Ali & Shah, Syed Ale Raza, 2022. "The land degradation neutrality management enablers, challenges, and benefits for mobilizing private investments in Pakistan," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    13. Manara, Martina & Pani, Erica, 2023. "Institutional pluralism and pro-poor land registration: lessons on interim property rights from urban Tanzania," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 118651, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    14. Nara, Baslyd B. & Lengoiboni, Monica & Zevenbergen, Jaap, 2021. "Assessing customary land rights and tenure security variations of smallholder farmers in northwest Ghana," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    15. Kabigi, B. & de Vries, Walter T. & Kelvin, H., 2021. "A neo-institutional analysis of alternative land registration systems in Tanzania: The cases of Babati and Iringa districts," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).

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