75560 Policy Brief Issue 2 | September 2011 Environmental and Gender Impacts of Land Tenure Regularization in Africa: Pilot Evidence from Rwanda Daniel Ayalew Ali, Klaus Deininger and Markus Goldstein Summary Although recent developments have increased interest in African land tenure, Rwanda’s nation -wide Land Tenure Regularization (LTR) program is one of a few models to address these issues at the required scale. An impact evaluation of this program highlights four main effects; namely, (i) significant and large investment impacts that are particularly pronounced for women; (ii) improved land access for legally married women and better recordation of inheritance rights; (iii) a reduction in the probability of having documented land ownership for legally unmarried women; and (iv) a reduction in land market activity rather than distress sales. Background LTR was established to create the precondition parcels of land on both sides of the boundaries for formalization and full legal recognition of of the four pilot cells (with LTR households rights in the form of title certificates to land inside of the pilot cell border and non LTR holders. The program design relied on the outside of the border). Data was collected in experience acquired during the pilot exercises 2010, 2.5 years after the start of LTR in the pilot conducted in 2007/2008 in four cells which were cells. Local variations in soil quality, market chosen to reflect the country’s different realities conditions or other factors that could have (Nyamuglai in Kigali City, Kabushinge in the remained a concern were addressed using our North, Biguhu in the West and Mwoga in the evaluation methodology. East). Subsequently, in 2010, the government started the national roll-out of the LTR program Program Impact to register the estimated 10 million parcels in a decentralized manner at a cost well below any Land Tenure Security existing land registration initiative (USD 5 per A primary reason for the Government of Rwanda parcel). Rwanda is the first African country to to initiate LTR was to increase levels of land implement such an approach and the evaluation tenure security. As expected, a negative of the pilots, on which this note is based, and relationship between LTR and the subjective subsequently the national program can shed expropriation risk was observed even if it was light on best practices. not statistically significant. Possible reasons for the absence of significant impact on expropriation risks include the fact that LTR Design does not change overall policy and that The evaluation was designed to assess the households’ knowledge of the policy may be impact of LTR on: (i) expropriation risk; (ii) land limited, or that it is difficult to capture a complex related investment; (iii) female land ownership; measure such as perceived expropriation risks (iv) female inheritance; and (v) the frequency of with a single question. land transactions. A key methodological challenge in undertaking a rigorous socio- economic impact assessment of the pilots was Soil Conservation Investments lack of baseline data. As such, to compare for Households affected by LTR are more likely to differences between LTR and non LTR make soil conservation investments – building or households, we adopted a regression maintaining structures such as bunds, terraces discontinuity design and administered a short and check dams. This is about double the survey to some 3,554 households with 6,330 change in investment in the control group, The World Bank Group | Africa Region Gender Practice Policy Brief: Issue 2 1 representing a staggering effect. Women seem This increased certainty and also established to benefit even more in this respect; estimated security for children as they were more likely to effects of LTR on such investments by female inherit their parents’ land with boys and girls headed households are double that of male benefitting almost equally. Girls in female headed households. This suggests that low headed households were significantly less likely levels of tenure security acted as an obstacle to to inherit their mothers’ land when compared to investment and that LTR’s increased tenure girls in male headed households. This security can efficiently remove such constraints. unforeseen finding requires further research and may necessitate augmentations and enhancements to programs like LTR in order to Gender Equity and Access to Land avoid long term emulations of such practices. Prior to the introduction of the 1999 Inheritance Law, customary law reigned and dictated that women in Rwanda have usufruct rights to land Market Activity only through their husbands whose lineage A great concern for interventions seeking to controlled the land. The 1999 law changed this improve land tenure is that they could lead to by granting sons and daughters equal rights to distress sales, where households without access inherit their parents’ property, subject to the to credit and insurance sell their land in periods provisions of family law (which under the most of distress at below the fair market value, common conjugal property regime mandates leading to landlessness and greater vulnerability equal shares), protecting property rights of and poverty. However, we found a significant women under a legally registered marriage and decrease in both the land market activity and the requiring spousal consent for transaction of size of land area traded as a result of LTR. matrimonial property by any of the marriage partners. The low level of market activity may have been related to the transfer fee increase felt by many Nevertheless, the law does not protect property small owners. Indeed, the change from a rate of rights by women who live with partners or are in six percent of the property value to a flat fee of marriages that are unregistered. For women RwF 20,000 during the pilot meant that the fee who were part of a union formalized through a could easily exceed 25 percent of the land value marriage certificate (76 percent of the sampled of small plots. The observed decrease in couples), the effect of the program was transactions could also have been tied to law overwhelmingly positive. They were more likely enforcement on small transfers as most parcels to be regarded as joint land owners after LTR in the sample fell below the legally prescribed than before. However, the minimum size of one hectare analysis revealed that LTR for land transactions. Further, resulted in a small but statistically the formal system to register significant reduction in the land transfers was not installed likelihood of legally unmarried at the time of the survey and women becoming documented people did not want to risk owners. losing their new found tenure security. Additionally, the benefits of registration were Gender and Inheritance unclear during the pilot and LTR also demonstrated a major beneficiaries preferred holding impact on inheritance related on to their land because they knowledge and awareness. We expected its value to increase found a significant increase in the as others would realize the likelihood that landholders in the benefits of having secure land program areas would now know ownership documentation who would inherit their parcel. when LTR was to start at a This is most likely linked to the large scale. required explicit record of persons of interest that provides clarity on pre-existing © Neil Palmer (CIAT)/Flickr succession-related uncertainty. Policy Brief Issue 2 | September 2011 Policy Implications LTR poses noteworthy policy implications for 2. Further investigation will be required to both Rwanda and other land scarce countries in identify the reasons why land tenure Sub-Saharan Africa. The lessons learned and regularization has a depressing impact on land risks realized can strengthen investment, boost market activities. productivity, and promote environmental The evaluation of the national rollout, which is protection while implementing substantial currently on-going, should shed light on the reforms in the area of gender equity. potential causes. Transaction costs and regulation related to ownership transfer 1. Results of the pilot assessment call for registration should be reviewed and the laws caution regarding vulnerable groups. amended accordingly. In particular, the minimum one hectare size restricting subdivision may While LTR significantly increases tenure security require revision as it imposes a serious of legally married women, who are as a result constraint on transactions. As a large number of more likely to have their informal ownership parcels lie under the threshold, this restriction rights documented and secured after could otherwise render the cadastre obsolete if registration, women in consensual unions or households continue to subdivide land but polygamous marriages saw diminished property cannot legally transfer ownership rights. In rights, in accordance with the law. To avoid addition, it will be essential for the land increasing their vulnerability, there is a clear administration to have the capacities and means need to raise general awareness on family law to ensure that the flows of transactions can be and the importance of legal unions to women efficiently and timely registered. during the project implementation to ensure that these women are not excluded from the land registration process. The legal recognition of 3. Given the complexities of land tenure in most customary or religious marriages could also African countries, a framework and guidelines likely prevent the observed negative impact of have been developed and endorsed by African the program. heads of State but their implementation needs to be guided by evidence-based monitoring. Increased global demand for land, higher and more volatile food prices, and the potential prospect of payments for environmental services, have translated into higher demand for land globally. To increase productivity and prevent that this pressure deprives the most vulnerable of their land, countries need to improve their land administration institutions. With a massive program to register the country's estimated 11 million parcels at a cost well below traditional norms, Rwanda is a protagonist in this area and lessons can be drawn from its experience to input land tenure regularization © Neil Palmer (CIAT)/Flickr initiatives elsewhere. The World Bank Group | Africa Region Gender Practice Policy Brief: Issue 2 3 For more information about the region’s gender program, please contact Sabrina Roshan at sroshan@worldbank.org The World Bank 1818 H St. NW Washington, DC 20433 USA