Programme de Conservation et de Gestion des Ressources Naturelles - Bénin ProCGRN

1. Programme de Conservation et de Gestion des Ressources Naturelles - BéninProCGRN Benin: Linking Land Rights to Land Use Planning “Conference on New challenges for Land Policy and Administration „ 14 - 15 February, 2008 Washington, USA

2. Why give support to a sustainable natural resources in Benin? • Agriculture and forestry are the driving force of the national economy • cotton is the major commercial crop (40% of exportation revenue) • Huge potentials are untapped • But the sustainability of natural resources is at risk implying vital challenges for rural municipalities

3. Rural population takes more advantage from the sustainable use of natural resources Programme objective (2004 – 2014)

4. Benin Republic in Africa

5. Benin Republic at a glance (some characteristic figures) • West African country (eastern neighbour = Nigeria) • Area : 114.763 sq. km • Population : 8.053.690 inhabitants (3.3 % of rate of growth) • GDP (2005 ): $8.6 billion.Real GDP growth rate (2005): 3.9%. • Per capita GDP (2005): $1,100. • Inflation rate (2005): 3.2%.

6. ProCGRN Area of implementation

7. Land tenure characteristics in Benin • Co-existence of traditional and modern laws regulating access to land. • Individual rights in the south and common property/ heritage management in the centre and the north. • High pressure in the south, semi-arid climate and fertile land scarcity in the western north push peasant from both side to migrate into the centre. • More and more land commodification in the south mainly in the suburb of urban area. • Arrangements/transactions are usually verbal /unwritten, therefore can be denied. • The resulting insecurity hamper medium and long term investments in sustainable production and perennial crops (e.g.: migrant in derived rights situation is not allowed to grow trees). • Natural resources are degrading increasingly and soil fertility depleting as well. • Increasing conflicts e.g. between farmers and transmigratingherders • Access to land is gender biased (unless she buys, woman has no inheritance right; herder even settled has limited right over land)

8. Problem solving approach of German Development cooperation • Face to the problems mentioned above, the following activities have been developed : • Participatory establishment of land use plans at village level (179 villages); • Local user conventions • Establishment of Rural Land Plan or simplified cadastral plan (41 pilot villages) and participatory mechanisms to up-date them; • Feasibility of using GPS techniques for land surveying have been successfully tested to ensure future scaling-up; • Land use plans at District level (scaling-up the experience developed at village level); • Process facilitation and technical support of the elaboration of the new land legislation; • Proposal of institutional setting / framework and sustainable funding mechanism for the implementation of the law.

9. Securing fair access to land for all in rural area: the Plan Foncier Rural • Land titles (title-deed) are the legally recognized instrument which guarantees property rights over land . However, land titles are not wide-spread in Benin‘s rural areas, as the procedures to obtains them are complex, very time-consuming and thus expensive. • The Government of Benin has then decided in 1992 to introduce the Rural Land Plan (Plan foncier rural) as a tool to provide secured access to land in rural area . • The instrument has been tested from 1992 to 1998 in different agro-ecological zones of the country • In 2000, the approach of Plan Foncier Rural has been adopted as central tool of the new rural land law which was in preparation.

10. Preparation Implementation Result Organising aerial photos campaign Organising basic documents for mapping Map of plots Drafting map of plots and Land register Informing the target population Land register Land surveying Investigating regional level tenure system Publishing the documents Lexiques des normes et termes fonciers locaux Getting ready the final documents Investigating Village level tenure system The Process of establishment of a plan foncier rural PFR

11. N BENIN REPUBLIC THE RESULTS MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, DE L'ELEVAGE AND FISHERY VILLAGES COUVERED ON PILOT SITES WITH PLAN FONCIER RURAL ( PFR ) NIGER BURKINA-FASO • SINENDE • Nbr of villages : 04 • - Total area: 20.000 ha • - Average plots size: 46ha BOUKOUMBE - Nbr of villages : 07 - Total area : 8.522 ha - Average size of plots : 5 ha Kparo & Kounacogou & Kouwonatoungou Niaro Koucoua & & & Koumagou & Kounadogou & Fo-Bouré Koutangou & & & Kouwotchirgou Sokka & Tchitchakou Talinta & Gondéssar & & NIGERIA Badjoudè & Bandéssar & & Kakpala Dangoussar & Anoum & OUAKE - Nbr of villages : 08 - Total area : 9.000 ha - Average size of plots : 46 ha • OUESSE • Nbr of villages : 07 • - Total area : 8.099 ha • - Average size of plots : 35 ha Dokoundoho & Kèmon & Tchédjinnagnon & Zogba Trékou & & Odougba Yaoui & & Gbanlin TOGO • ALLADA • Nbr of villages : 08 • - Total area : 6.754 ha • - Average size of plots : 4 ha • APLAHOUE • Nbr of villages : 07 • - Total area: 4.279 ha • - Average size of plots : 4 ha Gbowimè & Lanta & Soglonouhoué & Ganhayadji & Tokanmè Aliho & & Tokanmè Kpodji & Dékandji Zoungbomè Hongbo CommunalBoundary & Dédomey Badji & & A. Bata & & A. Cossoé & Danzoumè & Réalisation : Daniel TOSSOU & Couffonou Pilot Villages & PGTRN / MAI 2003 OCEAN ATLANTIQUE Total nbr of villages : 41

