1. Local Level Participatory Planning, an approach towards tenure security and development planning
Esther Lusepani
Ministry of Lands - Namibia
Washington March 2014

2. Structure Introduction
Land Reform in Namibia
The Need for Communal land reform
Program for Communal Land Development
The need for a Local Level Participatory Planning Approach
The LLPP Methodology
LLPP results – the Okongo example
Outcomes
Replication potential
to be finished

3. Land reform in Namibia Colonial and apartheid legacy
Two major policy responses
Redistributive land reform
Tenure reform and development of communal areas

4. Need for tenure reform and development of communal areas
Legacy of colonial period
System of traditional authorities instrumentalised but lacking administration
Tenure insecurity, particularly for women…
Absence of a private sector establishment
Marked lag in investments
Post-independence
Vacuum, establishment of CLBs undermines TA in the short run
Proliferation of land use options
Defensive fencing
Conceptual challenge born from perception of high investment agriculture in freehold areas
Flavour of the month

5. Programme for communal land development
Development of 5 million ha
Components
Land right registration
Land use planning, both at regional and local level
Infrastructure development
Advisory services
Capacity building

6. LLPP, planning for change
LLPP is used to tackles complexities due to:
High degree of variance in terms of
Agro-ecological potential
Farming systems
Social settings and aspirations
Expectations from government
Investments needs
Immature regulatory framework; e.g. Group rights
Being true to the “local level” and “participation”

7. Principles in response to the complexity
Principle 1: The consideration of all originally targeted PCLD areas for support via the basket fund
Principle 2: The development of commercial agriculture in communal areas
Principle 3: Co-financing / co-contribution is required, and leaseholds reflect level of investment
Principle 4: Local residents are primary beneficiaries, and the uprooting and relocation of people is to be avoided
Principle 5: An integrated implementation approach is pursued
Principle 6: Advisory services will be provided
1 we do not exclude areas where an engagement by MLR has been the order – also, we build on local needs - however, MLR retains the right to spend money sensibly
2 no social infrastr considered
3 “how to” still a gap – stratification, informed by GM analysis, and easy to administer
4 local processes
5 slide follows
6 fences alone do not make successful farmers

8. LLPP-basic components
Well structured facilitation tool for decision making process of regional, local level authorities and communities/ resident farmers
All decisions are made within the public domain with a high degree of free prior informed consent
Key decisions and forward actions from each meeting are recorded and culminate in a site file
Broad validation of decisions made with process of published leasehold applications

9. Investment and development plan
LLPP outputs
Locality of prioritized investment areas
Selection of beneficiaries
Land use scenarios
Type of investment
Defining rules of affiliation that govern access to and use of resources and infrastructure
Investment and development plan

10. LLPP: Implementation approach
Infrastructure development Advisory Services
STAGE I
Base maps and zooming in
- Mobilize stakeholders
- Create information base
- Validate information and maps
- Define focus area
STAGE II
Beneficiary selection and scenario planning
- Investigation on land rights
- Selection of beneficiaries for land and investments
- Designing of the development scenario
- Selection of desired infrastructure
- Facilitating agreement on the rules of affiliation
STAGE III
Validation and formalisation
- Validation of land rights - Validation of the development scenario and investment plan with relevant stakeholders, at local, regional and national level
- Publication of investment plans and lease applications via the Communal Land Board
Add more meat to this one and delete the following

11. LLPP results – the Okongo example
LLPP has been piloted in 3 sites
Okongo (Ohangwena region)
Otjetjekua (Omusati region)
Ongandjera East (Omusati region)

12. Original concept for the area

13. Mapping of the realities on the ground – LLPP Stage I

14. Unveiling the lack of congruence between main players LLPP – Stage I

15. Process of adjudication LLPP - Stage II
Mapping of SSCF area indicate extent of fences for farmers
Grid largely ignored
Most people have ‘taken’ less than the 2,500 ha
Most people have invited others to farm with them
CLB issue notification of removal of fences; lack of congruence between TA approved and CLB approved fences
Notion of removal of all fences (do not align with the grid)
Meeting between TA, CLB and farmers, facilitated by MLR and LLPP team
Resolutions
Removal of some fences
Adjustment to SSCF area
Reduction of land holding if excessive
Leasehold applications required
Letter of consent by TA

16. Infrastructure development plan in LLPP - Stage II

17. Validation in stage III
During the validation stage the following was adjusted:
The western areas where there are 3 villages will form a cooperative which will also receive support
There are eight additional land rights that obtained approval and one land right was contested
Some of the infrastructure to be developed was shifted due to social or economical reasons
Additional water distribution infrastructure was defined
Some illegal fences were given notices and were removed

18. Okongo Infrastructure and land rights

19. LLPP Okongo end result Support to 15 individual small scale farmers
Commercially oriented, total of 3200 LSU
Regularized land tenure regimes (Leaseholds)
PCLD is complementing private investments
Rules of affiliation for shared infrastructure in place
Support to about 150 households in western settlements
Secure access to commonage (cooperative leasehold)
Development of shared infrastructure to enhance commercial production
Rules of affiliation for shared infrastructure

20. Overall LLPP outcomes
LLPP provides a platform for community members, TAs, RCs, CLBs to:
Streamline overlapping land uses
Adjudicate blatant and latent land right issues
Define their own resource management plans and land investments
Determine and secure access rights, shaping rules of affiliations to selected land uses

21. Replication potential
Approach that works because
Political will, priority for GRN. It really matters at all levels (political, orginisational, local)
Commitment
Timeframe (overall; equally important the willingness to put foot on the brake when answers are not obvious)
Funding (volume overall, but also resources put into “flanking measures” and soliciting expertise)
Embeddedness in government structures
However, the inverse probably also holds true; replicability?