A Fair Share for Women: Toward More Equitable Land Compensation and Resettlement in Tanzania and Mozambique

March 2018
World Resources Institute

Women disproportionately bear the negative impacts of large-scale land investments (in agribusiness, extractives, logging) in the global South. Lack of formal land rights and their subordinate role in the household and community lead to their marginalization in decision-making processes and the bypassing of them in the distribution of compensation and the planning and implementation of resettlement.  In Tanzania and Mozambique, laws require community consultations and the payment of compensation to affected local communities, but they fail to adequately account for women’s concerns and perspectives. There are many gaps in the legal frameworks. Women are underrepresented in decision-making bodies, and laws lack mechanisms to ensure meaningful participation in community consultation and consent processes.