Civil society organizations play an important role in supporting land use planning in Tanzania. They engage in policy and legal reform efforts, support planning authorities to conduct land use planning, monitor and evaluate processes, and advocate for communities. For example, one initiative supported four villages in Kiteto District to develop a joint land use plan through participatory mapping and establishing agreements to manage shared grazing lands, water points, and livestock routes. However, challenges remain such as few CSOs supporting the process, low implementation rates by the government, and potential for politically motivated subdivision of village lands.

1. Civil society support to Land-use planning
in Tanzania
Masalu Elias Luhula, Esq.
Land Based Investment Coordinator - Tanzania Natural
Resource Forum (TNRF)
Workshop in Yaounde, Cameroon – 22 and 23, Jan,
2019

2. Land Tenure System and Administration
 Categories of Land
 General Land
 Village Land
 Reserved Land
 Land Tenure
 Customary Land Tenure
 Granted Right

3. Cont..
 Land Administration
 Public ( President )
 Commissioner for Lands
 Reservation Authorities
 Village Council
 Village Assembly

4. Policy and Legal Framework
1. National Land Policy (1995) – under review
2. Land Act No. 4 of 1999
3. Village Land Act No. 5 of 1999
4. The Land Use Planning Act No. 6, 2007
5. National Land Use Framework Plan (2013-2033)
6. Guidelines for Preparation of Village Land Use Plans, 2006
7. Land Disputes Courts (Settlement) Act, 2016 of 2002
8.

5. Conflict Resolution Mechanisms
• Judicial system – Village Land Council, Ward Tribunal,
District Land and Housing Tribunal, High Court and Court of
Appeal
• Administrative System – Village leaders, District
Commissioners, Ministers, President
• Other initiatives – Loose coalition and Dialogue platforms

6. Land Use Plan (LUP) Concept
Meaning : The procedures and processes in accordance with which land use in a
planning area or zone are prescribed, managed, monitored and evaluated
Objective:
 Promote sustainable land use practices
 Ensure security and equity in access to land resources,

7. LAND USE PLANNING PROCESS
STEP 1: Preparations At District
Level
• To effect the District Land Use
Planning
• To establish a District PLUM
team
• To establish co‐operation
within and between sectors in
the district
• To prepare an action plan for
PLUM
STEP 2: Participatory Rural
Appraisal
• To introduce PLUM concept
and activities
• To form a village land‐use
management
• To assist villagers in analyzing
and evaluating land use and
environment problems and
opportunities

8. Cont……..
STEP 3: Preparation of Village
Existing Land Use Map
• Establish Village
boundaries/map
• Prepare Certificate of Village
Land (CVL)
• Detail picking of identified land
uses/resources (GPS/Sat
images)
STEP 4: Village Land‐use
Planning
• Drafting a Village Land Use
Plan and bylaws (VC/PLUM) –
Minutes
• Presentation and approval of
Village Land Use Plan and
by‐laws (VA/VC/PLUM) –
• Demarcation (sign boards) of
planned land

9. Process
STEP 5: Village Land
Administration
• To establish a village land registry
• To demarcate, survey and register
land for community facilities as
well as village public lands
• To demarcate, survey and register
private lands and prepare & issue
CCROs
STEP 6: Village Land Use
Management and Consolidation
• To identify and formulate measures
for improved land management in
planned land use
• To facilitate implementation of the
selected measures (e.g. class farms)

10. Process
Step 6: Village Land Use Management and Consolidation
• To build the capacity of villagers for planning and implementation of
the selected measures
• Monitoring and evaluation (CAP)

11. What Role does CSO Play in Tanzania - LUP
 Policy and Legal reform Engagements
1) Land Policy Review (2016)
2) Facilitate Review of the Guidelines for Preparation of Village
Land Use Plans (2006) ( Task Force)
 Support of Planning authority (ies) to Conduct Land Use
Planning in their areas of Jurisdiction
 Monitoring and Evaluation
Example; Land Tenure Support Program (LTSP)
 Lobbying and Advocacy

