The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world abruptly, affecting nearly all of humanity with breath-taking speed.

The impact of COVID-19 has been devastating around the world. In response, countries have put in place emergency measures to help their citizens and private firms weather the pandemic and recovery programs to boost the economy once the lockdown restrictions can ease.

Most developing economies do not have the fiscal space to implement broad recovery programs, as the revenues from key economic sectors have collapsed, expenditures to respond to the pandemic have escalated rapidly, and capital outflows have increased.

COVID-19 and climate change are impacting all of us, but the dual disasters have a disproportionate impact on communities in emerging economies. These impacts are felt most acutely in rural areas, especially among indigenous communities and minority groups, and by women and others who are marginalized within those groups.

From Mali to Iraq, people in conflict zones are proving especially vulnerable to climate extremes

An estimated 100,000 people died and livestock were decimated when a long drought hit West Africa in the 1970s.

Isa, a 61-year-old community leader from northern Mali, recalled: “At that time, we only had to search for food. We could move freely with our animals. Now, we can’t even search for food. We are forced to stay in place or move to cities because of the insecurity.”

I recently published a study on urban policy implementation context in Bamako, the capital city of Mali. It was published in January 2020 by African Journal of Land Policy and Geospatial Science.

The  4th India Land and Development Conference, set to start next week, invites a wide variety of individuals and institutions to engage in thought-provoking and interdisciplinary conversations and analyses.  More specifically, the Conference's theme Institutions, Innovations and Informations in Land Governance invites us all to think about the role that information sharing can play in helping to ensure effective land governance.

Cosmas Milton Ochieng, an expert in natural resource governance and economic development in Africa, is the Director of the African Natural Resource Centre at the African Development Bank.

In collaboration with the African Union Commission and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, the African Development Bank will host the 3rd Edition of the Conference on Land Policy in Africa in Abidjan from 25 to 29 November 2019.

In this interview, Ochieng shares key insights into why the conference matters for Africa.

It is my privilege to address you, on behalf of the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Dr. Vera Songwe, and welcome you to the 3rd Conference on Land Policy in Africa.

I would like to extend our gratitude to the Republic of Cote D’Ivoire and the African Development Bank for hosting the third Conference on Land Policy in Africa. As the host institution of the second land conference, we recognize the tremendous effort that goes into hosting this conference.

I bring you warm greetings from H.E. Mousa Faki Mahamat, the Chairperson of African Union Commission. It is my honour and pleasure to deliver this statement at the opening of the Conference on Land Policy in Africa. I salute the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Government of Côte D’Ivoire and all partners for hosting and successfully organizing the 2019 Conference on Land Policy in Africa.

The Declaration on Land Issues and Challenges in Africa very wisely prioritised three key objectives:

• Land policy development and implementation;
• Allocation of adequate budgetary resources to land management and administration;
• And the establishment of enabling conditions for institutional innovation in land policy and governance frameworks on the continent.

As we gather here today, so much has been achieved over the past decade. And yet we know that a great deal of work still remains to be done.

“This plot is not for sale” are the six words you will find, marked on a lot of properties and plots of land in Uganda. The words are meant to ward off quack land or property brokers and conmen. Most of the cases handled in courts in Uganda, and Kampala in particular, are fraud-related cases (like selling land while the true owners are away using counterfeit titles) and land transaction fraud (when fake land titles are obtained and sadly some officers in the land registry are involved).