In this course we consider and debate the multiple and competing claims on land by various actors (e.g., governments, private sector, communities, non-human actors), how these claims are framed, and how they can be understood.
Since the start of the global land rush in 2010, land governance in both the Global South and North is increasingly characterized by multiple pressures and competing claims, balancing economic growth, environmental protection and social justice. Complex and interrelated crises, at local and global level, threaten development achievements and challenge the resilience of people and governance agents. Themes central to land governance have been shifting across the globe: Land and housing rights are increasingly insecure for marginalized groups, climate change affects vulnerable people’s ability to build livelihoods from their land, increasing numbers of people are displaced due to conflict, violence, political or economic instability, and despite many policy efforts, women experience inequality when it comes to their rights to land and resources. In recent times the Global North is reneging on its efforts to curb climate change, its efforts to (financially) support the Global South, and anti-immigration voices are getting stronger. Democracies and human rights are under pressure, across the globe. Meanwhile, activists have started to advocate for giving (land) rights to nature, being inspired by decoloniality and post-human approaches, and sometimes working successfully with powerful nature conservation lobbies. In a connected world, such global shifts have impact at local levels, creating conditions for competing claims on land. In this often grim and contested reality, how can we, as academics, practitioners, CSO’s and policy makers, as human beings, position ourselves in debates on fair transitions and competing claims on land; and how can we work towards more socially just, and inclusive and sustainable forms of land governance?
In this course we consider and debate the multiple and competing claims of various actors (e.g. governments, private sector, communities, non-human actors) on land, how these are framed, and how they can be understood. Claims to land are typically legitimized with references to the (envisioned) purposes of land, such as agriculture, habitation, conservation, and also to so-called non-economic and non-human demands. To make matters more complex, claims generally overlap in time, being situated in the past and present, while there is also an urgent need to consider future generations (and their claims). Debates as how to govern land amidst such competing claims is very much informed by the positionality of the actors. In this course we aim to provide a space to explore these complexities, teaching participants to recognize land right practices and legal approaches whilst at the same time offering methods to develop realistic and fair land governance.
The course is organized by the Netherlands Academy for Land Governance (LANDac), as part of the knowledge management activities of the LAND-at-scale program, in collaboration with the IOS Fair Transitions platform (Institutions for Open Societies). LANDac is a network of organizations interested in how land governance may contribute to sustainable and inclusive development. The LAND-at-scale program is a land governance support program for developing countries supported by RVO (Netherlands Enterprise Agency) with the aim to contribute to fair and just tenure security and access to land and natural resources for all. The LANDac Annual Conference forms part of the Summer School program.
Core faculty:
A wide range of academics, both from the Global South and North, will present interactive lectures on their field of expertise.
The course is designed for Master’s students, PhD students, academics; as well as for practitioners from development organizations, projects and governments who are interested, or work, in the fields of land governance, development studies, natural resource management, planning, human rights and conflict studies.
The course provides participants with thorough knowledge of current problems as well as academic and policy debates related to the complex claims on land. Participants also build understanding of practical knowledge and possible solutions. The guiding question is how to manage the many competing claims and views on land and come to a well-considered land governance plan. Participants will prepare a land-use plan/strategy that takes into account the complexities and pluralities of seeing and using land.
Topics are discussed in interactive lectures, and applied in an assignment. The design of the course allows for participants to closely work together with professionals, experts and fellow students from a variety of backgrounds. Topics are discussed from a range of perspectives and disciplines, with contributions from Dutch and international academics.
The summer school will take place in-person. The LANDac Annual Conference 2025 is an integral part of the Summer School program. We encourage the Summer School students to present their current work in one of the sessions during this event (see the LANDac conference page for more information (call for sessions opens from 27 January))
Mo-Fri from 10.00 - 17.00
Participants of the Summer School will be awarded with a ‘certificate of participation’, equivalent to 3 ECTS.
The program includes the LANDac conference taking place 2-4 July 2025.
The course fee includes the fee for the LANDac Annual Conference 2025. There are no scholarships available for this course.