Professor Jintao Xu, professor of economics at Peking University and Coordinator of the EfD in China, will share the experiences of the recent rapid reform of collective forestry in China at a seminar titled Agriculture, land markets and development on May 22 in Sweden. It is one in a series of seminars at the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry to follow up the World Development Report 2008 – Agriculture for Development.
Professor Jintao Xu is one of the speakers together with Doctor Klaus Deininger, Senior economist at the World Bank, and Professor Stein Holden, professor of economics at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. Stein Holden will also introduce the the first publication in the new Environment for Development (EfD) book series: “The emergence of land markets in Africa” - read more.
Recent work in the areas of land titling and land markets in developing countries will be discussed at two interconnected seminars in Stockholm, May 22-23 2008. The Facilitator for both seminars will be Dr Gunnar Köhlin, associate professor of environment and development economics at University of Gothenburg and Director of the Environment for Development initiative.
1. Agriculture, land markets and development
How do land rights affect the investments in land and forestry in developing countries? What are the effects on cultivation of land and on forestry? The seminar will highlight current research and field experiences regarding institutional innovations that can increase productivity and sustainability. The book “The emergence of land markets in Africa” will also be released during the seminar. Speakers: Dr. Klaus Deininger, Senior economist at the World Bank, will give an overview of the recent findings of how perceived tenure security affect investment and productivity in agriculture. Prof. Stein Holden, professor of economics at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, will introduce the new book “The emergence of land markets in Africa” and show how tenure reform can affect the functioning of formal and informal land markets in Africa. Prof. Jintao Xu, professor of economics at Peking University, will share the experiences of the recent rapid reform of collective forestry in China. Mr. Lennart Bäckström, Orgut consulting, will draw on decades of experience in implementing land titling in Africa and Europe while presenting the importance of popular support in such processes.
The seminar is planned by the environmental economists at University of Gothenburg. For more information on the content please contact Gunnar Köhlin, associate professor of economics and EfD Director at Gunnar.Kohlin@economics.gu.se Date and Place: Thursday 22nd of May at 9.30-12, Royal Academy of Agriculture and Forestry (KSLA), Drottninggatan 95B in central Stockholm, Sweden. See also www.ksla.se or http://www.ksla.se/sv/retrieve_file.asp?n=1459
2. Urban and rural land titling programmes – do they serve the poor?
The international debate about the ability of land titling to contribute to poverty alleviation and improved socio-economic conditions is vivid and often polarized. This seminar will look at the reasons for the debate and attempt to better understand the role of titling in housing policy and also compare it to rural land titling. There are many assumptions about benefits of titling programmes for low-income communities. Are the claims made about titling realised? Would it be possible draw general conclusions between experiences across countries or even across metropolitan areas?
Speakers: Mr. Geoffrey Payne, a housing and urban development consultant and principal of Geoffrey Payne and Associates (GPA), will present the co-authored and recently completed report: Social and economic impacts of land titling programmes in urban and peri-urban areas: international experience and case studies from Senegal and South Africa. Dr. Klaus Deininger, Senior economist at the World Bank, will discuss and present findings on the impacts of land titling programmes in rural areas based on experiences from, for example, Tanzania. More specifially, focus will be on effects on investment and productivity in agriculture of perceived tenure security. A panel of experts (names to be confirmed) on housing, private sector development and on land rights issues will comment on the report. Special consideration will be given to (i) similarities and differences between land titling schemes in urban and rural areas; (ii) issues related to actual implementation; (iii) needs for further research and methods’ development in order to support the implementation of pro-poor land titling schemes in urban, peri-urban and rural areas. A significant proportion of the programme will be allocated for questions and answers from the auditorium. For more information on the content please contact mikael.atterhog@sida.se (urban division) or margareta.nilsson@sida.se (rural division). Date and Place: Friday 23rd of May, 9.30 – 12, room Oasen, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), Valhallavägen 199, close to metro stn Karlaplan, Stockholm, Sweden.