Formalising land rights entails giving written and legal form to rights that were previously mainly regulated by local custom rather than the law. Policies to
formalise rural land rights in francophone Africa and Madagascar employ a wide range of strategies, methods and mechanisms. They reflect  different conceptions of land governance, different interactions between state and local rules and procedures, and different social choices.

Policies to formalise land rights face numerous practical difficulties. This note highlights the advantages of mechanisms that focuse on the formalisation of land transactions and agreements, within and between families.

Download the document at the link below. This note is also available in French here.