Untying the Land Knot

Access to well-secured, well-zoned and well-serviced land is a crucial condition for industrial and commercial investment. In many developing countries, where the land market remains underdeveloped and the land governance framework is weak, systemic policy and institutional reforms are needed to bring security, efficiency and transparency to the process of business access to land. Land policy reform is challenging, politically, institutionally and technically. It must balance business, social and environmental imperatives to succeed. Empirical evidence suggests that a pragmatic approach taking one step at a time with prioritized targets while keeping the long-term objectives in sight helps mitigate risks, speed up the investment process, and bring economic benefits to broad population. These successful first steps can also prepare the path for more comprehensive reforms.