Research into land rights, conflict, and natural resources

 

Welcome to the website of Land Conflict Research, a consultancy firm registered in Canada. Land Conflict Research is dedicated to understanding, explaining and helping to manage the ways in which land tenure issues intersect with conflict, at every level and at every stage of a dispute.

Click on the links above to access different pages on the website - there is information on specific countries, like Kenya and Burundi, and particular issues, such as land as a cause of conflict and post-conflict land and property rights.

Land lies at the heart of social, economic and political life in Africa and most of the developing world, but across much of the continent there is a lack of clarity or contestation regarding property rights. Much of the uncertainty lies in the modern state's attempts to claim ownership of land resources, despite the existence of customary (traditional) tenure systems, and the failure of attempts to impose western-style land registration systems on local communities.

In recent years, there has been a resurgence in interest into the potentials of land reform. Much of the current optimism stems from the common conceptual ground that has emerged from recent debates between diverse actors. Having learnt lessons from the failure of past reforms that put absolute faith in the power of titling and the free market, on the one hand, or socialist-inspired social engineering on the other, there has been a reassessment of conventional wisdom regarding land tenure. Increasingly, researchers are coming to realise that the seeming dichotomy of land titling systems, on the one hand, and customary systems, on the other, can be bridged through registration of collective (communal) land rights.

 A formidable toolkit of diverse approaches to securing land rights has been developed (incorporating technological innovations, participatory approaches, and hybrid models), and attempts have been made to establish fundamental rights to housing and property in certain circumstances, such as the Pinheiro Principles on the return of refugees and internally displaced persons.  However, in reality, there remain considerable challenges in putting these principles into practice, often due to political, time-related or financial pressures. There are no blueprints for success. In addition to continuing debates over the ‘technical’ aspects of achieving land tenure security, there remain differences in opinion over the relationships between governments, donors, and civil society groups and their respective roles in policy-formulation, implementation, and monitoring.

Considerable progress has been made in designing new community-based systems for natural resource management, which offer local people real benefits and responsibilities. Various forms of decentralisation can provide useful mechanisms to ensure that natural resource management strategies can be responsive to local needs. However, decentralization is by no means a panacea. Communities must be given decision-making power and financial resources as well as responsibilities. In countries affected by political tensions, local society can also be affected by the same divisions and struggles that characterize national level governance. Research continues into ways to empower communities to manage their land and natural resources sustainably, particularly in difficult post-conflict circumstances.

Land Conflict Research is headed by Chris Huggins, a specialist in land rights and disputes over land and natural resources.

Chris has been conducting research into these issues for over ten years, particularly in Africa. He has worked as a consultant for numerous non-governmental organizations including Human Rights Watch, Oxfam GB, ACTS, the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions, the Overseas Development Institute,  the International Centre for Transitional Justice, Forest People's Programme, as well as a number of UN agencies.

For more on these issues, please explore the website or click on the links to the left to read conference papers and published work by Chris Huggins. Also, check out his blog for regular updates and opinion-pieces.