This report contains a review of lessons learned by other USAID-funded enterprise development and microfinance projects in Benguela Province, an assessment of enterprise development opportunities related to land tenure in the two USAID-funded Pilot Project Areas of Huambo Province, and an analysis of possible study tours between the pilot sites and successful enterprise development projects in Angola. It was prepared under the Strengthening Land Tenure and Property Rights Project that is currently being implemented by ARD, Inc., Rural Development Institute (RDI), and Development Workshop (DW) under the USAID RAISE IQC Task Order, Lessons Learned: Property Rights and Natural Resources Management. The project seeks to strengthen and protect property rights for the poor through formalizing land rights of rural and peri-urban land held under informal or traditional ownership.

Angola’s 27 years of civil war created many problems that further compound the land challenges faced by the country. The war disrupted and changed customary land use and allocation (for both cropping and grazing), and such customary rights are now threatened by encroaching land users and competitive claims (both formal and informal). Earlier assessments of the land situation in Angola indicate that the newly enacted land law (August 2004) is vague, ambiguous, and potentially threatening to customary, informal, and formal land users and rights holders. The new law requires that land occupiers make application for formalized land rights within three years of a date uncertain (or forever lose those occupation rights), and the new law also re-asserts the government’s right to grant land concessions subject to unclear and non-transparent criteria and processes.

The presentation  Mining Legislation and Local
communities was presented by  Murielle Mignot and prepared by Development
Workshop on behalf of IANRA  at the Jornadas Científicas at Lusiadas
University in the Province of Benguela, Angola. Over 200 people attended
including the Rector of the University. Members of the academic audience
commented that it was very important to have other professionals to submit
issues and concrete experiences, in addition to the presentations of teachers.
There was also a representative of the Ministry of Higher Education in
attendance, who is a geologist and had participated in the writing of the
Mining Code. He said that the findings from the research were very useful and
he may be able to facilitate contacts in the Ministry of Geology and Mines, in
particular regarding the regulation of the mining law. 

Portugues:

 A apresentação sobre Legislação Minas e Comunidades
locais foi apresentado por Murielle Mignot e preparado pela Development
Workshop em nome da IANRA no Jornadas Científicas da Universidade Lusíadas, na
província de Benguela, Angola. Mais de 200 pessoas participaram, incluindo o
Reitor da Universidade. Os membros do público acadêmico comentou que era muito
importante ter outros profissionais para apresentar questões e experiências
concretas, para além das apresentações dos professores. Houve também um
representante do Ministério do Ensino Superior no atendimento, que é geólogo e
tinha participado na redacção do Código de Mineração. Ele disse que as
descobertas da pesquisa foram muito útil e ele pode ser capaz de facilitar os
contactos do Ministério da Geologia e Minas, nomeadamente em relação à
regulamentação da lei de mineração.