Norwegian Land Tools Relevant to Africa – workshop outcome report is published

The Centre for Property Rights and Development of the Norwegian Mapping and Cadastre Authority is pleased to present this publication, which is a result of a workshop on Norwegian land tools relevant to Africa. This book is a joint contribution of many individuals whose time and involvement we would like to acknowledge with gratitude.

Legal empowerment of the poor has recently been set on the international as well as on the Norwegian development agenda. Tools that improve poor people’s access to land and security of tenure are central elements in this. Land issues are complex and highly contentious and must be addressed as a political challenge related to fighting poverty. Formalising property rights should be analysed within complex and varying social and historical contexts. Land distribution is often a key issue. However, in many developing countries it is also a challenge to reform existing land related services to make them accessible to poor dwellers as well as to poor businessmen and women.

Norway is recognised as having an efficient land sector including land registration services that are accessible to all, fast, transparent, un-bureaucratic and relatively cheap. Norwegian solutions have evolved in a historical and social context and can thus not be blueprinted, but elements of the Norwegian system could inspire improvements of the land sector in developing countries.

Therefore it was proposed to arrange a workshop with the main purpose to discuss solutions that could work in Africa using Norwegian best practises as an outset, and to present the outcome in a comprehensive report – this book, which should, inter alia, be of value to the work of the Commission on Legal Empowerment and to the UN Habitat Global Land Tool Network initiative.

The workshop held on 3-4 May 2007 in Oslo had a specific emphasis on recognition and registration of a wide range of tenure systems in urban and rural areas, gender and land related issues, experiences on collective land rights, and indigenous people’s rights. The seminar analysed and discussed the relevance and limits of these experiences and practises in relation to challenges in Africa today.


The publication is available upon inquiry sent to elena.busch@statkart.no in hard copy and electronically. Please indicate your postal address if you wish to receive a hard copy.