• Corpus ID: 129809015

Towards More Equitable Land Governance in Vanuatu : Ensuring Fair Land Dealings for Customary Groups

@inproceedings{Stefanova2012TowardsME,
  title={Towards More Equitable Land Governance in Vanuatu : Ensuring Fair Land Dealings for Customary Groups},
  author={Milena Petrova Stefanova and Raewyn Isabel Porter and Rod Nixon},
  year={2012}
}

• M. Stefanova, R. Porter, R. Nixon
• Published 1 May 2012
• Political Science

The regionally unique Constitution of the Republic of Vanuatu provides that all land in Vanuatu belongs to custom owners and their descendants and that the rules of custom shall form the basis of ownership and use of land. The Vanuatu Ministry of lands finalized a land sector framework 2009-2018, focusing on five areas in need of reform. These were: 1) enhancing the governance of land; 2) engaging customary groups; 3) improving the delivery of land services; 4) creating a productive and sustainable sector; and 5) ensuring the access and tenure security of all groups. This note summarizes the research findings, prioritizes problematic issues for policy consideration, and offers practical proposals for addressing these issues to ensure more equitable and therefore durable future lease creation and lease administration procedures. This study provides an estimate of how much of Vanuatu's land is currently under lease, where land has been leased and how it is being used, the duration of leases, and the extent of lease subdivisions as of December 2010. Current land leasing practices in Vanuatu reveal a number of problems, such as the neglect of impact assessments, the overextension of ministerial power, inconsistencies in the determination of land values, and the poor enforcement of lease conditions. All of these factors contribute to inequitable outcomes for landholders.