Gender Issues and Best Practices in Land Administration ... - Mokoro

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TITLE: Guide to Gender Issues and Best Practices in Land Administration Projectsoootraining of implementerstraining of and communication with beneficiariesother considerationsThe final chapter (5) contains a series of lessons learned and recommendations (pp.41-45)under these categories: Legal foundation Identification of property rights holders Research Adjudication and registration processes Education, training and communication Recommendations for project designers and implementers Recommendations for project beneficiaries.They draw together issues discussed in the earlier chapters and provide some excellentcheck lists for people involved in project planning and implementation, includinginvolving both women and men as role models and mentors, using local expertise,respecting local variations and the need for baseline data.The chapters are followed by 5 appendices:1. Summaries of country case studies (Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Ghana, Lao) (pp.47-54)2. Case study methodologies (pp.55-56)3. Sample template for gender-specific social assessment (pp.57-58)4. Sample gender-specific indicators for monitoring and evaluation of World Bank landadministration projects (p.59)5. Sample questionnaire for data collection for baseline and impact evaluation (pp.59-81)Appendix 5 is divided into 9 modules (pp.60-81) which are designed to be adapted andmodified as needed. The modules are: household roster, parcel information, wealth, credit, community participation, nonfarm employment, household enterprise, expenditure (food and non-food), community-level data (demography and land use, services and infrastructure,employment and migration, agriculture, community organizations, credit).I feel it is worth laying out the structure of the report in this level of detail in order to givepotential readers a clear picture of its coverage. As indicated earlier, I believe that theauthors have succeeded in making this an extremely useful and practical guide, full ofquestions that need to be raised, helpful checklists, a matrix on different forms of propertyownership (p.20), and the valuable Appendix 5 - sample questionnaire for data collection forbaseline and impact evaluation (pp.59-81).In what follows, I have gathered together some of the report’s contents and conclusions,sprinkled with a few comments of my own, under the following 8 headings:1. The need for gender-disaggregated information2. Acknowledging regional differences3. Trusting the customary?4. Gender dimensions in land administration5. Cultural constraints6. The power of regulations7. Adjudication8. Knowing your rights, education and training.B. Some key issues raised in the reportAuthor/Dept: palmerCreated: 10-Mar-12. Last saved: 14/03/2012 13:10:00 Page 2 of 7D:\Documents\WEBSITE\Net\Africa general docs\wb_guide_gender_best_practices_land_admin.rtf
TITLE: Guide to Gender Issues and Best Practices in Land Administration Projects1.The need for gender-disaggregated informationPerhaps the most important sentence in the whole report is this one:‘Make gender an integral part of the [land administration] project from the beginningand in all of its phases and components.’ (p.xi).The report argues strongly for the need to gather gender-disaggregated information, notleast, one suspects, because ‘gender was not considered explicitly at the time of projectdesign’ in 3 of the 4 countries from which the report’s findings have been drawn. (p.x)Indeed, the report states that ‘few, if any, projects gather gender-disaggregated informationat the beginning of a project and throughout its life.’ (p.12). Therefore, at the time of projectpreparation, ‘gender-specific indicators should be developed to measure the program’sdifferential impact on men’s and women’s land rights’ (p.31) because ‘explicitly recognizinggender as an issue to be considered at the outset will allow better monitoring and evaluationof project impacts and will enable the required financial costs and the required expertise forprograms to be included.’ (p.19) ‘Understanding gender differences requires gatheringhousehold-level information at the earliest stages of the project.’ (p.x). Appendix 3 (pp.57-58)‘provides a template for key informant interview and focus-group protocols that could serveas a guideline for future land project social assessments’ (p.31).The report argues that ‘the collection of appropriate gender-specific data is a concern for allland administration projects and should be a World Bank priority, given its investments in theland sector. The knowledge regarding gender and land rights consists of (1) how land rightsare distributed among different groups of women and men, and (2) what effectsdifferentiated land rights have on gender equity and on women’s capabilities. Collection ofthis information should be done during land administration project preparation to guidedesign of the project, during project implementation, and after the project is completed. Themethods for collecting these data include social assessments, base-line studies, and impactevaluationstudies. The importance of collecting gender-disaggregated data is essentialfor assessing the extent and depth of women’s land rights and for assessing theimpact of land administration projects on gender equity.’ (p.31)In particular, without good baseline data it is difficult: to know what are the gender-related issues that need to be addressed to measure the gendered effects of the project at a later date to raise awareness of the need for gender-disaggregated data (p.43).2. Acknowledging regional differences‘During design and implementation of adjudication processes and registrationsystems, project staff need to be aware of the complexity of tenure and the variety oflocal customs and practices that can exist within a country.‘ (p.xi).There is a useful introductory section outlining different patterns and trends in land tenureregimes, legal structures and household resource allocation in Africa, Asia, Central andEastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, and Latin America (pp.5-10).As an example, in Africa ‘the rights of African women regarding land ownership andmanagement vary dramatically according to the cultural and historical context of the regionthey marry into’ (p.5), with Muslim societies and matrilineal areas offering women greatestopportunities (pp.5-6). The authors warn that ‘customary rights of women for seasonal orother shared use of land can be cut off by individualization of ownership rights. Ifthese “secondary” rights are not specifically preserved (for instance, by registeringAuthor/Dept: palmerCreated: 10-Mar-12. Last saved: 14/03/2012 13:10:00 Page 3 of 7D:\Documents\WEBSITE\Net\Africa general docs\wb_guide_gender_best_practices_land_admin.rtf
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