Impact of Land Certification on Sustainable Land Use Practices: Case of Gozamin District, Ethiopia

Abstract

Agroforestry is attracting considerable attention in Ethiopia because of its potential for sustainable land use practices. As land tenure insecurity is a major limiting factor for sustainable land use practices in Ethiopia and developing countries in general, the Ethiopian government launched a rural land certification program to secure land tenure. There are limited empirical studies about the impacts of land certification on sustainable land use practices. To fill this knowledge gap, this study was outlined for an area in the Ethiopian Gozamen district. It investigates the impact of land certification on sustainable land use practices and is focused on factors affecting tree plantation based on a household survey, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and field observations. The results of the study showed that the majority of the respondents practiced sustainable land use practices after their land was certified. Therefore, land certification has a great contribution on sustainable land use practices. In addition, age, consultancy, land size, education, and nurseries proved as significant factors for tree plantation. As access to land is a basic socio-economic precondition for sustainable agriculture and forestry in developing countries, tenure security is a key pathway for the development of the poor and it contributes essentially to achieve sustainable development goals.

Causes, Processes and Effects of Rural Land Certification in Amhara Region, Ethiopia: A Review Article

“…For instance, Berhanu & Fayera (2005), SARDP (2010) and Belay (2010) indicated that farmers in Amhara region have developed better tenure security after the land certification program. Similarly, Mengesha et al (2019) in their study in Gozamin district of Amhara region found out that there is a positive correlation between land certification and land tenure security.…”

Transitioning to Sustainable Life on Land

“…Given that, in general, insecurity in land tenure is a major limiting factor in Ethiopia and in developing countries for sustainable use, the government has introduced a Rural Land Certification Program to ensure land tenure. As shown by Mengesha et al (2019), Alemu et al (2020), andAbi et al (2018), as soon as their land was certified, the majority of farmers in Ethiopia practiced sustainable land use. Land certification, therefore, makes a major contribution to sustainable land use.…”

Forest-based bioeconomy in sub-Saharan Africa: Looking at benefits and burdens from a social sustainability standpoint

“…Nhantumbo and Camargo 2016); analyses of how forest policy instruments and management regimes influence, for good or for worse, sustainability and livelihoods (e.g. Scheba and Mustalahti 2015;Mengesha et al 2019;Gnych et al 2020); and biomass exploitation aiming at more efficient energy production (Chitawo et al 2018).…”

“…Certification schemes were shown to have positive impact on the adoption of sustainable land use practices, quality of products and the income of adhering landholders (Girma and Gardebroek 2015;Kalonga and Kulindwa 2017;Mengesha et al 2019). However, such schemes depend on tenure security and can be costly for smallholders to adopt, thereby limiting access to 'green' businesses (Damme 2018).…”