Zambia Resources: Integrated Land and Resource Governance (ILRG)

Under the Integrated Land and Resource Governance (ILRG) program, a five-year global mechanism (2018-2023), USAID supported land use planning processes in Zambia’s wildlife and forestry sectors, improved access to low cost and accessible land documentation for communities, and developed strategies to more equitably and inclusively secure land and resource rights, especially for women.

In Zambia, ILRG trained NGO leaders across the natural resource management sector to advance women’s rights, increase women’s leadership and empowerment within their organizations and communities, and initiate a community of practice for engagement on gender issues. ILRG worked with the Zambia Department of National Parks, local conservation NGOs, members of the private sector and local communities to increase the recruitment and training of young women as community wildlife scouts.The activity also facilitated gender-inclusive elections for community natural resource management committees and strengthened the leadership capacity of women candidates to participate meaningfully in new leadership roles.

The team also supported first-time documentation of customary land rights in nine chiefdoms, with particular focus on increasing land documentation for women and youth. ILRG championed women’s land rights by creating safe space for traditional leaders to learn about and reflect on harmful gender norms that hinder women’s access to and ownership of land. ILRG’s work fed into a larger national level policy effort to strengthen the enabling environment for increased land and resource rights in the country, including support for the passage of Zambia’s National Land Policy in 2021.

Resources produced under the activity include manuals and facilitation guides focused on gender norms and social inclusion, manuals to support the governance of community resource boards, lessons learned on the gender integration process in land and governance elections, and best practices on engaging with the Government of Zambia on forestry and wildlife issues in the country.

Community-Based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM) Governance Manuals: A set of booklets laying out key steps in the formation and governance of community resource boards (CRBs) in Zambia. These are designed to be a tool for CRBs and can help support NGOs to improve leadership, governance, and accountability.

Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Manuals and Implementation Resources:

ILRG Gender Assessment For Zambia and Mozambique: Findings and Recommendations for Gender Integration into Activity Design and Implementation, 2019–2021
Gender Assessment of the Wildlife Sector in Zambia (Brief, Report): Analysis of gender barriers and opportunities in Zambia’s wildlife and forestry sector to inform interventions aimed to increase women’s participation in natural resource management and in wildlife law enforcement.
Practical Implementation Guide on Gender Equality and Social Inclusion in Customary Land Documentation in Zambia: Practical resource on how to promote gender equality and social inclusion in customary land documentation. The target audience for the guide includes stakeholders directly involved in customary land documentation, including civil society organizations, community leaders, traditional leaders, and international organizations and donors. The document provides a series of short practical technical guidance on gender equality and social inclusion for each step of the process, from planning to land certification.
Women’s Leadership and Empowerment Training Manual for Community Natural Resource Governance in Zambia: Manual to facilitate participatory training for women in leadership positions in the natural resource sector. The curriculum focuses on technical and socio-emotional skills to enable women to effectively and meaningfully exercise their leadership roles in community resource governance and management.
Gender-Responsive Land Administration for Local Authorities in Zambia (Simplified Practice Notes, Full Practice Notes): Provides a set of practical tools for inclusive standard land administration practices that are also gender-responsive. Can serve as a resource to help Local Authorities in the country implement inclusive and effective land allocation and enhance service delivery.
House of Chiefs Gender Guidelines for Traditional Leaders in Natural Resource Management in the Chiefdoms (Zambia): A set of best practices for strengthening women’s land and resource rights within Zambia’s 288 chiefdoms and providing traditional leaders with tools to promote gender equality. The guidelines are the result of a multi-year partnership between ILRG and the Zambia House of Chiefs to promote women’s land rights, address harmful gender norms, and increase women’s participation in natural resource management.

