With a total of 65 participants (37% women) from 14 countries (Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Malawi, Niger, Pakistan, Sudan and Uganda) the 10th and last Capitalization Meeting of the EU Land Governance Transversal Project, was virtually delivered due to COVID-19.
Held in English and French, in March and April 2021, the session focused on key results, success factors, lessons learnt, key challenges to improving the governance of tenure and sustainability of project impacts. It also reviewed results of country level projects, resource mobilization and impact of COVID-19 on socioeconomic development and on land rights, and capacity and learning needs assessment.
In view of the EU Land Governance Programme closure, it was important to assess the capacities that each country had attained and what capacity was still necessary to further improve responsible governance of tenure at national level.
“Adequacy of policy, legal, administrative and institutional frameworks for land governance”, “Land Information systems for land administration” and “gender equitable land tenure governance” were identified by the participants as the most important thematic areas for future learning initiatives.
Mr Etienne Coyette from the European Commission highlighted that “land is a major element for sustainable development, from an economic, social and environmental point of view”.
The last Capitalization meeting ended on the note that responsible governance of tenure of land, fisheries and forests will continue to be a major development objective, especially in Africa, Southeast Asia and parts of Latin America, to ensure that land is accessible to all and that this access can sustain the livelihoods of ordinary people who have daily contact with the land.