Tools and Guides

This suite of tools is intended to provide background information and guide USAID staff, United States Government personnel and development practitioners to address land based programming and programming that incorporates elements related to land.

The U. S. Government is a global leader in the land and resource governance sector. Through international agreements, global coordination, and bi-lateral development assistance, the United States supports programs and policies that create more transparent, accountable, accessible, predictable and stable access to land and other resources, enabling more responsible private sector investment and fostering broad-based economic growth. To ensure that these programs meet the highest international standards for responsible and sustainable development, USAID has developed the following tools and guidelines for programming.

Tools


Mobile Applications to Secure Tenure (MAST) Learning Platform 

USAID’s Mobile Applications to Secure Tenure (MAST) is a collaborative, participatory approach that builds sustainable local capacity to efficiently map resource rights and secure land tenure. The approach is inclusive and promotes participation and leadership of women and other marginalized groups in project activities. It is technology-agnostic; the approach can be combined with many types of mobile tools, including USAID’s open-source MAST application.


Intimate Partner Violence and Land Toolkit 

This Toolkit supports the objectives of the United States Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence Globally and USAID’s Gender Equality and Female Empowerment Policy. It addresses activities and projects that USAID staff may design to strengthen and secure land tenure, property rights and land governance in rural, peri-urban and urban areas.

Guidelines


Guidelines on Compulsory Displacement and Resettlement in USAID Programming

The Guidelines describe good practices regarding compulsory displacement and resettlement (CDR). This voluntary tool is intended for use by USAID Operating Units and their partners at all stages of the program cycle, whether for implementation of activities or as a good practice guide for project design.


Operational Guidelines for Responsible Land-Based Investment

The Operational Guidelines for Responsible Land-Based Investment are now available as an e-book for tablets and e-readers. USAID is increasingly partnering with the private sector through efforts such as the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition (New Alliance). Some of these initiatives, particularly in the agriculture sector, involve land-based investments in countries where land governance is weak.

Available Tools and Resources

These toolkits can provide useful information for development practitioners related to programming challenges around cross-sector issues, including conflict, gender and natural resource management.

Effective Engagement with Indigenous Peoples: USAID Sustainable Landscapes Sector Guidance Document

This sector guidance document is based on desktop research about SL related issues among Indigenous Peoples, international standards, and USAID program experiences. It is also based on interviews with USAID development professionals. This guidance complements and is informed by the programming guidance within the USAID Policy on Promoting the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (PRO-IP) and is one part of USAID’s collection of sector-specific guidance documents on engagement with Indigenous Peoples.

Climate Risk Management Toolkit

Climate risk management (CRM) improves the effectiveness and sustainability of USAID’s agriculture efforts. USAID implements CRM by systematically assessing, addressing, and adaptively managing climate risk in new strategies, projects, and activities. Climate risk management is required for nearly all USAID strategies, projects, and activities. USAID's CRM toolkit provides links to USAID's CRM tool and supporting...Read More

Leveraging Spatial Data and Analysis for Integrated Environment Programming

Geospatial analysis of landscapes can reveal important patterns and relationships between natural systems and human socio-economic systems, providing insight and evidence for more effective program design. Critical steps in environmental program design include analyzing the interlinked characteristics that comprise and shape landscapes, developing a theory of change, and clarifying intended outcomes. As the availability of…Read More

Operational Guidelines for Responsible Land-Based Investment

Download the guide (PDF). The Operational Guidelines for Responsible Land-Based Investment are now available as an e-book for tablets and e-readers. USAID is increasingly partnering with the private sector through efforts such as the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition (New Alliance). Some of these initiatives, particularly in the agriculture sector, involve land-based investments…Read More

Guidelines on Compulsory Displacement and Resettlement in USAID Programming

These Guidelines describe good practices regarding compulsory displacement and resettlement (CDR). This voluntary tool is intended for use by USAID Operating Units and their partners at all stages of the program cycle, whether for implementation of activities or as a good practice guide for project design. Ensuring that CDR, in particular resettlement, avoids, minimizes and…Read More

Marine Tenure and Small-Scale Fisheries: A Sourcebook on Good Practices and Emerging Themes

The Sourcebook examines the state of knowledge on small-scale fisheries and marine tenure around the world. Through its commitment to addressing extreme poverty, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is focused on understanding the specific role of marine tenure in achieving multiple development benefits among small-scale fisheries around the world. Marine Tenure and…Read More

LTP Toolkit: Legal Toolbox

LEGAL TOOLBOX CONTENTS 1.0 POLICY BRIEFS AND REPORTS 1.1: Burma Land Governance Issues Brief 1.2: Freedom to Farm: Agricultural Land Use, Crop Selection, Fallowing, and Recommended Changes to the Farmland Law to Strengthen Land Tenure Security 1.2.B: Burmese version 1.3: Forest Law Tenure Opportunities Analysis and Reference Guide 1.4: Shifting Cultivation Policy Brief 1.5: Donor…Read More