Supporting liveable climate sensitive cities through integrated urban land management
Renée Chartres, our Senior Land and Legal Specialist, shares her thoughts on urban land management and its many linkages with climate and other critical socio-political issues.
Piloting Resilience: Insights from the VARS Project in Vanuatu’s Urban Recovery
On 17th December 2024 around midday, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck just 30 km away from Vanuatu’s capital city of Port Vila. No stranger to disasters, the nation has weathered three major cyclones in 2023 alone. But recovery from this impact has felt a little different. 14 people tragically lost their lives, and an estimated […]
Land is the Link: Climate, Gender, Sustainable Change and the Future of Development
The world of land tenure and administration is also constantly evolving, influenced by political change, climate disruption, and technological evolution. Global official development assistance (ODA) fell in 2024 for the first time in five years, dropping by 7.1% as donor countries shifted their priorities inward and scaled back commitments. Although some countries – like Korea, […]
Building Resilience in Vanuatu: An Interview with Nik Regenvanu on Affordable Housing and Land Development Post-Disaster
In this interview, Nik Regenvanu, LEI’s Team Leader of the Vanuatu Affordable and Resilient Settlements (VARS) project, shares insights into his work addressing housing and land tenure challenges in Port Vila. With a background in banking, finance, and governance across the Pacific, Nik discusses the progress of the VARS project, its role in tackling affordable housing and secure land tenure, and the impact of the December 2024 earthquake on the region. He highlights the importance of collaborative efforts between the government, private sector, and communities in creating sustainable and resilient settlements for the future. Nik also discusses the critical role of financial institutions in facilitating affordable housing development, the need for long-term resilience planning, and his vision for Vanuatu’s urban growth beyond the immediate recovery efforts. The VARS project, supported by the World Bank and Vanuatu’s government, is seen as a potential model for similar initiatives across the Pacific, contributing to the region’s long-term stability and development.
Bringing Gender to the Forefront in Land Registration: Reflections from Lineo Rakaibe
Lineo Rakaibe is a gender expert working with LEI in Lesotho. She writes from her previous experience as a District Gender Officer under the Ministry of Gender, Youth and Social Development, and more recently as a Senior Gender and Social Inclusion Expert on the Land and Gender consultancy, part of the Market Driven Irrigated Horticulture (MDIH) project, which falls under the Millenium Challenge Corporation Lesotho Compact.
2025 Message from the MD: Happy New Year!
If 2024 was a day out of the office, it would have been to a theme park. We took many rides (a couple too many) on the roller coaster with tender proposals and travel, and not enough time at the picnic tables to exchange and connect. The unpredictability and sometime rapid pace of work in […]
Message from the Managing Director
It has been a super productive and exciting time here at LEI over the past six months with tenders, international conferences and bigger still, project mobilisations. We won’t be enjoying long summer holidays like our northern partners but aiming for some crisp short winter-breaks down-under instead. The energy, the elation and warm hugs were really […]
Project Update – Vanuatu Affordable and Resilient Settlements (VARS) Project
No country has yet achieved middle-income status without urbanising (World, Bank, 2012). Yet governments around the world are racing to keep pace with the infrastructure demands of rapid urbanisation. Like many cities around the world, Port Vila is facing an affordable housing shortage – with over 1000ha of new serviced land needed by 2030 to meet requirements, and an estimated 80% of city residents already suffering from rental stress. The Vanuatu Affordable and Resilient Settlements (VARS) project is seeking to help grow government and developer capacity to address the affordable housing and resilient infrastructure shortage.
PSP Assists Papua Province to develop a REDD+ Strategy and Action Plan
It creates a financial value for forest carbon, incentivising forest protection rather than forest destruction. This is critical given the mitigation potential of REDD+ is in the realm of 5 gigatons of carbon per year, coming behind only the energy sector in terms of mitigation potential. Indonesia released its REDD+ National Strategy in 2012, with supporting […]
Putting a Land Lens to Renewable Energy Investments in Bangladesh
Land Equity International (LEI) is privileged to be awarded a World Bank consultancy to enhance renewable energy investments and access to land in Bangladesh. The activity is funded by the Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPFIAF) of the World Bank.
