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Effects of land titling in the control of land degradation

by Chandima Wickramasinghe

In a nation that has historically been predominantly agrarian, with little trade and industry, possession of land has come to assume an exalted status in the lives of Sri Lankan people, defining their social and economic aspirations.

Over the years, the stake to land has been expressed by different individuals and communities in varying forms and degrees, consequently dictating the use and abuse of the land resource.

Land tenure in Sri Lanka is largely state-dominated, with over 80 per cent of land under the ultimate ownership of the State. Of the entire expanse of 6.5 million ha, over two million is under agricultural use. Of this, 1.72 million ha (63%) is owned by the State, but farmed by private farmers under varying tenure arrangements.

The remainder consists of private-owned urban land (0.05 million ha); state-owned urban land (0.01 million ha) and 4.24 million ha of state-owned forests, sparsely used land and land reserved for the future use.

Among the environmental problems affecting Sri Lanka's future development, land degradation is cited the most critical of all. Land degradation is defined as the temporary or permanent lowering of the productive capacity of land through natural or anthropogenic processes.

Estimates state that 44 per cent of agricultural land in Sri Lanka is under some form of land degradation; about 30 per cent of land in Dry Zone is degraded and unsustainable for agriculture, while 30 per cent of tea lands in the wet zone are considered to be marginal and uneconomical for cultivation.

Although the apparent factors producing land degradation are natural hazards, and direct human-caused action such as poor soil conservation measures, inappropriate cultivation practices, deforestation, mismanaged irrigation, and overgrazing, the more important indirect, underlying causes that give rise to direct action cannot be overlooked.

They include socio-economic factors such as inappropriate tenurial patterns, poverty, landlessness, lack of alternatives for livelihood, and population pressure. Of all, land degradation has its roots most deeply embedded in the problem of tenure insecurity.

Tenure insecurity has often and again been cited a vital issue to be addressed in any major scale initiative to combat land degradation. Thus, it is pertinent, at this juncture, to reflect briefly on the various tenurial arrangements that have been, and are in practice in Sri Lanka.

Tenurial Practices

Land tenure may be described as the holding or possession of land. Since monarchical times, Sri Lanka has been witness to various tenurial practices shaped on the prevalent customs and traditions. There was the era when the King, empowered with the title of Bhupathi, or the Lord of the lands, held the trusteeship of all lands in the island.

On this prerogative, he granted individuals and communities the right to possess and use tracts of land under the imposition of services to be performed, or of shares of produce to be paid to him, or of executing the duties of public offices. Nindagam were lands gifted to his Chieftains by the King, while Viharagam and Devalagam or Temple lands were lands given to Buddhist and Hindu Temples.

An important traditional tenurial practice that prevailed in ancient Sri Lanka is the rajakariya or service tenure, where the King allocated land among his subjects for the performance of services to the Crown.

The citizens, albeit without a legal claim, enjoyed the right of possession and use of such lands, which, following a period of time, became their own through recognition of customary ownership. They could also exercise communal ownership over forested land where such resources were managed collectively through consensual means of controlling and allocating resource use.

The rights and privileges hitherto enjoyed by people though the traditional tenurial practices suffered a major blow with the introduction of the draconian Crown Lands Encroachment Ordinance by the British occupants in 1840. The Crown Lands Encroachment Ordinance decreed that all land, unoccupied and uncultivated and unaccountable, previously held by royalty, temples, local communities and individuals shall be vested in the British Crown.

Since customary ownership could not be legally established, the outcome was over 90 per cent of land in the island becoming the property of the Crown. Much of this land was subsequently transferred to British planters for coffee cultivation. Deprived of land to cultivate and to live in, immense hardships were to follow for the natives who became a glaring landless statistic in the demography of the once flourishing, self-sustaining agrarian society.

The state of landlessness continued in escalating severity through colonial and post independent years, asserting itself in the form of acute poverty, resource degradation and threadbare social security.In 1935, some respite was afforded the landless peasants through the Land Development Ordinance (LDO), which provided for the systematic development and alienation of State land.

