In an earlier blog (Land Policies in Africa should be inclusive and promote development), I mentioned that Eastern Africa, through the East African Community (EAC), needs to domesticate/mainstream the commitments of the African Union (AU) Declaration on Land Issues and Challenges (based on the Framework and Guidelines on Land Policy in Africa) in order to share lessons and ensure a regional convergence in the implementation of land policies in Eastern Africa.

Workshop aligns well with objective 6 of the Continental Land Policy Initiative's Strategic Plan

The effective implementation of the AU Declaration in Africa will rely on national and regional technical capacity to drive implementation. In this regard, objective 6 of the Continental Land Policy Initiative's Five-year strategic plan identifies the ''enhancement of capacity and skills in support of land policy development and implementation if Africa" as a key element.

Key land use activities in African Union Member States depend on the correct assessment of the value of land under consideration. This is an area which calls for highly specialized skills in valuation. Some of the mundane tasks that may require the skills of valuers at country level include valuations for compulsory acquisition and compensation which should go hand-in-hand with the emerging phenomenon of large-scale land-based investments in Africa. The land market too frequently calls for skills of valuers where land owners wish to use their properties as collateral with lending institutions. The scope for valuers in Africa is wide and not yet fully exploited. It is important that valuers within the continent keep abreast with emerging global instruments, policies, laws, trends and technology. Valuers too should constantly exchange experiences within and between Member States. This would serve the continent well.

Details of workshop

To promote the capacity of valuers within Eastern Africa, OSLO (Offering Sustainable Land-Use Options) Consortium, with funding by the Land Policy Initiative (LPI), the Global Mechanism (GM) of the Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the Economics of Land Degradation (ELD) Initiative, have organized a four (4) day workshop within the region. The workshop will be hosted by the Government of Rwanda under the auspices of Rwanda Natural Resources Authority (RNRA). The details are as below:-

Theme: Economic Valuation of Land and Ecosystem Services

Venue: Lemigo Hotel, Kigali, Rwanda

Participants: Government officials, practitioners, public and private investors, professionals, land managers and land valuers.

Attendance: By invitation

For enquiries on invitation: See www.capacitybuildingOSLO.com

Dates:         10-13 December 2012

What's unique with workshop?

This workshop is unique in that it will among other things focus on the Economic Valuation of Land (EVL) approach which consists of 'integrating the assessment and valuation of ecosystems services in policy and planning processes by offering concrete options for more responsible land use allocations based on quantifying the total social and economic value of ecosystems, and reducing the risks associated with ecosystem-smart policies and investments' (www.capacitybuildingOSLO.com). This is makes this workshop quite unique since this is an area that may be of interest to many government and practising valuers and also investors in East Africa. Case examples on valuation from some of the regional countries will also be presented for lesson learning. This makes the workshop very good value.

This workshop acts as a good kick off to regional capacity building components for land professionals, practitioners and investors within Eastern Africa and helps in walking the road to fulfilling the commitments under the African Union Declaration on land issues and Challenges being coordinated by the Continental Land Policy Initiative Secretariat.