Large-scale land acquisitions in Zambia: Evidence to inform policy

Abstract

Land in Zambia plays a vital role in sustaining livelihoods, ensuring food security and reducing poverty. If people are not able to access land (including communal interests, such as lands for grazing or access to water resources), they will be unable to secure rights over their land, participate in decisions over land that they occupy or use, or undertake diverse activities that improve their livelihoods, such as farming and fishing. This can contribute to increased poverty levels and may lead to food insecurity. Promoting good land governance in the process of allocating land for development and managing the different interests and competing claims to land is essential in protecting the livelihoods of many Zambians who depend on land.