How can land tenure reform help to advance sustainable development?

This web site profiles the research of Chris Joseph (University of Otago, New Zealand). The over-arching goal of this research has been to address the conceptual and practical separation that exists between land tenure reform in post-conflict societies and the process of human development.

Previous evaluations of land tenure have typically relied on the use of a framework based on economics and focused on the ability of land markets to achieve narrowly defined development aims and objectives. However, the potential contributions of land tenure to human development are much broader. As tenure arrangements incorporate a diverse range of human relationships, identifying and interpreting the outcomes of tenure require a much broader and more versatile approach. By achieving a better understanding of the human security implications of land tenure, opportunities can be revealed where the process of reform can make a coherent contribution toward broader human development goals in ways that are congruent with the principles of sustainable development.