Final Reports and Lessons Learned Resources – Land and Natural Resources:

Zambia Resource Tenure and Governance Review (January – December 2019): Analysis of land and natural resource activities in Zambia in 2019 sourced from articles in four leading daily newspapers. The report organizes news articles around key themes under broad classifications of land governance, administration, conflict, and natural resource management, covering both state and customary institutions, as well as urban, peri-urban, and rural issues.
2020 Review of Zambian Land Governance News: Analysis of land and natural resource activities in Zambia in 2020 sourced from articles in four leading daily newspapers. The report organizes news articles around key themes under broad classifications of land governance, administration, conflict, and natural resource management, covering both state and customary institutions, as well as urban, peri-urban, and rural issues.
2020 Land and Resource Governance Research Symposium Report: Summary of the Annual Research Symposium held in October 2020 by ILRG Zambia. The theme of the symposium was Implementing Zambia’s Land and Resource Policies Across Sectors.
Scaling Up Community Forest Management in Zambia 2021: Summary of the presentations and discussion from a community forest management webinar series hosted by ILRG Zambia.
Report on the 2021 Community Game Ranching and Private Wildlife Estate Webinar Series: Summary of the presentations and discussion from a community game management and private wildlife estate webinar series hosted by ILRG Zambia.
Community-based Natural Resource Management in Zambia: A review of institutional reforms and lessons learned from the field: Analysis of the history of community-based natural resource management in Zambia.
Community Land Administration Analysis: An Approach to Sustaining Community-Based Land Rights Documentation in Mozambique and Zambia: Outlines an approach to sustaining community-based land rights documentation through land administration services, catering to customary and local communities in Zambia and Mozambique.
Lessons Learned from Pilot Fee-for-Service Customary Land Documentation in Zambia: Lessons learned from a fee-for-service customary land documentation pilot in Zambia.
Land Documentation for Financial Inclusion Brief: Lessons learned from an ILRG supported pilot to test the feasibility of expanding financial opportunities in rural areas, particularly for women, using customary land documentation.
Lessons for Dialogue Among Wildlife and Community Forest Management Sectors in Zambia: In an effort to strengthen effective natural resource management in the country, ILRG has supported policy dialogues between the Department of National Parks and Wildlife and the Forestry Department on forest and wildlife management.This brief presents the approach taken and the prospects for future dialogue, which remains essential for Zambia to advance its community based natural resource management vision.
Lessons On Forest And Wildlife Sector Integration in Zambia: Reflection on overall efforts under ILRG to support greater collaboration and coordination between the wildlife and forestry sectors in Zambia.
Assessment of the Data Reporting System of the Zambia National Community Resource Board Association: Provides an analysis of the current data reporting system for Community Resource Boards in Zambia and recommendations for future improvements.
Sustainable Landscapes Opportunities Analysis (SLOA)

Final Reports and Lessons Learned Resources – Gender and Social Inclusion:

Integrated Land and Resources Governance (ILRG): Key Achievements on Women’s Land Rights and Women’s Economic Empowerment in Zambia: Factsheet on ILRG’s work on gender and women’s economic empowerment in Zambia.
Report on the 2021 Women’s Land Rights Webinar Series: Summary of presentations and discussion from a women’s land rights webinar series hosted by ILRG Zambia.
Gender-Based Violence and Land Documentation & Administration in Zambia: Emerging Lessons from Implementation: Summary of key linkages between systematic customary land documentation and gender-based violence related to land ownership, access, and control, with recommendations for future programing.
Brief: Gender-Based Violence in the Natural Resource Sector in Zambia: Summary of the main forms of gender-based violence (GBV) experienced by women in natural resource community governance and in wildlife law enforcement, describing how GBV occurs both in private and public spaces, perpetrated by different people and institutions. The brief also describes how the ILRG activity has worked to mitigate GBV risk while empowering women to take on leadership positions in natural resource governance.
Increasing Women’s Participation in Community Resources Boards in Zambia (Brief, Report): Summary of the strategies used and the outcomes in the gender-inclusion community resource board elections supported under ILRG. It reflects on lessons learned, challenges, and opportunities for scaling the approach.
Strengthening The Capacity of Traditional Leaders to Champion Gender Equality in Zambia Lessons Learned Piloting Gender Guidelines for Natural Resource Management: Reflections on ILRG support to the House of Chiefs on integrating gender into natural resource management, including the drafting and piloting of the Gender Guidelines.