LAND Administration to Nurture Development (LAND) Quarterly Report No. 13, April 1 – June 30, 2016

Bahir Dar University and Hawassa Universities submitted the final version of their assessments on the implementation of land administration and land use (LALU) laws for Amhara and SNNP National Regional States (NRSs) respectively. Validation workshops were conducted on their findings, with 45 participants drawn from regional councils, zonal administrations, land administration and use offices, and other relevant sectors in attendance. The development of an overarching and comprehensive national land use policy was also a significant milestone during the reporting period. The Prime Minister officially announced the country's decision to develop a comprehensive national land use policy, stating that land use policy is at the heart of all development endeavors that aim to bring about economic transformation. LAND will be responsible for developing the draft policy through a combination of in-house experts and independent consultants. Strengthened capacity in national, regional, and local land administration and use planning was another key area of focus. LAND engaged an Ethiopian consultant to provide technical assistance to the Ethiopian Mapping Agency (EMA) to rehabilitate and make fully operational its Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS). The consultant assisted EMA in resolving telecommunication and power supply issues and trained 16 EMA and four Information Network Security Agency (INSA) staff in installing, operating, and maintaining CORS. A draft proposal on the expansion of the geodetic network of the country based on CORS Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) was submitted, and EMA expressed its satisfaction with the project proposal. The capacity of Ethiopian universities to engage in policy analysis and research related to land tenure and train land administration and land use professionals was also strengthened. The first batch of 41 students enrolled in the Institute of Land Administration of Bahir Dar University's (ILA/BDU) summer M.Sc. program commenced their thesis research work in their respective regions. The second group of 42 students completed their first session and have taken home assignments to complete before their second and final summer session in June-August 2016. Grantees selected under LAND's competitive grant scheme made satisfactory progress towards completing field research. On-the-spot monitoring visits were conducted by LAND experts, confirming that data collection activities were completed and analysis and report writing were in progress. A validation workshop was conducted by WLRC in Dessie on May 22-23, 2016, with the participation of 60 stakeholders representing federal, regional, and woreda land administration officials and experts from Amhara and Tigray regional states. Preparation for the 2016 Ethiopian Annual Land Conference by ETHIOLANDNET is in progress, with all research grantees committing to present papers from their findings. LAND organized a two-day meeting with the Afar Environmental Protection and Rural Land Administration and Use Agency (EPLAUA) staff on LAND's Afar Action Plan and Formation of the Afar Regional Pastoral Advisory Committee (APAC) on May 11-12, 2016. LAND's presentations included preparation of the Afar draft regulation for empowering community land governance and customary governance entities of pastoral areas. The Institute of Land Administration of Bahir Dar University's (ILA/BDU) summer M.Sc. program has commenced, with 41 students enrolled and expected to graduate in October 2016. The second group of 42 students completed their first session and have taken home assignments to complete before their second and final summer session in June-August 2016. LAND will be responsible for developing the draft national land use policy through a combination of in-house experts and independent consultants. The consultant engaged by LAND to provide technical assistance to the Ethiopian Mapping Agency (EMA) has submitted a draft proposal on the expansion of the geodetic network of the country based on CORS Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). EMA expressed its satisfaction with the project proposal, and the consultant is incorporating minor comments provided by LAND and EMA staff and writing a report on the progress on EMA's capacity building program supported by LAND.