The World Bank has reflected on the positive impacts of its Land Governance Assessment Framework (LGAF), under which 15 countries are completing assessments that employ 21 governance indicators across five key areas, with the goal of improving land-use planning and taxation and land ownership information.
24 September 2013: The World Bank has reflected on the impacts of its Land Governance Assessment Framework (LGAF), under which 15 countries are completing assessments that employ 21 governance indicators across five key areas, with the goal of improving land-use planning and taxation and land ownership information.
The LGAF identifies key areas in need of reform by focusing on five main areas of intervention, namely: legal and institutional frameworks; land-use planning, management and taxation; management of public land; public provision of land information; and dispute resolution and conflict management. Forestry, large scale land acquisition and tenure regularization is an optional module.
The World Bank highlights the success of Georgia, which champions the list of successful countries using the assessment, and was able to transform its land registry in less than a decade. In this case, reforms tackled lower registration fees, the use of a programme to survey and register State-owned land to improve recognition and transfer of rights to users, and progress in valuation to increase local governments’ tax base. In the Philippines, an assessment pointed to progress in key areas, such as recognizing indigenous and community tenure, while in Nigeria, outdated land laws are being revised and rural lands mapped and registered to benefit women and boost local investment. [World Bank Press Release] [Georgia Case Study] [LGAF Country Activity]