The papers and discussions highlighted a number of cross-cutting issues and set the context for an ongoing learning process on land reform in Southern Africa. This learning will hopefully be extended beyond the actual conference delegates. In short, land will continue to play a particularly significant role in securing the livelihoods of the "rural poor" in Southern Africa. Against this background there are therefore several important means by which a pro-poor land reform agenda might be developed:
- Targeting the marginalised, especially through genuine consultation
- Creating an enabling environment with clear processes in which all sectors can engage
- Post transfer support in a wider development process particularly to ensure sustainability of land reform programmes
- Genuinely considering and strategising around the impact of HIV/Aids on the processes of land reform
These points, apart from the final one emphasising HIV/Aids, have been reiterated on a number of occasions prior to this conference. This reveals the fact that the way forward is for greater focused dialogue, lobbying and, particularly, action if land reform is to work for the poor in Southern Africa. Essentially these messages need to be imparted to those involved in land reform policy processes throughout the region. The challenge is to effectively inform policy processes at a variety of levels. The following four points are presented as a way of taking the conference forward.
First, the workshop emphasised that a more systematic way of sharing experiences between the different stakeholders engaged in land reform policy should be developed. This would strengthen on-going policy processes and contribute to the evolution of workable land policies in the various SADC countries. This has three elements:
- Strengthening the existing national and regional land networks and their interaction at a regional level. This could improve the capacity of governmental and civil society agencies involved in land issues;
- Dissemination of these policy recommendations by delegates, in their particular country, particularly to the desks of key policy makers within SADC states; and
- Distribution by the SARPN of this document and the country study papers through a number of sectoral address lists that have wide linkages across the region. The papers and the recommendations will also be circulated at larger international agencies such as the Food and Agricultural Organisation and the International Fund for Agricultural Development.
Second, the conference papers and the policy recommendations have been made available electronically on a number of websites. The Oxfam “landrights” website (www.oxfam.org.uk/landrights) has generously posted all the country studies, a selection of the roundtable papers and the policy recommendations. The papers and the recommendations may also be published in a booklet through the SARPN.
Third, the impact of HIV/Aids on land reform received significant interest during the conference, as a response to the perceived dearth of information on the issue. Therefore it has been proposed that the SARPN should host a workshop on the impact of HIV/Aids on land reform and rural development in collaboration with a number of specialists from around the region. The workshop will explore the experiences of a range of land and health practitioners in a rural location in KwaZulu-Natal, the heartland of the pandemic in the region, as well as drawing on the strengths of regional participants. If this workshop is deemed a success it will be replicated in various locations around the region. The proceedings of the envisaged HIV/Aids workshop will be circulated as widely as possible.
Fourth, the conference showed that very little documentation appeared to exist around the implementation of land reform and its impact on poverty alleviation in Mozambique. This insight was reinforced by an SARPN visit to Maputo. As a result, the SARPN will consider hosting a workshop in Maputo in collaboration with a locally based institution to discuss perspectives on the implementation of the 1997 Land Law. The Angolan government has drawn on the Mozambican land reform policy process; this suggests that an SARPN workshop could strengthen regional linkages and perspectives by bringing key players in Angola to a Mozambican review. Relevant organisations such as the Wisconsin Land Unit at the University of Eduardo Mondlane in Maputo, ORAM, Helvetia and other land experts will be consulted. Expertise from around the region, including Tanzania, will also be sought.
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