Best Practices for Land Tenure and Natural Resource Governance in Africa

USAID/Washington is pleased to announce the USAID Short Course on Best Practices for Land Tenure and Natural Resource Governance in Africa scheduled for October 8-11, 2012 in Monrovia, Liberia. The course will host approximately 35 decision makers from Africa and USG foreign assistance practitioners interested in strengthening their knowledge and skills in applying land tenure and property rights (LTPR) in their economic, governance and natural resource (biodiversity) portfolios. The course will provide participants with the opportunity to: 1. Exchange experiences, deepen discussion and strengthen understanding of land tenure and property rights issues, and their application to government and USAID programming; 2. Study land tenure and property rights approaches, best practices and tools aimed at improving programmatic interventions on critical issues in the region related to natural resources, agriculture and economic growth, and governance and conflict; 3. Learn tools to address land tenure and property rights issues, or use land tenure and property rights interventions to strengthen economic development, governance, conflict mitigation and natural resource management objectives. Focused on land and resource governance issues, the course aims to introduce LTPR concepts, approaches and tools aimed at improving programmatic interventions in economic growth, governance and natural resource management. Likewise, the course will teach participants tools to address land tenure and property rights issues and how to use land tenure and property rights interventions to strengthen economic, governance and natural resource management objectives. The course also includes cross-cutting foci on women’s rights and indigenous rights. This inter-active training course will be delivered through lectures by regional and international experts combined with participatory activities including a multi-round land markets simulation. Draft agenda and other materials for the course are available for download in Training. USAID officials should register through USAID’s Learning Management System (LMS). Registration will close on September 24, 2012. To register host-country government participants, please email Maria Echevarria (contact information below). For questions on how to use LMS or any other course queries, feel free to contact the course coordinators. Peter Giampaoli, Land Tenure and Climate Change Advisor, USAID Maria Echevarria, Course Coordinator, TetraTech ARD Illustrative evaluation comments by participants of past land training courses: “I’m glad I had the opportunity to take this course. I wish I had taken it 15 years ago.” “I can now make stronger arguments for coordinating with or including property rights components in my development-focused food security work” “The course was a great success as it dealt with the fundamental issues of Land Tenure and Property Rights governance in my country. It placed me in the right position to be able to deal with these issues back home and give appropriate advice to my policymakers”