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After 12 years with LEI, one of the founders of the company, Chris Lunnay, is retiring from full time employment with LEI.
The Modernisation of Land Services and Institutional Strengthening Project, a component of the 2007 Millennium Challenge Corporation and the Government of Lesotho ‘Compact,’ was executed by LEI over a 40 month period - October 2009 and February 2013. LEI thank all our counterparts who contributed to making this project a success and wish the staff of the LAA all the best for a successful future.
The United Nations 2009 Global Report on Disaster Risk Reduction ranked the Philippines as the third most-disaster-prone country globally, as witnessed during two typhoons in 2009 which caused $1 billion of infrastructure damage in Metro Manila and loss of life.
LEI's Managing Director recently visited Romania as an adviser on the World Bank Implementation Support Mission of the CESAR Project ñ it looked more like a holiday destination?! Hidden among the beauty of Saxon fortified churches, treasured villages, and lush green pastures of Romania, lies the CESAR project with cadastral, public awareness and notary public issues hindering the completion of 0.7 million hectares of systematic registration.
LEI are currently working with the Ministry of Natural Resources & Environment (MNRE) in Samoa through World Bank funding to implement the 2009 Unit Titles Act. The Unit Titles Act, the first of its kind in Samoa, was introduced to promote investment in property development in Samoa. LEI are providing a small consultancy team to establish clear and comprehensive administrative mechanisms and regulations to support the enacted legislation.
There is increasing awareness that land reforms are not gender-neutral interventions. Issues around gender and land are complex. In Vanuatu access to resources is governed by both written and customary laws. In instances when conflicts exist between traditional norms and national laws, as is often the case when womenís rights are considered, local norms generally prevail and are enforced by community members. Research in Vanuatu shows that women are largely absent from both the formal and customary processes and women assert to know little about decision-making over land.
More than 1.5 billion people live in Asian cities and by 2030 at current urban growth rates, an additional 1.2 billion people will be living in cities in the region. The region is facing growing problems of access to safe drinking water, rapid population growth, reduced access to land for growing food, and climate change related problems of natural disasters and rising sea levels.
The Mama Graon Vanuatu Land Program, led by Program Director Chris Lunnay, made tremendous advances in strengthening customary governance in 2011. Actively working through program partners has been one of the key modalities towards effective progress.
Sustainable development through capacity building was a core implementation approach promoted through LEI’s management of the Philippines Land Administration and Management Project, Phase 2 (LAMP2). It is no coincidence that 1 year on, since the conclusion of the project in June 2010, we are proud to announce the first 9 students graduating from the first Diploma in Land Administration and Management at the Visayas State University (VSU).
LEI are Leading Land Governance & Land Program Research in Africa & Europe. LEI are undertaking a comparative review of various land reform activities in Sub-Saharan Africa for FAO and the World Bank. The review considers alternative technologies and evaluates the impact of land reform programs including the impact of land regularization and land use planning. We are specifically looking at land issues involved in informal settlements and initiatives to reverse urban informality.
LEI Contributes to FAO Development of Guidelines on Gender-Equitable Governance of Land Tenure.
After initial preparatory work involving intensive consultation the key Program steering committee has been formed and has established clear functions that will assist with seeing the Program progress. In line with Land Equity International’s commitment to the principles of aid effectiveness our approach to the Program is to maximise local partnerships and encourage national appointments to our adviser team.
In spirit of reconciliation, Land Equity International acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea, and community. We pay respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
