Journal Articles

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12504/532

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    Customary land acquisition and tenure security in refugee-host communities: an impact assessment
    (African Journal on Land Policy and Geospatial Sciences, 2025-10-14) Nagujja, Sophia Lukabwe
    ABSTRACT Context and background: Countries addressing the global refugee crisis are increasingly shifting from reliance on refugee camps or forced repatriation to promoting local integration. In Uganda, government grants refugees’ free access to customary land which is voluntarily acquired from communities on a ‘no monetary policy’. However, customary land is often characterized by poorly defined and undocumented land rights, creating challenges for both refugees and host communities. These challenges are compounded by inadequate land acquisition processes that undermine the tenure security of host communities and, consequently, affect refugees’ accessibility to land. Goal and Objectives: The article examined the impact of customary land acquisition for refugee on tenure security of land rights holders and refugees. This was done by critically analysing the current rules and procedures implemented in customary land acquisition for refugee settlement in North western Uganda. It also assessed the alignment of the rules and procedures with international standard of voluntary land donation and finally, evaluated how this alignment impacts the tenure security of both host communities and refugees. Methodology: A cross-sectional study design was employed to collect both quantitative and qualitative data from customary land donors, refugees, host community members, and key officials involved in the customary land acquisition process. Descriptive statistical techniques were used to analyse quantitative data, while qualitative data were examined using Gale et al.'s (2013) seven-step Framework Method. A comparative analytical framework was applied to assess the extent to which land acquisition practices aligned with, or deviated from, recognised international Voluntary Land Donation (VLD) standards and their impact on tenure security of host communities and refugees. The results: The study revealed that current procedural rules are routinely bleached, with key protective measures for vulnerable land donors notably absent. The land acquisition process was marked by coercive and exploitative practices by the government toward vulnerable communities. Such as include offering social services in exchange for land, acquiring more than 10% of the total productive land, and leaving communities more impoverished due to land donations. These practices, observed across various stages of customary land acquisition, rendered the land acquisition process non-compliant with internationally recognized Voluntary Land Donation (VLD) standards. This non-compliance jeopardized the land rights of donors and undermined the tenure security of entire host communities. Although refugees’ access rights were comparatively better protected, the resulting insecurity among host communities adversely impacted refugee livelihoods, thereby impeding their self-reliance and prospects for sustainable integration.
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    Resolve ties method for re-establishing fit for purpose survey boundaries
    (African Journal on Land Policy and Geospatial Sciences, 2025-02) Wadembere, Ismail; Nayiga, Stellah ; Bagalana, Jamali
    Goal and Objectives: Countries including Uganda adopted Fit-for-Purpose (FFP) Land Administration as a viable approach towards achieving full coverage of land registration aimed at empowering communities to secure land rights and enhance land management. While FFP survey approaches have successfully achieved huge coverage in a reasonable time and at an affordable cost in some districts of Uganda and many other countries including Rwanda, Ghana, Ethiopia, and Indonesia; most reported land disputes on un-titled land which is the target for FFP approach are primarily due to boundaries conflicts. However, there is limited knowledge and no standard method for re-establishing boundaries for land parcels initially surveyed using FFP methods. In this paper, we evaluated different field land surveying procedures, approaches, and methods to come up with an optimal method for re-establishing FFP land boundaries. Methodology: The study utilized qualitative and quantitative research methods which involved interviews with relevant stakeholders, experts, and technical persons to gather different perspectives. Primary and secondary data were collected through document analysis, key informants, and in-depth interview tools. Purposive sampling was used to get information from land professionals and university lecturers. A total of 14 in-depth interviews were conducted from land professionals and four institutions handling land administration or geomatics research. The findings from the interviews were used to identify possibles approaches for re-establishing FFP land boundaries. The identified approaches were validated through fieldwork using case studies that highlighted hurdles, positional accuracy, and demonstrated their applicability. The best practices were picked from the different approaches and were triangulated against accurate Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Real Time Kinematic (RTK) observations to develop an optimal method for re-establishing FFP land boundaries that was later validated. Results: The results indicated that the use of survey ties was the best method among the existing approaches as it is cost-effective, requires less skills, and provide relatively good accuracy from reference marks. However, to achieve the best results, the study found out that, ties should be integrated with procedures from methods used at initial FFP survey to come up with the optimal Resolve Ties method that incorporates self-resolving technique that reduces variations to achieve FFP accuracy for boundary re-establishment from reference features. The study also developed guidelines for implementing the proposed method with valuable insights into the re-establishment of FFP boundaries for parcels initially surveyed using FFP methods. The developed Resolve Ties method and guidelines can be used to enhance FFP land administration that may ultimately lead to a more efficient and effective land registration system.