Rwanda—Support for Land Tenure Regularisation

The Land Tenure Regularisation (LTR) programme in Rwanda set as a goal the issuance of registered title to every landholder in the country. Prior to the project, we had laid the groundwork for an innovative approach to registration. Between 2005 and 2009, we developed and tested a feasible approach to LTR, which lead to the Strategic Road Map for Land Tenure Reform.

Titles were then issued to every landholder through a one-off, low-cost community-based process of LTR, securing land assets and facilitating investment to 90 percent of predominantly poor households that own some farming land. The process, which won an award, was fundamental to unlocking future fair and sustainable economic growth in Rwanda.

Sample Activities

• Provide advice on all aspects of planning and implementing national roll-out of the LTR Programme.
• Create a support team to work as an integral part of the Rwanda Natural Resources Authority (RNRA) and associated and act to strengthen existing capacity within the organisation.
• Provide organisational and logistical support, generally in accordance with already established systems and procedures, to ensure that the RNRA and associated District Land Bureaux had the operational and human capacity to implement the project and manage all aspects of land management set out in law in 2005.
• Help the RNRA deliver key messages to a range of target audiences, including a training programme and implementation of a communications strategy.
• Work with the team from the World Bank to develop ways of collecting data and monitoring the impact of the project.

Select Results

• Established a formal system for regularising land ownership and identified and registered more than 10.3 million land parcels.
• Provided a legitimate cadastre of property ownership which will underpin long-term social stability.
• Drove down the cost per title to around $7 in Rwanda, an historic benchmark in land registration.
• Employed more than 110,000 over the life of the project, 99 percent of them hired from local communities.
• Ensured the rights of women and vulnerable groups were secured. Ninety-two percent of land certificates now include the name of a woman.