Implementation of the Communal Land Support (CLS) Sub-Activity

The Communal Land Support (CLS) Sub-Activity, together with the Community Based Rangeland and Livestock Management (CBRLM) Sub-Activity, comprised the Land Access and Management Activity, which was part of MCA-N’s Agriculture Project. The Sub-Activity was designed to support the mandate of the Ministry of Lands and Resettlement to implement the provisions of the Communal Land Reform Act 2002 which governs communal lands throughout Namibia. The Sub-Activity addressed a number of constraints with respect to land tenure and land administration that were preventing land resources and land rights from being put to their most productive and sustainable uses. Addressing these constraints contributed to achievement of the overall objective of the MCA-N Compact – the reduction of poverty through economic growth – and ensure that the related MCA-N Compact investments would have maximum impact.

The overall objective of the CLS Sub-Activity was to improve the administration and management of communal lands, with an emphasis on the Northern Communal Areas. The specific objectives of the CLS Sub-Activity were to: (1) improve the climate for investment in and use of communal lands for economic growth; (2) support Traditional Authorities (TAs), Communal Land Boards (CLBs), MLR and local residents in their ability to protect and manage commonage; and (3) increase landholders’ tenure security over their individually allocated properties and communities’ tenure security over the commonage.