Research and Practice as Advocacy Tools to Influence Angola's Land Policies

A large part of Angola’s population was displaced during the war years, and they created new homes and settlements in coastal cities on land that they occupied in good faith but for which they could get no legal title. Now, they face eviction threats due to commercial interests and government investment in infrastructure expansion. This paper discusses how research on urban land promoted the need to formalize the poor’s informal occupation rights as the government developed a new land policy. The research looked at both formal and informal mechanisms to access land by poor and war-affected populations and at the institutions that influence this. Its findings helped persuade the government of the need for consultation, and promoted more awareness of how upgrading and basic service provision could improve land tenure. It also helped extend the time period set by law during which those with informal tenure must seek formal title (from one to three years). Upgradeable rights were not accepted in land law, although these may be incorporated into supplementary legislation and local government by-laws. Participatory approaches to land management have also been promoted through demonstration projects with governments in several provinces, with the aim of influencing a new and ambitious national programme for housing and urban upgrading.