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SUDAN

JANUARY 2008 This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development. It was prepared by ARD, Inc.

SUDAN CUSTOMARY LAND TENURE PROGRAM: SOUTHERN KORDOFAN AND BLUE NILE QUARTERLY REPORT (1 OCTOBER-31 DECEMBER 2007)

Sudan Customary Land Tenure Program (SCLTP) Task Order under the Decentralization and Democratic Local Governance IQC USAID Contract No. DFD-I-00-05-00121-00 Implemented by: ARD DDLG IQC Consortium 159 Bank Street, Suite 300 Burlington, VT 05401 USA Tel: (802) 658-3890 Fax: (802) 658-4247 Email: [email protected] ARD Contact: Michael Roth, Senior Technical Advisor/Manager [email protected]

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SUDAN CUSTOMARY LAND TENURE PROGRAM: SOUTHERN KORDOFAN AND BLUE NILE QUARTERLY REPORT (1 OCTOBER – 31 DECEMBER 2007)

JANUARY 2008 DISCLAIMER

The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government.

Photo: Sudan CLTP, ARD Inc.

Blue Nile, Kurmuk County, Yabous: Elders and community members meet to identify customary boundaries of Community Land Area and draw a sketch map. Once drawn, the sketch map is discussed with adjacent communities to reach initial agreement about the formation of a Boundary Committee to walk and plot the boundary. (December, 2007)

CONTENTS

I.0 SCLTP Background .......................................................................................1

2.0 Summary of Quarterly Achievements .........................................................2

3.0 Program Accomplishments During the Quarter ........................................4 IR 1: COMMUNITIES CONSTRUCTIVELY ENGAGED IN ELABORATING THEIR

CUSTOMARY LAND TENURES.....................................................................................4 Efforts to Garner Traditional Leaders’ Support..............................................4 Endorsements of Community Land Areas in Blue Nile..................................5 Formation of Interim Community Land Councils ...........................................5 Dispute Resolution between Communities Sharing Boundaries ...................6 Enhancing Local Capacity .............................................................................6 Land and Women...........................................................................................7

IR 2: CUSTOMARY LAND TENURE INTEGRATED INTO STATES’ LAND ADMINISTRATION .....8 4.0 SCLTP Data Summary ..................................................................................9

5.0 Problems, Constraints, and Requests for Assistance............................12

6.0 Planned Activities in Upcoming Quarter ..................................................13

7.0 Lessons Learned ........................................................................................14

Appendix A: Short-Term Technical Assistance Schedule ..........................155

Sudan Customary Land Tenure Program (SCLTP) FY08 Q1 Quarterly Report i

I.0 SCLTP BACKGROUND ARD, Inc. signed a Task Order with USAID in May 2006 to provide technical assistance and material support for the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) with respect to the strengthening of customary land tenure in two states, Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan, lying to the north of boundary seperating South Sudan from greater Sudan. This initiative supports the implementation of the framework established by the CPA, the Interim National Constitution (INC), and the state constitutions of both Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan The USAID Sudan Customary Land Tenure Program has two components- Component 1, Community Demarcation of Customary Land and Capacity Building for Community Land Administration Institutions Supported; and Component 2, State-Level Support for Enhancement of Land Tenure Security. In the first component, the program will work with communities to record their customary land ownership boundaries, as a step toward giving their lands the same protection as privately held lands elsewhere in Sudan. Second, the USAID SCLTP will provide support and technical assistance for land policy and law reform at the state level. The SCLTP is managed for results by ARD using a Project Management Plan approved by USAID in September 2007. This report is against benchmarks and targets set in that plan. The previous quarterly report for FY07 Q4 was approved by USAID in November 2007.

Sudan Customary Land Tenure Program (SCLTP) FY08 Q1 Quarterly Report 1

2.0 SUMMARY OF QUARTERLY ACHIEVEMENTS Despite the crisis at the beginning of the quarter caused by the withdrawal of SPLM Ministers and Advisers from the Government of National Unity, which continued until the end of the 2007, the program enjoyed some success. Recording community land claims was taken to a new level and some progress under the policy component was finessed after the completion, approval and implementation of a results focused Performance Monitoring Plan. A low cost Community Land Area Boundary Presentation Tool (BPT), Community Land Area boundaries, plotted from GPS readings, overlaid onto cached Google Earth satellite images which are then projected onto a large screen (as seen in the photograph), was introduced as an integral part of the Community Land Area endorsement process. The tool uses freeware to construct these images, the critical data for which is contained in very small files that can be easily stored on any computer. A GIS/GPS consultant modified the tool design and trained program staff and field teams to utilize the tool effectively even in communities living in remote hamlets and villages without electricity.

Photo: Sudan CLTP, ARD Inc

Blue Nile, Kurmuk County: Night time community endorsement meeting in Al Hammer Community Land Area. (November, 2007)

Two trial endorsement meetings using the BPT were held in Blue Nile with exceptionally good results in terms of garnering community interest and support for the process of adjudicating boundaries of community domains. The process previously used for boundary endorsements was to laboriously read out meets and bounds descriptions from Boundary Book; a process that sorely tested the attention spans and linguist skills of community members of all ages. The BPT makes the process visual and allows for immediate marking and electronic storage of modified or disputed sections of a boundary that can be used later to discuss boundary adjustments with adjacent communities During the reporting period the program also facilitated for the first time the formation of interim steering committees, called Interim Community Land Councils, mandated by their communities to work with program staff to strategies about advance of community land claims through lobbying governments and implementing proactive land management. The first two Interim CLC ever formed are broadly representative of age cohorts and genders of landowners. Incorporation of these bodies to be able to hold legal title on behalf of communities awaits their identification of suitable statutory or administrative models.

