Global Reports

Analysis of Institutional Mechanisms for Sharing REDD+ Benefits: Case Studies

These case studies provide an overview of emerging strategies and concepts relating to REDD+ benefit sharing that are currently being discussed by stakeholders and policy-makers at the national level. They also draws insights from field visits to REDD+ pilot projects that have developed a benefit sharing model, and to other institutions managing environmental benefits at the local level, which have been identified by national policymakers as potential models for REDD+.

Analysis of Institutional Mechanisms for Sharing REDD+ Benefits

This report provides an analysis of the institutional mechanisms being discussed or designed in five REDD+ countries which might be used to distribute revenues and other benefits from future REDD+ programs. It complements two other reports: a synthesis of international discussions on REDD+ and an analysis of legal options being developed or discussed in five countries on “carbon rights,” or the entitlement to benefit from forest carbon activities.

Institutional Assessment Tool for Benefit Sharing Under REDD+

A tool designed to assist USAID to target and prioritize support aimed to develop new institutions and/or build the capacity of existing institutions for equitable, efficient, and effective REDD+ benefit sharing.

International REDD+ Institutions and the Role of Land Tenure and Property Rights

This paper describes the extent to which international institutions engaging in REDD+ have considered property rights and land tenure issues in their objectives and processes. It uses examples from the limited existing experiences with each institution to consider whether the institution’s work is likely to enhance the property rights and tenure of customary and statutory rights holders. For many institutions, particularly those that have not yet delivered funds related to securing tenure and property rights, this analysis is limited to a description of the development of their current guidance documents.

Land Tenure and REDD+ Issue Brief

Global climate change threatens to impact the livelihoods of millions of the poorest and most vulnerable populations in profound and unpredictable ways. In addition, society‘s responses to mitigate the greenhouse gas emissions leading to climate change may provide opportunities for economic growth for rural populations, or dangers to local livelihoods. This paper focuses on understanding how mitigation efforts based on reducing emissions and increasing sequestration by forests (REDD+) may interact with property rights and, by extension, poverty and economic growth for smallholders. Author: Matt Sommerville

REDD+ and Carbon Rights: Lessons From the Field

This paper addresses the need to understand better the legal and practical implications of rights to carbon at the national and local levels in order to decide who has access to benefits derived from reducing forest-based greenhouse gas emissions or increasing carbon sequestration under REDD+. The paper assesses experience to date with defining rights to benefit from carbon emission reductions at national and sub-national levels. It includes a review of relevant laws, practices, and REDD+ strategies under consideration and suggests principles that should inform the drafting of carbon rights legislation.

REDD+ and Carbon Rights: Case Studies

This carbon rights study assesses experience to date with defining rights to receive benefits related to carbon at national and sub-national levels, with the emphasis on benefits relating to forest carbon under REDD+. This collection of case studies examines five developing countries, representing a range of approaches to defining carbon rights. The study assesses whether each approach does or could result in effective resource governance and equitable benefit sharing at the local level. These form recommendations for each country, but also provide lessons for the framework carbon rights study. Field visits were performed in each of the following countries for one to two weeks between January and June 2011 and involved interviews with government officials, private sector actors, as well as local stakeholders, particularly focusing on experience to date with project level REDD+ and payment for environmental services (PES) activities.

Resource Rights in Transition: Rights Disruption, Reemergence, and their Importance for Sustainable Livelihoods and Natural Resource Management

The disruption of land rights, and in particular tenure security, has implications for natural resource management, use, and governance. This document brings the Nature, Wealth and Power (NWP) framework and the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA) to bear on situations of disrupted land and property rights and the implications for natural resource management in post-conflict settings. The document presents case studies from Mozambique and Zambia.

The Role of Property Rights in Natural Resource Management, Good Governance, and the Empowerment of the Rural Poor

This paper provides an overview of critical property rights concepts for non-property rights specialists involved in design and implementation of natural resource programs. It defines property rights in the context of land and natural resources, provides an overview of critical concepts in property rights, explores five important challenges to achieving the best fit between property rights systems and environmental or development objectives, and summarizes key principles in land and property rights reforms with implications for natural resource management, governance and livelihood security in rural areas.

Land Tenure and Property Rights: Tools for Transformational Development

An 8-page brochure providing background to land tenure and property rights issues on a global scale.

Legal Empowerment of the Poor From Concepts to Assessment

Legal Empowerment of the Poor (LEP) is a concept that is increasingly used in development discourse with little understanding of the territory it covers and its boundaries. This paper attempts to characterize the components of LEP—Rights Enhancement, Rights Awareness, Rights Enablement, and Rights Enforcement—and their interconnections. It also identifies opportunities for USAID programming in this area and examines possibilities for assessing progress toward LEP.

