A framework for making land reform work.

What is it about?

The article is about land reform for people with customary / tribal land rights, especially but not only in South Africa. Land reform in such contexts has a poor track record. To address this problem, we developed a framework to guide governments and policy makers to make land reform projects more successful. The core of the framework is the idea that development needs to be significant for people living on the land, i.e. the motivation and approach should emanate from their understanding of land.

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Why is it important?

Without successful land reform, people with insecure land rights are vulnerable to eviction and are disempowered from moving out of poverty. Land reform programmes that are significant for customary land rights-holders have more chance of being successful and sustainable. But many land reform programmes operate from an inappropriate paradigm, leading to their downfall. Our framework is designed to avoid this pitfall.

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