Thousands of peasants were settled in the Dry Zone areas after rehabilitation of ancient irrigation schemes. The LDO provided a well formulated tenurial system based on permits and grants. Upon full development of the land by the recipient, the LDO provided for the conversion of the permit to grant.

The settlers were, however, barred from sale, subdivision, lease or mortgage of their property, and could name only one successor to the land. Introduced as a precautionary to anticipated fragmentation and ownership problems, these restrictions proved, however, to be counter effective, in that the occupants did not deem it in their best interest to develop and improve a land, which they were uncertain of possessing or using over long-term.

Land Titling vs. Land Degradation

Titling, as the word is expressed here, is the establishing of a legal right to the possession of real property. International experience in land titling indicates that a clear and secure freehold title to land is a prerequisite for land development, and a precondition for efficient use, trade investment, conservation and management of a country's land resources.

Thus, the potential for land titling to curtail land degradation in the long-term is overwhelming, especially in its capacity to grant secure ownership to owners of a land parcel and to those expressing a lesser interest to a land parcel.

 Registration of Title

The Government of Sri Lanka enacted the Registration of Title Act (1998) with the intent purpose of creating an efficient and effective land administration system based on registration of Title.

A step in this direction would not only cure the defects of Deed registration, but would also accrue a multitude of socio-economic and environmental benefits to individuals and society.

In Title registration, a land parcel is registered. Reinforced by the Cadastre, this system forms a comprehensive land information system relating to ownership rights to land, detailing the names and descriptions of the parcels, with maps and survey measurements, identity of the owners and other rights which appertain to the land. The Title is guaranteed by the State after registration.

In the unlikely event of fraud or error, the injured parties are compensated. The Land Settlement Department, in collaboration with the Survey Department, initiated a pilot project for registering Title in 1998 under the provisions of the Registration of Title Act.

The principle task of this project is to issue a Title Certificate guaranteed by the Government (in place of existing Deed) for each land parcel in the country after surveying and mapping, leading to the establishment of an efficient land management system and a computerized database, which in turn, would serve national development goals.

Titling activities are currently in progress in four Divisional Secretariat Divisions (DSDs), namely, Divulapitiya in Gampaha District, Balangoda in Ratnapura District, Udapalatha in Kandy District and Nikaweratiya in Kurunegala District. A further 17 DSDs have also been gazetted under the Act. Under this pilot project, a total of 8749 land parcels have been issued with Title certificates so far.

The titling process, in the long-term, is expected to catalyze improvement of land productivity in rural and urban areas; establish tenure security for farmers and other landholders; resolve uncertainties and ownership disputes; and empower farmers and other landholders to manage their land resources more effectively by providing a full range of market choices.

Fig 1: Effects of Land Titling in the control of land degradation. Benefits of land titling, where they play a role in the control of land degradation, will be discussed under the following components:

. Tenure security

. Access to credit

. Dispute resolution

. Land market liberalisation

. Availability of land information

Tenure: Insecurity vs Security Problems of Tenure Insecurity

Tenure insecurity, as described by Brandao & Feder (1995), is fundamentally a consequence of inadequate administration and of a legal framework incapable of determining boundaries and settling disputes. Past studies demonstrate that insecure tenurial rights to cultivation, and the threat of eviction, have deterred farmers from adopting soil conservation and land management measures.

Neglect of soil conservation and land management, however, contributes in no mean measure to erosion of soil, which is considered the most severe type of land degradation in Sri Lanka. An estimated one third of the land in the country is subject to erosion at present.

A case in point is the small holdings in the Upper Mahaweli Catchment which, due to complex and insecure land tenure systems that provide little incentives for soil conservation, are experiencing high rates of soil erosion, and reduced soil fertility and crop yields.Land granted on annual lease by the government fails to create the motivation required for farmers to adopt soil conservation practices as the benefits of investment in land conservation are realised only on the long term.

A Benchmark and socio-economic survey conducted by the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute (HARTI, unpublished) in Divulapitiya, Udapalatha and Gampola where Title registration programme is currently under way, reveals the varying and highly complex tenure patterns and their implication on land resources.

