Technology Helps Secure Tenure Rights

One of the very basic social problems that contributes to poverty as well as conflict around the world is the lack of secure rights to property, in particular, to land. Think about the history of the U.S.: farmers fought with cattlemen; European settlers fought with Native Americans over access to land and resources. This story replays over and over across time and location.

Throughout the developing world insecure rights to property contribute to human rights abuses (e.g., Operation Murambatsvina in Zimbabwe in 2005). Insecure rights also limit economic growth. Finding ways to address these problems is an incredibly important challenge but because so many variables affect whether or not property rights are secure and useful, identifying methods that work on the ground to improve property rights and strengthen tenure has been difficult.

Here's a story about a company called International Land Systems (ILS) that works on this issue. Recently, I listened to ILS President Peter Rabley discuss his efforts to bring technological tools to developing countries as they create more effective land titling and land administration systems. But what I was really intrigued by was the idea of using paralegals to provide low-cost, accessible documentation to poorer citizens for whom the formal property system is often too costly. Working jointly with microfinance institutions, these para-legal titles, if secure enough, may help some of the poor increase their access to credit. Just as important though it may help to limit conflict and reduce violence.

- Karol

(The photo shows some of the results of Operation Murambatsvina from the blog Squatter City: http://squattercity.blogspot.com/2006_04_01_archive.html)