OVERVIEW

Land rights in Afghanistan are governed by overlapping and conflicting legal systems, including informal systems, civil law, traditional (Sharia) law, and state laws. This has resulted in a poor land management system that has hindered private-sector investment, stunted economic growth, and fed instability. The Land Reform in Afghanistan (LARA) project seeks to develop a robust, Afghan-owned and managed land market framework that encourages investment and productivity growth, supports the resolution/mitigation of land-based conflict, and builds confidence in the legitimacy of the Afghan Government. LARA will provide technical assistance and support to government institutions that address land issues, particularly the Afghanistan Land Authority (Arazi), the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL), the Supreme Court, and the Ministry of Urban Development Affairs (MUDA). The project will develop Afghan capacity to successfully design, manage, and implement land tenure reform for land market development. LARA will support improved land tenure security by helping develop a process for upgrading informal settlements and formalizing land occupants’ rights in Jalalabad.   The LARA project ends in the end of January 2014.

CURRENT ACTIVITIES

• Assist Arazi to identify, manage, lease, and obtain revenue from government lands
• Build the technical and operational capacity of the private-sector to provide land-related services
• Support MUDA, MAIL, the Independent Directorate of Local Governance, other government entities and Jalalabad Municipality with managing, formalizing, and upgrading informal settlements, mapping, policies and laws for urban planning and land use regulation, and training in planning and enforcement
• Strengthen land tenure security by supporting the Supreme Court, as well as working with communities to develop rights formalization and informal dispute resolution processes to reduce conflict and promote peace and stability 

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• First land use mapping completed in Jalalabad. It mapped 100 percent of Jalalabad's land parcels to establish the number of plots in formal and informal areas of the city.
• Improved land tenure security through the development of a comprehensive Land Rights Formalization and Settlement Upgrading Model process, including upgrades of informal settlements and formalization of occupants’ rights in Jalalabad.
• Developed a Handbook for Informal Settlement Upgrading.
• Drafted Urban Development Guidelines.
• Developed the Arazi Land Records Management Information System (ALRMIS).
• Developed a Cadastral Data Management System for AGCHO Cadastral & Survey Department (now part of Arazi).
• Conducted a Feasibility Study for the development of an Industrial Park in Jalalabad.
• Drafted Jalalabad City and Municipal Profiles.
• At least 2 million Afghans reached by a nationwide communications campaign on women’s inheritance and property rights.