Land Policy Brief: Key findings from survey on access to land, tenure security & land conflicts in Timor-Leste

Continued stability and future development in Timor-Leste are dependent on establishing the necessary legal and administrative mechanisms for providing access to land, land tenure security, as well as preventing and addressing land-related conflict. The survey interviewed representatives of 1,152 households between 3 and 8 of September 2016 in Ainaro, Ermera, and the urban area of Dili and was conducted by The Asia Foundation and the Van Vollenhoven Institute. The survey provides new and relevant evidence for policymakers to ground their decisions on, both with the current draft of Land Law Package, and/or other land-related legislation.

Information such as the very high number of people that currently live without tenure security, the difficulty of households in accessing land, the structural discrimination against women in accessing land were not new findings, but are now better quantified, giving policymakers more guidance about what problems need to be addressed and how. In addition, the survey provides new information on the possible effects of current draft land legislation and areas where the current draft laws can be modified. This policy brief outlines the key findings from the survey.

Read more about the project here.