Recording Tenure After Displacement- Innovative Solutions and Lessons from Informal Settlement Regularization

The event will gather expertise from various actors in informal tenure regularization and explore the techniques and methods used to record and safeguard property and tenure rights.

The discussions and connections established in this event will contribute to establishing a network of key partners help shape the solution for the LandLedger project. Funded by Norway’s flagship Humanitarian Innovation fund, LandLedger seeks to develop a process for securing peoples' rights to immovable property in displacement contexts where there are insufficient or non-accessible methods for recording these rights. The idea is to combine, repurpose or optimize both conventional and innovative approaches for land tenure recordation and establish a standard tenure database for displacement response.

The event will open with a keynote speaker that is an experienced practitioner in the field of informal tenure regularization, followed by a panel of experts across relevant sectors who will prompt discussion for the networking event. Discussion points will focus on:

1) The value for humanitarian and development organizations responding to displacement crises in having access to a land tenure records database to improve their response (targeting, risk-analysis, sustainability of solutions).
2) The factors to be considered in developing a recordation that is context adapted, fit-for-purpose, inclusive and time and cost efficient for identifying, recording and protecting property rights in crises context (post-conflict, disaster, including settlements at risk of displacement).
3)Best practices and alternative methods for tenure recordation used in urban/peri-urban regularization initiatives, with a focus on efforts to develop a system that serves the need of affected populations, rather than broaden the reach of conventional methods.
4) Lessons learned from current approaches and case studies.
5) Critiques of conventional processes of land formalization and how/ what kinds of barriers these processes pose to displaced populations in response and recovery.
6) The essential components to land tenure recordation for safeguarding rights and potential risks of bypassing time and cost consuming components for streamlining recordation in emergency contexts.

The discussion will be followed by a speed networking activity to facilitate conversation and exchange of ideas. A wide range of stakeholders will be engaged to participate in the event, including humanitarian and development actors, and members of academia, private sector, non-profit and civil society.

Participants will be encouraged to approach this discussion with a fresh perspective, considering unconventional processes and methodologies to shape an innovative solution to strengthen long-term security of tenure for affected populations and transform the response to displacement.