In August 2008, the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) launched the inception phase of a project on Land Tenure and Violent Conflict in Kenya. In the aftermath of the early 2008 post-election violence, it became clear that issues related to land tenure were perceived by many experts as key to understanding the root causes and dynamics of conflict.

Executive Summary

This Policy Brief summarizes a longer report to be published by the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) and the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in December 2004. It provides an analysis of Rwanda's draft land policy, in the context of the structural constraints facing the country, including acute land scarcity. It concludes that while the land policy offers several opportunities for economic development and improved rural livelihoods, its implementation will involve a number of challenges and risks.

This policy brief is a summary of a full-length case study, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), to be published in December 2004 by the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) and the Institute for Security Studies (ISS). It examines the role of land access in the conflicts which have affected Eastern Congo, especially since 1993.

Introduction

This Policy Brief summarizes a longer report to be published jointly by the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) and the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in December 2004. Based on fieldwork in Burundi and interviews in Nairobi, Kenya, as well as extensive review of secondary literature, this analysis includes a number of recommendations for the Government of Burundi, the international community, and civil society actors, for both short-term and the long-term horizons.