Land Use & Rural Livelihoods in Africa Project (LURLAP)

LURLAP is a collaborative research project involving researchers and scholars working on land and related fields in Africa. The main aim of this project is to understand land reform dynamics in various countries in Africa. Within this broad objective, the project seeks to:

• Examine the patterns of land use and how these influence rural and urban livelihoods;
• Examine the role of traditional authorities in promoting democratic land governance;
• Evaluate whether or not the current land reforms in different countries are adequately addressing the colonial legacy of land alienation;
• Assess the consequences of ‘Land Grabbing’ and the alleged emerging land market on land tenure for people living under customary tenure;
• Explore the relationships between gender and access to ownership and control over land in areas under customary administration;
• Assess the role of social movements in current land reform dynamics in the continent;
• Promote the sharing and exchange of empirical data, skills and research techniques between scholars working on land-related issues in African, through comparative studies;
• Foster collaboration and synergies between researchers and scholars working in different research and academic institutions in the continent.

Currently, a comparative study of land reform in Zambia and South Africa is underway. This is a collaborative research study conducted by researchers from the Centre for African Studies (CAS) at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and researchers from the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Zambia (UNZA). For more information on this project please click here : LURLAP.