TGCC provides USAID the opportunity to explore the relationship between the governance of agriculture, forests, and fisheries landscapes and achieving sustainable land use and resilient communities through technical analysis, field work, and policy engagement. During this quarter, activities included:
Zambia: The Petauke District Land Alliance (PDLA) focused on carrying out validation activities in Sandwe Chiefdom of household data, as well as collaboration with the Ministry of Lands and the Department of Resettlement on the Ukwimi Resettlement Area. The Chipata District Land Alliance
(CDLA) was able to advance the distribution of customary certificates in Mshawa chiefdom, and continue on parcel administration. TGCC also continued coordination with government on engagement with the House of Chiefs, and projected collaboration on validation of the National Land Policy. TGCC completed methodologies for land conflict resolution and for land-use planning.
Burma: From the policy side, the TGCC Land Tenure Project (LTP) supported donor coordination discussions and participated in the Agriculture Policy Unit (APU) further clarifying its role with government moving forward. LTP carried out pilot site three activities in the Sagaing Region through partnerships with two local civil society organizations (CSO). LTP focused on mapping engagements with additional local CSO subcontractors and the completion of a series of lessons learned engagements with each pilot site. These are in the process of being shared at national meetings with government and integrated into program outcome reports.
Vietnam, Mangroves, and Marine Tenure: In Vietnam, the field team completed marine spatial planning activities across the three participating communes in Tien Lang District. The resultant planning process was well received, and is being shared both with government counterparts and academia. Work with CIFOR was completed this quarter for global, Indonesia and Tanzania reviews. TGCC finalized country assessments associated with marine tenure lessons and is consolidating lessons learned into a public summary.
TFA 2020: Activities in Ghana progressed smoothly with the documentation of almost 200 farms through a subcontract with Landmapp, the completion and presentation of the financial model with Ecom, and dialogue with chiefs and community leaders on alternative dispute resolution. USAID carried out a site visit at the end of the quarter demonstrating the commitment of project partners. TGCC partner World Resources Institute (WRI) launched work in Paraguay supporting consolidation of indigenous peoples’ land claims through a spatial database that will allow these groups to work with private sector actors and government on forest land use in Paraguay. Based on a series of meetings, protocols for submitting and validating data were agreed upon.
Challenges: TGCC’s budget realignment request (submitted in early 2016) was not approved, resulting in substantial revisions to how grants and subcontracts are used on the project. TGCC revised its approach to expand the use of grants in the last eight months of the contract, and cut back on some interventions.
Priorities: In the coming quarter, TGCC will focus on finalizing internal country deliverables, carrying out lessons learned and final report-out events in each project country, and staying within budget across all countries. TGCC will work on communicating country and thematic results in preparation for project closeout.