11 May 2015: For the first time since its inception in 2006, The Land Policy Initiative (LPI) has approved a consolidated annual work plan to be jointly implemented with the Secretariats of four regional economic communities and other partners in Africa.

The joint work plan, which is supported by the European Union and the Swiss Agency for International Development Cooperation (SDC), is jointly implemented by the LPI and the Secretariats of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), East African Community (EAC), Economic community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) and the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD). Specific activities will cover research and advocacy, capacity development, knowledge management, and monitoring and evaluation.

Other partners involved in implementing capacity development activities include the African Institute for Economic Development and Planning (IDEP) and the Regional Center for Mapping Resources for Development (RCMRD).

Speaking during the LPI meeting on 8 May 2015 at the African Union (AU) Commission in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Abebe Haile Gabriel, Chair of the LPI Steering Committee, commended the LPI Secretariat for its efforts to mainstream land governance in Africa, noting, among other initiatives: the launch of the Guiding Principles on Large Scale Land Based Investments; the inaugural Conference on Land Policy in Africa in 2014; and the AU year of agriculture and food security (in partnership with the AU Commission and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).

The LPI is a joint programme of the tripartite consortium consisting of the AU Commission, ECA and the African Development Bank (AfDB), with a mandate to enhance the use of land in support of African development. [ECA Press Release] [IISD RS Stories on LPI]