Sole ownership has been identified as the most common tenure condition in all three areas, but a significant proportion is also under other tenure categories of co-ownership, state land ownership under LDO and Land Reform Commission, traditional tenurial conditions such as Viharagam and Devalagam, private and company ownership, encroachments, and thattumaru and kattimaru systems.

Importantly, a substantial proportion of people managing sole-owner land were unable to provide legal proof of their ownership, except the uninterrupted and lengthy occupation of land over 10-40 years. Such circumstances had prevented them the opportunity of offering their land as collateral to obtain bank loans.

The HARTI study further reveals: insecurity, arising from unclear boundaries, lack of documentary proof of ownership, absence of road accesses etc. had adversely affected land productivity and social life. Some villagers had been compelled to abandon fully or partly cultivated land while others have not been able to obtain crop subsidies or credit allowances against their land due to ownership uncertainties.

Benefits of Establishing Tenure Security

The possession of a Title can be an important determinant of the degree of tenure security. One of the fundamental benefits in the issuing of a Title under the Title Registration system is the security that it confers on the registered owner of a land parcel as well as to the holders of registered lesser interests in a parcel.

The Registration of Title Act provides for the recognition of three types of Title ownerships based on documentary proof and period of tenure: a First Class Title of absolute ownership; a Second Class Title of ownership with the right of conversion to a First Class Title of absolute ownership at the end of ten years of uninterrupted and unchallenged possession; and (pending legislative amendments), a Title of Co-ownership to lands where the divided portions are below the prescribed minimum economic unit.

The State recognition and guarantee that these Titles accompany will enhance the confidence of both the landholders as well as prospective money lenders, and will also inspire occupants to develop and manage their land which they will now perceive as a resource of their own. Secure land tenure will also lengthen the Government's planning horizon for more sustainable land resource management.

The importance of tenure security is further driven home by Feder et.al., who, studying the impact of land policies on farm productivity in Thailand, showed that higher the degree of tenure security, higher was the demand for investment, especially for goods and services that become attached to the land.

Also, on the issue of threat of eviction, it has been found that lesser the probability of eviction, greater was the incentive for farmers to invest in land attached improvements and for the formal lending system to extend credit.

Credit for Investment: Non-availability vs Availability

Problems of Non-availability of Credit for Investment Productivity of land and sustenance of land resources is greatly determined by the landholders' capacity to invest in land management and development. Absence of such practices has drastic effects leading to loss of soil fertility, siltation and erosion.

It is well-known, however, that land management practices are usually labour-intensive and expensive. Given these conditions, the landless, resource-poor farmers have little alternative but to either adopt poor and unwise land management practices, or neglect their land wholly.

Cases of soil contamination have occurred in the past due to continuous application of high amounts of fertilizer as an alternative bid to restore soil fertility.

A great number of rural poor lack a clear Title to their properties. Hence, commercial banks are hesitant to consider such lands as adequate security for lending credit over long periods for land improvement investment. The only credit extended is usually agricultural loans which are to be recovered at the end of the cultivation season.

This induces farmers to opt for seasonal cash crops that could be managed with short-term credit, but promotes erosion, rather than tree crops that require long-term credit, nevertheless promotes land management. The inevitable outcome of this is further loss of productivity of land.

Benefits of Accessibility to Credit for Investment

A landholder's ability to access credit through Title registration will give him an opportunity to raise development capital that a person without formal Title often finds difficult, if not impossible, to obtain.

Landholders in all three Divisional Secretariat Divisions where Titles are being registered said that now that they had secure ownership, they intended to raise enough capital to develop their land.

Poor farmers and other landholders will also find means of applying long-term investment in land and housing improvement, multi-cropping, and sound agricultural practices which retards erosion and ensures sustained productivity.

Disputes: Increased Incidences vs Decreased Incidences

Problems of Increased Incidences of Disputes

The HARTI study reveals that land disputes were among the major factors dampening efficient and productive use of land resources in the three study areas.

Majority of disputes reported in the study area related to undefined boundaries, tenancy rights and road accesses. This is also a common problem in the agricultural sector, particularly in the wet zone, where there are rampant occurrences of disputes over inheritance of private land among smallholders.

Consequently, a high proportion of land in these areas remains not only uncultivated, but neglected as well. Litigation arising out of such disputes is not only time-consuming, but is also financial burden on land holders who are in dire need of finances for everyday living and for investing in their land.

Benefits of Decreased Incidences of Disputes

The land titling process incorporates means for resolution of disputes through Conciliation Boards appointed for each Grama Niladhari Division whereby, parties to disputes are assisted to come to amicable arrangements. The adjudication process too will help reduce potential disputes by clarifying boundaries and clearing ambiguities about rights over land.

Considering the unnecessary time and much needed money spent on litigation, and the social disharmony that disputes generate, it naturally follows that absence of disputes facilitates conducive conditions for land to be fully developed.

On the strength of the reliable cadastral framework, titling can be expected to reduce, perhaps even eliminate, disputes concerning parcel ownerships and boundaries.

Land Market: Restricted vs Liberalised

Problems of a Restricted Land Market

Restrictions imposed on the tenure of alienated lands have a stagnating effect on the land market leading to loss of productivity and under-use. Alienation of State land occurs through various grant schemes, on permits and leases with controls and restrictions on sale, lease, succession, subdivision, transfer and land use.

Yet, numerous have been the instances where these restrictions have been covertly violated resulting in different kinds of succession and informal land transactions, thus leading to complex land ownership and tenure arrangements. Such lands, by implication, become non-marketable properties, drawing little confidence from commercial banks and other lenders.

Thus, the limited potential of lands with restrictions to be used as collateral, and to offer a sense of ownership to the beneficiaries, has inhibited initiatives for land development. The PHRD (Policy & Human Resource Development) - funded land market study shows that land parcels with these restrictions were worth only about 50 per cent of otherwise comparative privately held lands without such restrictions.

Benefits of a Liberalised Land Market

A liberalized market is expected to expand choices and generate an attractive potential for those who can mobilize investment and resources for land development. In free market economies, it is believed that private freehold and leasehold land ownership brings forth the most efficient and productive use land as opposed to public freehold and leasehold land ownership.

The land market study also shows that there is a lower rate of land degradation on private land that is freely marketable.

With the possibility of a State certification of Title, private developers are spared the labour of making an exhaustive effort to confirm the security of their Title to lending institutions. The farmers will also be empowered to manage their land resources more effectively by providing a full range of market choices.

Information on Land: Non-availability vs Availability

Problems of Inadequate Information on Land

A comprehensive national database on land related information, incorporating environmental, social, economic and physical factors impinging on land, is currently not available, and hence made use of, in vital national policy and decision-making processes.

As the environment, and hence, land conservation, is a cross cutting issue, the lack of this facility has implications on making the best decisions affecting various sectors, and on striking a balance between development and conservation.

Benefits of a Land Information System

The titling process is designed to generate and maintain an array of up to date and reliable land data for use in administrative purposes, preparation of land use policies, urban and rural planning, planning of major development projects, and in the conservation and management of natural resources.

The potential to create a comprehensive data bank on land information is strong, as field teams are required to visit each and every land parcel in the country as part of the titling process. Such information will enable policy makers and other parties to base sound decisions, make choices, and propose alternatives with the interest of land conservation.

International Assistance for Title Registration in Sri Lanka

This pilot project which commenced in 1998 has been exclusively financed by the Government of Sri Lanka. In order to enhance the efficacy and efficiency of this project, the International Development Association (IDA) has agreed to fund a three-year learning and innovative project referred to as the Sri Lanka Land Titling and Related Services Project (SLLTRSP) to be implemented in some selected areas.

As described in the project Implementation Plan, its long term objective is to support the improvement of socio-economic and environmental conditions of the people by increasing the economic productivity of land resources. Productivity gains from long-term implementation of titling is expected to facilitate environmental management, including the combat of the crucial problem of land degradation.

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