UN Habitat & GLTN: Improving tenure security on customary lands in Uganda

Uganda has one of the fastest growing populations in the world. Currently it is at 40 million people, and over 75% of Ugandans live in rural areas. Over 80% of this rural population live on customary land - and most of this land is undocumented and unmapped.

In 2016 UN-Habitat and the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN) partnered with the Government of Uganda and other partners to implement a project to improve land tenure security for rural households particularly women, youth and vulnerable groups in select areas in Uganda. Adjumani was one of three locations chosen for this.

With participatory approaches, GLTN introduced the use and application of low-cost geo-spatial technologies and tools. It has revolutionised access to land mapping and enumeration services in three pilot areas in Uganda. In the past it cost upwards of USD $600 to have one plot accurately mapped and land rights registered. These innovative approaches and tools bring the process cost down to between USD $20 to $40. This is a significant price drop in a country where so little of the land has been formally mapped and registered.



Partners and statistics:

Butaleja District Project:

Total number of Certificates of Customary Ownership issued: 512

Total number of beneficiaries: 2,324

This project was funded by Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Uganda and was implemented in partnership with Uganda Community Based Association For Women & Children Welfare (UCOBAC), Ministry of Lands Housing and Urban Development (MLHUD), Justice Law and Order Sector (JLOS) and Butalejja Local Government.

Adjumani District Statistics

Total number of Certificates of Customary Ownership Issued: 835

Total number of beneficiaries: 2772

This project was funded through GLTN Phase II Programme Basket Funding, the donors include the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. It was implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Lands Housing and Urban Development (MLHUD) and Adjumani Local Government.

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