Rural poverty remains widespread and persistent in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. A group of leading experts critically examines the impact of land tenure reforms on poverty reduction and natural resource management in countries in Africa and Asia with highly diverse historical contexts.

The importance of good land governance to strengthen women's land rights, facilitate land-related investment, transfer land to better uses, use it as collateral, and allow effective decentralization through collection of property taxes has long been recognized. The challenges posed by recent...

Intro -- Contents -- Cover -- Title -- Foreword ix -- Acknowledgments xiii -- Executive Summary xvii -- 1 Introduction 1 -- 2 Property Rights to Land 7 -- 3 Land Transactions 79 -- 4 Fostering Socially Desirable Land Use 133 -- Appendix: Regional Workshops 193 -- Glossary 205 -- References 207...