Land and the Just Transition: A guide for local government

This guide, produced by PARI, IIED, and SALGA, provides a framework for South African local governments to integrate land governance into the just transition. It argues that land is a strategic public resource essential for climate resilience and social justice, rather than merely a financial asset. The document outlines how municipalities can use spatial planning, inclusive governance, and tenure protection to balance the land-intensive needs of renewable energy and climate adaptation with the need to redress historical spatial inequalities from the apartheid era.

• The just transition in South Africa is defined as a dual process of shifting toward a sustainable, low-carbon energy system while simultaneously contributing to a more just and inclusive society. This process is underpinned by three pillars of justice: distributive justice (fair sharing of costs and benefits), restorative justice (addressing historical harms), and procedural justice (inclusive, participatory decision-making).
• Land is a critical but often marginalised component of the just transition. Renewable energy, climate mitigation, and adaptation activities are land-intensive, which increases pressure on contested land resources and can conflict with food security, ecosystem resilience, and tenure rights.
• South Africa's land tenure system is dualistic, consisting of formal registered rights and informal 'off-register' rights (such as customary tenure). Insecure tenure undermines transition justice by making vulnerable groups susceptible to dispossession, reducing their adaptive capacity to climate risks, and excluding them from decision-making processes.
• Municipalities serve as 'frontline responders' to climate change but face significant constraints in managing the just transition. These include a lack of up-to-date land information systems, limited financial resources (with municipal debt to Eskom reaching R78 billion in 2024), and a lack of capacity to recognize and protect off-register land rights.
• Spatial and land-use planning tools, such as Integrated Development Plans (IDPs), Municipal Spatial Development Frameworks (MSDFs), and Land-Use Schemes (LUSs), are essential for operationalizing the just transition. These tools can be used to protect ecosystems, designate renewable energy zones, and promote spatial transformation to reverse apartheid-era patterns.
• Procedural justice requires moving beyond 'check-box' public participation toward meaningful collaboration and the application of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC). FPIC ensures that communities can make decisions without coercion, have sufficient time for information gathering, and possess the right to say no to projects.
• The 'unlocking' of land for the just transition involves the acquisition, processing, and disposal of land. Because municipalities often do not own the land needed for projects, they must employ innovative approaches, such as land swaps, donations, or agreements to take over infrastructure from closing mines and power stations.
• There is a significant regulatory and coordination gap between municipal 'wall-to-wall' planning authority and the role of traditional authorities in customary land administration. This often leads to a misalignment between traditional land allocation and municipal spatial plans.
• The guide emphasizes the 'Polluter Pays Principle,' arguing that entities responsible for land degradation, pollution, or deforestation—particularly in the mining sector—should bear the costs of transition adjustments and land rehabilitation.
• The document identifies 'island settlements'—housing and infrastructure developed around mines or large industries—as areas of complex overlapping tenure rights and institutional mandate gaps that create additional pressure on local governments during investment closures.

APA

Jacobs, N., Paradza, G., Sher, D., Wallis, L., & Futwa, Z. (2026). Land and the Just Transition: A guide for local government. Public Affairs Research Institute. https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260429_LandAndTheJustTransitionGUIDE_PARI_IIED_SALGA.pdf

Chicago

Jacobs, Nathaniah, Gaynor Paradza, Daniel Sher, Lara Wallis, and Zanoxolo Futwa. Land and the Just Transition: A guide for local government. Public Affairs Research Institute, 2026. https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260429_LandAndTheJustTransitionGUIDE_PARI_IIED_SALGA.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Jacobs |first1=Nathaniah |last2=Paradza |first2=Gaynor |last3=Sher |first3=Daniel |last4=Wallis |first4=Lara |last5=Futwa |first5=Zanoxolo |title=Land and the Just Transition: A guide for local government |publisher=Public Affairs Research Institute |date=April 2026 |url=https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260429_LandAndTheJustTransitionGUIDE_PARI_IIED_SALGA.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{jacobs2026land, author = {Jacobs, Nathaniah and Paradza, Gaynor and Sher, Daniel and Wallis, Lara and Futwa, Zanoxolo}, title = {{Land and the Just Transition: A guide for local government}}, institution = {Public Affairs Research Institute}, year = {2026}, month = apr, url = {https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260429_LandAndTheJustTransitionGUIDE_PARI_IIED_SALGA.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }