The recent rise in large-scale land acquisitions in West Africa has raised questions about land management and prompted considerable criticism of the systems used to govern land. Although land governance is a key aspect of land policies, it remains a loosely defined concept.

This paper identifies the main characteristics of governance in central and decentralised land management systems, with a particular focus on the practical issues and questions it raises in West Africa, and suggests how land governance can be strengthened in this particular context.

This paper also exists in French here.