Unhiding the “land rights” and “land wrongs” in sub-Saharan Africa: An interpretive scoping review

Abstract

Various scholars have shown that improving land tenure security is essential for development by asserting that they are preconditions for improving societal well-being. This has led to initiating programmes envisaged to strengthen land tenure security in sub-Saharan Africa, though their outcomes remain under-researched. This study presents a foundational understanding of why improvements in land tenure security, though valuable, can also lead to adverse consequences in SSA. We used ‘land rights’ to represent valuable outcomes and ‘land wrongs’ to denote adverse ones. Based on a scoping review, this review article probed two questions: What positive and negative outcomes have emerged from land tenure security interventions in sub-Saharan Africa, and how can the adverse outcomes be improved? The review is based on fifty-seven (n = 57) peer-reviewed studies identified via direct Google Scholar search and snowballed expert recommendations. With the identified land wrongs in some land tenure security interventions, the study concludes that not all tenure improvement programmes are suitable and promising for SSA. The imbalance in implementation to benefit people, places, and livelihood activities was the primary cause of most land wrongs. However, improving tenure in ways that enhance these three elements guarantees genuine tenure improvements. The study presents a framework for securing land tenure to prevent land wrong outcomes and guide towards ensuring their intended outcomes. The review will be helpful for land policymakers seeking to understand the nature and value of improving land tenure security and researchers seeking directives and directions for further studies.