12. Joint Land Use Plans experience – in Kiteto District
• Initiative : Sustainable Rangelands Management Project (SRMP) –
2010 – 2015
• Support: International Land Coalition
• Partners – CSOs, INGOs, Government Institutions
• Areas: Kiteto District of Manyara region
• Villages Involved: - Four (Orlkitikiti, Lerug, Engwang’wangare and
Ngapapa (OLENGAPA)
• Size of Land - 59,007.5 hectares covered by villages

13. Cont ……..
• Communities – Mostly pastoralists (Maasai )
• Average Rainfall : between 800–1000mm per annum.
• The only permanent and dependable surface water source was
Olkitikiti Dam, constructed in 1954.
• The initiative supported the villagers to carry out a participatory
mapping (understand the available resources )
• Allocated 20,706.73 ha as grazing land - 55% of the total land

14. Cont….
• Villages entered into
agreement (JVLUA) to
protected shared grazing
area, water points, livestock
routes and other shared
resources.

15. Cont…..
• Establishment of a joint
grazing land committee
responsible to manage and
enforce the bylaws made in
lieu of the planning process

16. Cont…..
S/n VILLAGE/ LAND
USE
Olkitikiti Lerug Ngapapa Total land
use Area
% of total
Village Area
1 Dry season Grazing
land
12,960.63 7,279 701 20,940.63 55.47
2 Wet season Grazing
land
9,071.96 00.00 00.00 9,071.96
3 Calve Grazing area 2,136.3 00.00 00.00 2,136.3
4 Agriculture 3,037.3 7857.6 668.6 11,563.5 19.59
5 Residential land use 1,072.3 346.4 00.00 1,418.7 2.40
6 Community Facilities /
village center
247.8 175 54.1 476.9 0.80
7 Olkitikiti Dam 15.90 00.00 00.00 15.90 0.02
8 Chaco dams 20.40 00.00 2.8 23.2 0.039

17. Cont…..
9 Wells 00.00 00.00 00.00 00.00 00.00
8 SULEDO Forest
Reserve
7,127.01 00.00 00.00 7,127.01 12.07
9 Community Forest
reserves land
1,164.2 00.00 12 1,176.2 1.99
10 Hill tops reserves 1,069.9 1451.8 00.00 2,521.7 4.27
11 Open forest 00.00 00.00 124 124 0.21
12 Roads 279 95.6 301 675.6 1.14
13 Cattle Tracks 728 281 340 1,349 2.29
Total village Land 38,931.5 17,455 2,621 59,007.5

18. Joint Land Use Plans experience – in Kiteto District
Villagers produced
maps and plans

19. Cont…….
Resource Mapping User
Guide
link

20. CSOs – Government support for LUP
(Opportunities/ Importance)
• Complementarity of initiatives
• Increase pace of implementation in the LUP process - by 2018 – only
1,806 villages have VLUP out of 12,545 – Ministry of Lands
(MLHHSD)
• Strengthen institutions at local level for accountability
• Strengthen capacity of community members ability to hold accountable
duty bearers
• Sustainable management of resources
• Intervention to avoid Land/resource use Conflicts
• Ensure security of land and resource tenure

21. Cont
• Sustainable management of shared resources
• Avoid conflict over resource use and control

22. Challenges
 Few CSOs support LUP process ( TNRF, UCRT, HAKIARDHI, KINNAPA just to
mention )
 Budget prioritization (government) – Village, District and national level
 Low pace ( by 2018 – only 1,806 villages have VLUP out of 12,545 – Ministry of
Lands
 Subdivision of villages (politically motivated)
 Time and Resource Consuming
 Land Conflicts (not a mechanisms for conflict resolution)
 Exclusions
 Investment motivated LUP ( 10 years Vs 33, 66 years and 99 years )
 Data Disaggregation on Land Ownership