Romancing Customary Tenure

Introduction The importance of land-based resources for developing nations cannot be over-emphasized. Much as development in the global North is mostly associated with free trade, privatization of state enterprises, and security of private property rights, for developing nations, in particular sub-Saharan Africa, the achievement of development depends substantially on access to land and the uses to which such land is put. Security of tenure is therefore central to these ends. By virtue of its potential to attract investment and enhance rural livelihoods, tenure security represents the key ingredient to achieve economic growth and poverty reduction for sub-Saharan Africa.