12. Impacts of RLP/PFR on pilot sites (1) • Land conflicts are reduced Source : Survey 2006 +++: very frequent; ++: frequent; +: almost inexistent

13. Impacts of PFR on pilot sites (2) • Significant reduction of conflicts over land • Recognition of women's right to land inheritance • Transmission of long-term land use rights (25-30 years) • investissment on the long run: reforestation, land reclamation (erosion control and soil fertility improvement measures) • Significant increase of incomes • Access to credits (100.000 - 400.000 FCFA) also outside the cotton sector

14. Certificate will be delivered to land owner at the end of operations (against a payment not yet stated : probably a token) Certificate can be transformed into title-deed at a much lower cost that it uses to be (e.g. : no registration fees if plot not bought; with the map of plots, no charge for pre-demarcation). Farmers can use Certificate as pledge to get access to credit. Major advantages of the new law

15. The role of communal authorities It is the mayor who : Transmits the demands from the villages for the establishment of PFR; Launches and closes the operations; Delivers the certificates; Transmits the requests for transforming certificates into title-deed; Insures the conservation of the documents (maps of plots and land registers) Manages the land information and insures its updating. There are land management committees both at village and communal levels.

16. Updating the PFR • According to the new land law, every transaction of land must be registered. • To this end, the following tools have been developed : • A register to record the different transactions • A textbook/ guidelines on the process of updating PFR • Different models to facilitate written arrangements/ contracts (loan/ lease, donation, tree growing, purchasing…); • A land information management system has been developed (coupled with a GIS) • Appropriate equipment (hardware and software) donated to and training organized for the communal authorities; • At village level all transaction are registered by village committees in charge of land management. Contract models have been provided to these committees. • Communal (District level) land management committees are in charge of up-dating the land register on a five (5) years period basis. • As a sustainable technical support and funding mechanism has not yet been developed, up-dating of land registers has been supported so far by ProCGRN. • But proposal for mounting such a mechanism is already on the table.

17. What has been successful? • Great acceptance of PFR by rural population resulting into a high demand; • Existence of textbooks/ guidelines on the process of elaboration and updating PFR making easier its replication. • Successful test of GPS to cut down the time required for completing a PFR (from 8-12 months to 6) and to improve measurements/ surveying accuracy. Possibly the cost but not yet verified. • A new land law has been voted (early this very year) • Good collaboration between the different donors in the field of land reform (GTZ, AFD, Kfw, UNDP, DANIDA, MCC / MCA-BENIN) • Synergy between GTZ and KfW: from 2006 common (shared) strategy for scaling-up. • GTZ know-how acknowledged (recognized) in the field of developing appropriate tool for rural tenure system management : Contract of realization of 300 PFR between GTZ-IS and MCA / BENIN

18. Was has not worked? • Lack of Leadershipand strategy to develop the required capacities by the Ministry in charge of the land policy reform; • Inexistence of baseline situation/ information : rendering difficult to prove impacts. • Insufficient capacities (human and financial resources) at communal level, then difficult to implement new law.

19. Duration of surveying operations on pilot sites • Depends on : • The extent to which plots are divided up (a lot fo small plots takes longer to be surveyed) • The size of the area to cover. • Owners availability • Whether transect lines and plots demarcation (staking plots corners) are prepared or not before the surveying operations start up)

20. Duration of surveying operations on sampled pilot sites (some figures)

21. Duration of surveying operations on sampled pilot sites (some figures)

22. The cost of PFR according to pilot sites December 2007

23. The cost of land title-deed • 300.000 F CFA (600 US $ or 428 €) per plot measuring 500 sq. m and costing 800.000 FCA (1600 US $ or 1,142 €). • 100.000 F CFA with a pilot project on a sample of 2,000 plots

24. Prospect for the future • All the donors showing interest for the land reform are putting their efforts together in order to help the Benin Government settle down a national programme • the major objective of the programme is to give support to the implementation of the newly adopted rural land law . • It means mainly, developing the required capacities at communal and village levels. • Success relies on the existence of an effective institutional framework and a sustainable financial mechanism. • The trend is toward creating a common basket fund which will be self-managed by a national Agency.

25. Thank you for your attention!