SECURING AND MANAGING COMMUNITY LAND: LESSONS FROM KENYA

This paper was presented in the 2021 Conference on Land Policy in Africa held in Kigali, Rwanda, in November 2021. It is based on a three-year study by the Land Development and Governance Institute (LDGI), in partnership with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada, to test the...

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Main Authors: IBRAHIM MWATHANE, Mwenda Makathimo, Robert Kibugi, Elvin Nyukuri
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: EL-AYACHI 2022-09-01
Series:African Journal on Land Policy and Geospatial Sciences
Subjects:
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author IBRAHIM MWATHANE
Mwenda Makathimo
Robert Kibugi
Elvin Nyukuri
author_facet IBRAHIM MWATHANE
Mwenda Makathimo
Robert Kibugi
Elvin Nyukuri
author_sort IBRAHIM MWATHANE
collection DOAJ
description This paper was presented in the 2021 Conference on Land Policy in Africa held in Kigali, Rwanda, in November 2021. It is based on a three-year study by the Land Development and Governance Institute (LDGI), in partnership with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada, to test the efficacy of the application of Kenya's new Community Land Act. The study sites are in Isiolo and Marsabit Counties, both in the Arid and Semi-Arid (ASAL) Northern Kenya. The study results demonstrate the importance of adequate sensitisation of the key actors (government, political and community) at county level and the grass root communities, the use of participatory and inclusive processes to establish the community governance organs and fulfil the statutory requirements provided under this new law. The study also highlights the importance of the use of community champions to ensure the continuous sensitisation of community members, and to to galvanise the communities in the registration and management of their land. Through the study, communities were supported to develop basic tools to guide them in land use planning and investor negotiations. The land use planning guide developed will help the communities to liase with the county government to prepare a land use development plan which is expected to enhance the sustainable use of the community land, while the investor negotiation guide developed will be helpful during negotiations with investors interested in partnering with the communities for investments on their land. The use of the investor guides is expected to inform the preparation of mutually beneficial investor agreements as anticipated under the Community Land Act. It is expected that the lessons from the study, which include: community empowerment, use of participatory inclusive processes, ensuring gender equity in the composition of governance organs and in decision making processes, embracing the youth, use of champions and avoiding the negative impacts of the adjudication of community land will be useful to state and non-state implementers of the new law, and may be used to inform the scaling up implementation countrywide. It is also expected that gaps identified in the new law, such as the management of the inheritance rights of children married outside the community, and those divorced, will inform law review.
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spelling doaj.art-015bbc5b164f48cdbaf8c6961d91fd002022-12-22T03:25:18ZengEL-AYACHIAfrican Journal on Land Policy and Geospatial Sciences2657-26642022-09-0154753766https://doi.org/10.48346/IMIST.PRSM/ajlp-gs.v5i4.34120SECURING AND MANAGING COMMUNITY LAND: LESSONS FROM KENYAIBRAHIM MWATHANEMwenda MakathimoRobert KibugiElvin NyukuriThis paper was presented in the 2021 Conference on Land Policy in Africa held in Kigali, Rwanda, in November 2021. It is based on a three-year study by the Land Development and Governance Institute (LDGI), in partnership with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada, to test the efficacy of the application of Kenya's new Community Land Act. The study sites are in Isiolo and Marsabit Counties, both in the Arid and Semi-Arid (ASAL) Northern Kenya. The study results demonstrate the importance of adequate sensitisation of the key actors (government, political and community) at county level and the grass root communities, the use of participatory and inclusive processes to establish the community governance organs and fulfil the statutory requirements provided under this new law. The study also highlights the importance of the use of community champions to ensure the continuous sensitisation of community members, and to to galvanise the communities in the registration and management of their land. Through the study, communities were supported to develop basic tools to guide them in land use planning and investor negotiations. The land use planning guide developed will help the communities to liase with the county government to prepare a land use development plan which is expected to enhance the sustainable use of the community land, while the investor negotiation guide developed will be helpful during negotiations with investors interested in partnering with the communities for investments on their land. The use of the investor guides is expected to inform the preparation of mutually beneficial investor agreements as anticipated under the Community Land Act. It is expected that the lessons from the study, which include: community empowerment, use of participatory inclusive processes, ensuring gender equity in the composition of governance organs and in decision making processes, embracing the youth, use of champions and avoiding the negative impacts of the adjudication of community land will be useful to state and non-state implementers of the new law, and may be used to inform the scaling up implementation countrywide. It is also expected that gaps identified in the new law, such as the management of the inheritance rights of children married outside the community, and those divorced, will inform law review.communitycommunity landparticipatory processchampionsplanning guideinvestor negotiation guide
spellingShingle IBRAHIM MWATHANE
Mwenda Makathimo
Robert Kibugi
Elvin Nyukuri
SECURING AND MANAGING COMMUNITY LAND: LESSONS FROM KENYA
African Journal on Land Policy and Geospatial Sciences
community
community land
participatory process
champions
planning guide
investor negotiation guide
title SECURING AND MANAGING COMMUNITY LAND: LESSONS FROM KENYA
title_full SECURING AND MANAGING COMMUNITY LAND: LESSONS FROM KENYA
title_fullStr SECURING AND MANAGING COMMUNITY LAND: LESSONS FROM KENYA
title_full_unstemmed SECURING AND MANAGING COMMUNITY LAND: LESSONS FROM KENYA
title_short SECURING AND MANAGING COMMUNITY LAND: LESSONS FROM KENYA
title_sort securing and managing community land lessons from kenya
topic community
community land
participatory process
champions
planning guide
investor negotiation guide
work_keys_str_mv AT ibrahimmwathane securingandmanagingcommunitylandlessonsfromkenya
AT mwendamakathimo securingandmanagingcommunitylandlessonsfromkenya
AT robertkibugi securingandmanagingcommunitylandlessonsfromkenya
AT elvinnyukuri securingandmanagingcommunitylandlessonsfromkenya