Land and Business Formalization for Legal Empowerment of the Poor

The poor most often hold their land and operate their businesses informally. Because of this informality, they forego economic opportunities. This report describes informal vs. formal ownership, examines past experiences with reform, and outlines best practices for formalization of land tenure and property rights internationally.

Study on Women and Property Rights: Project Best Practices

This study attempts to further the body of work on gender relations and land tenure and property rights (LTPR) by examining successful interventions that have improved and strengthened women’s access to and control over land. In this way, the study seeks to identify best practices and lessons learned with regard to integrating gender concerns and focus in relation to the five land issues identified in USAID’s LTPR framework, which are: conflict and/or instability that impact land rights, insecure tenure rights, landlessness and land redistribution, land markets and their influence on communal and individual ownership, and natural resources (pastures, wetlands, forests) management.

Lessons Learned: Property Rights and Natural Resources Management: Close-Out Report

USAID is making a strategic commitment to developing a stronger, more robust policy for addressing property rights reform in countries where it operates. As land is a main factor for economic production in most USAID presence countries, it is the main focus of the Lessons Learned: Property Rights and Natural Resources Management Task Order under the Rural and Agricultural Incomes with a Sustainable Environment Indefinite Quantity Contract. This report is the close-out report for the task order and provides an overview of the tasks performed.

United States Government Support to Good Land Governance

USAID and MCC-supported programs to promote strengthened property rights, development of land markets, and access to credit for small and large land holders will have significant impact on the sustainability of development investments. The connection between food security and property rights is particularly strong, and will continue to be a focus of USAID and MCC.

Nature, Wealth, and Power in Africa

This document is about rural development in Africa and lessons learned from more than 20 years of natural resource–based development. Experience demonstrates that programs that integrate nature (environmental management), wealth (economic concerns), and power (good governance) have promising results. The principles laid out in this brief report can serve as a guide to investment in rural Africa. Three case studies are presented for Namibia, Madagascar, and Mali.

Livelihoods and Conflict: A Toolkit for Intervention

This document is intended to provide USAID mission staff, their partners, and others working in countries affected by conflict and instability with: 1) an examination of the relationship between conflict and people's livelihoods; 2) lessons in developing livelihoods programs--including an introduction to livelihood analysis; 3) a range of program options designed to reduce livelihood vulnerability, strengthen resiliency, and help people manage conflict-related shocks; and 4) listings of relevant USAID mechanisms, implementing partners, and contact information.

Land Tenure and Property Rights Framework

A conceptual tool for examining land tenure and property rights issues and interventions in USAID programming, which includes a glossary of commonly used land tenure and property rights terms.

US Foreign AID: Meeting the Challenges of the Twenty-first Century

Although the effectiveness of foreign assistance is largely debated, Americans have increasingly recognized the dependence of U.S. national security on global aid for development. This document addresses ways of enhancing the effectiveness of foreign assistance through improved clarity of purpose, alignment of resources with objectives, and strategic management.

Promoting Effective Property Rights Systems for Sustainable Development

Accessible and transparent property rights systems comprising of laws, institutions, and information systems lead to achieving sustainable development goals. This document explores USAID’s approaches to increasing access to land, land tenure, peace and democracy, and property rights reform.

Participant List from April 21, 2011 Roundtable on Land Access and Responsible Agribusiness Investment

List of the participants who attended the roundtable discussion on responsible agribusiness investment and land access.

Proceedings from the April 21, 2011 Roundtable Discussion on Land Access and Responsible Agribusiness Investment

USAID and MCC elected to convene this discussion because identifying common ground among various sides of the debate around land acquisition is difficult. There are divided views on the issue, even among different stakeholder groups, such as civil society and private sector. Objectives: 1) Bring together various actors around one table; 2) Move discussion forward; Large-scale acquisition mistakes occurred; need to respect local rights, need of private sector to protect investments, large scale and small investors; limit predation; 3) meet concerns of civil society in participatory fashion; 4) To achieve the right balance of investment and rights protection to achieve food security, an important Millennium Development goal.

Balancing the Needs of People and Wildlife: When Wildlife Damage Crops and Prey on Livestock

Balancing the Needs of People and Wildlife: When Wildlife Damage Crops and Prey on Livestock. Keywords: Wildlife-Livestock Conflict

Gender and Shifting Water Governance: Differential Effects of Privatization, Commodification, and Democratization

 

Designing Pro-poor Rewards for Ecosystem Services: Lessons from the United States?

 

Incentive-Compatible Institutional Design: Who's in Charge Here?

 

Ecological Complexity and the Management of Common Property Resources

Many community-based conservation programs are designed without carefully considering goals, community capacities, and the ecology of the common property resource. This LTC Brief outlines factors that can improve common property management.