Strengthening land governance to advance Africa’s social and economic transformation Rudo E. Makunike (1), Estherine Fotabong (1), Mandivamba Rukuni NEPAD Agency (1) and Barefoot Foundation(2) rudom@nepad.org; estherinef@nepad.org; weshambo@gmail.com Introduction The way in which land issues are addressed in African countries is critical for development of the rural and agricultural sector and will determine the extent to which growth will materialize and benefit all. In Africa, the institutional arrangements governing access to land and the recognition of rights and land use will invariably affect the increasing demand for land (e.g. urbanization, infrastructure, agriculture, mining, protected areas). Moreover, such land policy and governance will determine the incentives to enhance productivity and investments, and thus the nature and sustainability of growth, and the way in which the benefits from land are distributed. The purpose was to locate the importance and role of land in national development and provide countries with evidence based self-assessment instruments that include sector specific assessment tools for land policy and governance. The study aimed to assist robust and integrated analysis and decision making at the country level on how best to strengthen land governance in the context of agriculture and rural development strategies and investments. Results Land policy and governance is important for overall economic development Five key sectors dependent on good land policy and governance: Agriculture and livestock systems - Efforts to commercialize smallholder agriculture an) efforts to allocate land for large scale land based investments (LSLBI) ii. mining and other extractive industries - emphasis on impact on land held by smallholders and with focus on artisanal and small-scale miners); iii. Forestry, reserved areas, hunting and tourism; urban development and real estate; iv. Urban development and real estate; v. Infrastructure development Materials and methods Case study analysis in Cameroon, Tanzania, Malawi and Burkina Faso Secondary data – desk reviews Primary data – key informant interviews and focused group discussions Review of regulatory frameworks. Assessment of current priority interventions, main decision making processes and how participatory; and progress to date. Identification, for each sector, land related priorities not addressed, and what interventions are needed to address gaps. Self assessment methodological tool developed and used to analyse each of the key sectors. For each of the sectors, the in-country self-assessment methodology included use of secondary data, mining of administrative data, use of LGAF data and use of GIS / satellite imagery. Conclusions Main recommendation: there is need for m development of land governance diagnostic tools and land governance capacity strengthening modules Capacity building Tools Modules Data Sector level Country level Thematic Acknowledgements The study was made possible by funding from the World Bank. Literature cited: Berkstein, A. (2004); Bagre, A.S. (2013); Chinsinga, B. (2011); Kimaro, D.N. (2014); Mramba, S.J. (2015); Tenga, W.R (2014; 2015) .