SPACE, SOIL AND STATUS: INSIGHTS FROM THE APRM INTO THE GOVERNANCE OF LAND IN AFRICA

The document examines the complexities of land tenure in Africa, highlighting the tension between customary and statutory systems. It argues that while formal titling is a long-term goal, the immediate priority should be adapting informal systems to provide legal security, improving state administrative capacity, and addressing gender-based barriers to land ownership to foster economic development and reduce conflict.

• Land tenure in Africa is characterized by hybrid regimes where formal statutory systems coexist and overlap with customary or informal systems, creating complexity in land legislation.
• The lack of formal property titles acts as a significant barrier to investment because land cannot be used as collateral for loans, which constrains economic activity particularly in agriculture.
• Sub-Saharan Africa faces high costs for registering property compared to other global regions, with costs averaging 9.1% of property value, which disincentivizes the formalization of property rights.
• Gender-based barriers to landholding persist due to traditional socio-cultural norms and customary laws that prioritize men in ownership and inheritance, even where formal laws grant equality.
• Land is a primary driver of social and political instability in Africa, contributing to insurgencies, ethnic tensions, and conflicts between pastoralists and settled farmers.
• State administrative weaknesses, including corruption, under-capacitated bureaucracies, and centralized registration processes, hinder the effective implementation of land policies.
• The author suggests that as an interim measure, Africa should strive to adapt informal landholding systems to give them legal force rather than pursuing immediate universal formalization, which is often slow and expensive.
• Large-scale foreign investments in land can be disruptive, potentially displacing residents and causing unrest if resettlement and compensation schemes are absent.

APA

CORRIGAN, T. (2016). SPACE, SOIL AND STATUS: INSIGHTS FROM THE APRM INTO THE GOVERNANCE OF LAND IN AFRICA. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Occasional-Paper-229.pdf

Chicago

CORRIGAN, TERENCE. SPACE, SOIL AND STATUS: INSIGHTS FROM THE APRM INTO THE GOVERNANCE OF LAND IN AFRICA. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2016. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Occasional-Paper-229.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=CORRIGAN |first1=TERENCE |title=SPACE, SOIL AND STATUS: INSIGHTS FROM THE APRM INTO THE GOVERNANCE OF LAND IN AFRICA |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=April 2016 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Occasional-Paper-229.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{corrigan2016space, author = {CORRIGAN, TERENCE}, title = {{SPACE, SOIL AND STATUS: INSIGHTS FROM THE APRM INTO THE GOVERNANCE OF LAND IN AFRICA}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2016}, month = apr, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Occasional-Paper-229.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }