IMPROVING TENURE SECURITY FOR THE RURAL POOR - Rwanda

LEP Working Paper # 7


IMPROVING TENURE SECURITY
FOR THE RURAL POOR

RWANDA
– Country Case Study

PDF 401Kb


Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Rome, 2006


ABSTRACT

Most of the world’s poor work in the “informal economy” – outside of recognized and enforceable rules. Thus, even though most have assets of some kind, they have no way to document their possessions because they lack formal access to legally recognized tools such as deeds, contracts and permits.

The Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor (CLEP) is the first global anti-poverty initiative focusing on the link between exclusion, poverty and law, looking for practical solutions to the challenges of poverty. CLEP aims to make legal protection and economic opportunity the right of all, not the privilege of the few. (see http://legalempowerment.undp.org/)

FAO, with donor funding from Norway, has undertaken a set of activities for “Improving tenure security of the rural poor” in order to meet the needs of FAO member countries and, in turn, support the CLEP. This work falls within the FAO corporate strategy on “Sustainable rural livelihoods and more equitable access to resources”. Recognizing that secure access to land and other natural resources (forests, water, fisheries, pastures, etc.) is a crucial factor for eradication of food insecurity and rural poverty, FAO’s cross-departmental and cross-disciplinary work focused 2005-2006 activities on sub-Saharan Africa which has the world’s highest percentage of poor and hungry people.

This paper is part of FAO’s effort to inform the CLEP through its working group on property rights. It was prepared for the regional technical workshop on “Improving tenure security of the rural poor” held in Nakuru, Kenya, October 2006, at which issues relating to property rights were reviewed and actions were initiated to develop common strategies for improving the protection of rights to land and other natural resources of the rural poor.



The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned.

All rights reserved. Reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product for educational or other non-commercial purposes are authorized without any prior written permission from the copyright holders provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of material in this information product for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without written permission of the copyright holders. Applications for such permission should be addressed to:

Chief
Electronic Publishing Policy and Support Branch
Communication Division - FAO
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy
or by e-mail to: [email protected]

© FAO 2008