Recognition of the right of the poor to land is vital to forestall future conflicts over ownership and access to productive assets in post-war Angola. There is concern that the 2004 Land Law potentially weakens small holders’ and peri-urban occupants’ tenure rights, the majority of whom do not have formal, and/or legal, land titles, in favour of those with privileged access to registered land titles.
For the urban poor, most of whom have fled to the city during conflict years, the acquisition of a housing plot and subsequent construction of a residence is the only means of wealth accumulation and a principal crisis-coping mechanism. The population of Luanda has grown eight fold since independence and most of the settlement and housing plot acquisition has been through the informal land market. Three quarters of the residents of the peri-urban districts of Luanda have no clear legal title to the land that they occupy.
Development Workshop has taken a lead in research and advocacy on land tenure issues and helped to found the Rede de Terra (or the Land Network), a grouping of civil society organisations created to facilitate discussion among communities on ideas and concerns around the land issue. DW has engaged the Government on land tenure policy reform and is building municipal capacity in local land management and titling.
Terra (Portuguese)
Em 27 anos de guerra civil, milhares de angolanos abandonaram o campo pela segurança relativa das grandes cidades e dos seus sobrepovoados musseques. Com os seus parcos recursos, construíram abrigos …
Read moreLand for the Urban Poor in Post-War Angola
Presented to the Conference on Adequate and Affordable Housing for All: Research, Policy, Practice in Toronto. Angola’s last four decades of near-continuous war were years of tremendous human suffering, large-scale …
Read moreDW Desenvolvimentos 1 – Lei de Terra
Aadvoacia para o reconhecimento do direito básico a terra, especialmente os direitors dos ocupantes, está na lista de prioridades da DW.
Read moreDW Developments 1 – Focus on Land Tenure Rights
Advocating for recognition of basic land rights, especially occupant’s rights, tops DW’s current list of priorities as the government gets set to pass a new Land Law in 2004. One …
Read moreLand & Reintegration of Ex-combatants in Huambo Province in Post-War Angola
Research Report Presented to World Bank Angola Demobilization and Reintegration Project and Foreign Affairs Canada – Human Security Programme. This research examines the land issue in relation to the return, …
Read moreDW Land Library
The DW Land Library holds a wide array of information related to urban development and land issues in Angola. Through using the browsing or search functions, you will be able …
Read moreInterview with Development Workshop director on land rights in Angola (IRIN – 01 Dec 2003)
LUANDA, 27 Nov 2003 (IRIN) – Recognition of the right of the poor to land is vital to forestall future conflicts over ownership and access in post-war Angola, according to …
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