Land is the most important source of livelihood for most Rwandans, where 80% of the whole population is dependent on land, making land remain the base of Rwanda's economy, hence, an important link to the politics of the country. (It is believed that, the political economy of land in Rwanda contributed to socio-political tensions, leading to the 1994 genocide, due to the effects of resource capture by elite groups and landlessness in the economic collapse prior to 1994, in the context of structural land scarcity).
Land-related problems in Rwanda are multiple and varied. Some originate from the morphology of the land, while others are rooted in social demographic and social economic situations as well as deficient implementation of policies, laws and regulations related to land. Rwanda being a densely populated and hilly country; there are serious problems concerning the scarcity of land, the settlement and the environmental protection. Soil erosion has worsened due to continuous and uncontrolled cultivation, exploitation of marginal land that is unsuitable for agriculture, and the lack of reliable soil conservation methods. The 1994 genocide in Rwanda made the land scarcity problem even more complicated, because it left more households headed by widows who often have difficulties to manage lands let by their deceased husbands. Furthermore Genocide has also created a situation of multiple claims of same land, because of different waves of refugees (1959, 1973, and 1994).
The seriousness of the land scarcity in Rwanda is seen from the fact that over 70% of Rwandans own less than 1 hectare land and that the majority of these are in the rural areas depending on subsistence agriculture for their livelihood. Therefore natural resources management is among the crucial areas in the Rwanda Economic Development Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS), by identifying land as a main engine for the country development, both economically and politically.
To intervene in these challenges, the Government of Rwanda made the design of land reform a priority area, and is implementing a land reform through the Land Tenure Regularization Program (LTRP), which started under pilot program in 2007, was scaled-up nation-wide in 2009 and is expected to be completed by end of 2013. The Rwanda LTRP program is believed, to be the most thoroughly designed and ambitious of its nature in Africa, in terms of addressing land-related conflicts and ending gender discrimination in land access and provide a framework for optimum land use as a key factor to contribute to sustainable peace and economic development in the country.
However, given that, in Rwanda, over 80% of the land related disputes arise from community and family levels, of which 90% affect vulnerable groups, especially women as the main users of land for their livelihood, there is a need to monitor and document the legal rights of these vulnerable groups during the implementation of the LTRP, and this is one of the main area that LandNet Rwanda Chapter has focused on since the beginning of the LTRP process, and will continue to do so as a support to both these vulnerable groups and the ongoing land reform process.
As the land reform implementation progresses, there is a need to document challenges especially those that affect vulnerable groups including women as the majority land users, for policy change where necessary. To address this complex situation in the society sustainably and peacefully LandNet Rwanda Chapter believes that it requires a multi-stakeholders approach of the state and civil society and its member organizations are committed to work together and contribute towards equitable and sustainable land reform in Rwanda.