The land and natural resource sector is a highly  technical sector,  intertwined with the interplay of complex cultural norms and legal principles that underpin access, rights and ownership principles. It is within this maze of the interplay of customs, traditions and law that women’s land, property and natural resource rights are also situated. Unpacking the broad interplay of customary and legal principles in defining, clarifying rights, ownership and benefits, is itself complex enough. Adding the issues of diversity, the gaps and challenges for women in this unpacking introduces even more complexity, especially, under customary law. Yet, addressing the issues of diversity as part of the whole effort is without question critically important. Yes, to drive real socio-economic change, we must go beyond surface-level interventions and unpack the sector issues based on the unique realities of affected groups. Without this deeper understanding, solutions often fail to take root. 

Too often, land rights initiatives are designed as short-term projects, offering temporary relief rather than lasting transformation that tackles the underlying socio-cultural and legal biases. The reality is that women's land, property and natural resource rights challenges are not isolated incidents that affect women alone. They are connected to the overall socio-economic development of society. The challenges with women’s land, property and natural resource rights have been fueled by deeply entrenched customs, traditional beliefs and at times misinterpretation and misapplication of legal frameworks. Addressing the challenges with women’s land, property and natural resource rights, therefore, requires investment beyond a short-term project lifespan; it demands a sustained investment, strategic interventions, and inclusive, multi-layered approaches in implementation. 

Another recurring pitfall that is so common in land and natural resource sector interventions is the absence of technical land administration experts in the development space.  Addressing the challenges with women’s land, property and natural resource rights requires much more than technical and legal knowledge in land tenure. It also requires development of practice skills. The application of development principles to the technical and legal knowledge helps deliver interventions that are in compliance with the law and technical standards and also work for different social groups such as women. Unfortunately, all too often, advocates for women’s land rights may have limited technical and legal knowledge, and therefore propose interventions that do not exactly align with the technical and legal principles. The flip side of the situation is having land tenure professionals who are not development practitioners and therefore deliver land administration services that lack the development practice perspective. This is often seen in such areas as the way stakeholder identification, analysis and engagements are done. This misalignment often results in land and natural resource interventions that are well-intentioned but unsustainable or are not grounded on the nuanced practical realities. 

At COLANDEF, we seek to mend this disconnect. We believe in walking the journey with  both the state and non-state actors, to build knowledge, skills and competency in delivering land sector interventions that are both technically and legally sound, as well as socially connected to the needs and interests of diverse groups. 

The goal is clear, to move beyond temporary solutions and create a future where women’s land rights are secured, recognized, and upheld for generations to come.