2 Sudan Customary Land Tenure Program (SCLTP) FY08 Q1 Quarterly Report

Field teams in both states used community sensitization and awareness raising to solicit greater program buy-in from traditional leaders. A well attended two-day workshop in Julud, Dilling County in Southern Kordofan, brought together representatives of seven different communities for exposure to the program, and resulted in increased traditional authorities support for the project and paved a way for closer and better defined cooperation inside beneficiary communities. Although mobilization activities in the some of these same communities had been conducted under the pilot project, failure to do a follow-up demarcation soon after created a loss of momentum between initially held meetings in 2005 and 2006 and renewed engagement.


3.0 PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS DURING THE QUARTER

IR 1: COMMUNITIES CONSTRUCTIVELY ENGAGED IN ELABORATING THEIR CUSTOMARY LAND TENURES

Efforts to Garner Traditional Leaders’ Support Sensitization in Blue Nile continued in the reporting period, with sixteen (16) consultation meetings held with community representatives, Omdahs and Sheikks, in October and November 2007 in Kurmuk Locality/County. These meetings attracted over 320 people, including women and youth. The main purpose of these consultations was to accumulate first-hand information about existing traditional land management systems and responsibilities of traditional leaders in assigning land. These outputs of these meetings, recorded on a customized, program designed form, feed the program with valuable guidance for appropriately accommodating local customs and needs in establishing Community Land Councils. These meetings also revealed that a number of disputes among communities need to be tackled before reaching final boundary agreements, although so far disputes in Blue Nile are not as publicly evident as those in Southern Kordofan. Program staff reported on the positive involvement of Locality/County authorities in mediating the disputes, thus providing direct support for the program. In an ongoing effort to solicit the support and cooperation of traditional leaders in Southern Kordofan, a two-day workshop was conducted in Julud on 26-27 November 2007, in the presence of 43 Mekks, Boundary Committee chairpersons, and locality administrators representing ten (10) communities from Western Jebel in Dilling Locality/County and the SPLA Front 5 Commander. The purpose of this type of workshop is to discuss future cooperation


Consultations with community and Traditional Authorities in Al Zariba, Kurmuk County, Blue Nile State.


between communities and SCLTP, identify priorities, and open space for closer coordination between traditional leaders, Community Boundary Committees, and other community members. The traditional leaders stressed the importance of sensitizing state level government administrators to facilitate activities at community level, as well as enactment of laws entrenching customary land rights. As an indication of how sensitive negotiations about land are in Southern Kordofan, the workshop participants suggested that the presence of police and the army was required during community meetings in order to maintain ‘law and order’ during proceedings. One of the immediate positive outcomes of the workshop with traditional leaders in Julud was invitation from the Fanda Mekk on behalf of his community to demarcate Fanda CLA. The Fanda live northwest of Dilling town, Dilling Locality, where extensive community sensitization on land issues was undertaken by the USAID funded PASA, USDA Customary Land Security Project during 2006. In response to the Governor’s express opposition to SCLTP continuing with demarcation in Southern Kordofan, the program is proceeding cautiously and has requested Fanda community to notify the Governor of its intention to retain the SCLTP to help it demarcate its community land area and to start negotiations and reach boundary agreements with adjacent communities in preparation for demarcation. Once this is complete, the program will help Fanda community to do demarcation. This approach will serve as a model for other communities.

Endorsements of Community Land Areas in Blue Nile The previously demarcated boundaries of eight Community Land Areas have been endorsed during November and December covering the area of over 1,900 km² West of Kurmuk town in Kurmuk County. Communities which have successfully carried out the process of agreeing around their traditional boundaries internally and with other communities, from North to South, are Tournasi, Keli, Al Zariba, Mofu, Mansur, Abu Nazir, and Jerdan. Completion of this phase means that each community has had a meeting with large representation of its members to agree on and endorse all sections of boundaries with adjacent communities or the entire perimeter of their Community Land Area boundaries. This also means that these same communities are now ready to form Community Land Councils, a significant step forward in the protection of customary land rights. These bodies will be well placed to exert pressure on governments to implement policies and legislation accommodate their customary land rights. Although community endorsement meeting were also held in another community, Al Hammer, covering the area of 135 km², about six kilometers of the CLA perimeter remain disputed by adjacent community and the endorsement process has not been completed. Community interest in these meetings are high, up to fifty percent of approximated number of all residents in a community attend these meetings in most instances.

Formation of Interim Community Land Councils Two Interim Community Land Councils were formed in the reporting period, in Kurmuk CLA and Al Zagrib CLA, in Kurmuk County, Blue Nile State. This is a major achievement for the program. The process used for the mandating and selecting the members of these steering committees was guided by notes drawn up by the new State Land Adviser and training given to the field team who undertook the consultations. These trials of this material and approach was carefully monitored and the subsequent evaluation used to refine the guidelines further.


The Scope of Work for these bodies, endorsed by the landowners of these CLA who attended these consultations, is to undertake to following responsibilities.

1. To be the interim representative of the community in all matters pertaining to the Community Land Area;

2. To identify and recommend a form of incorporation for the substantive Community Land Council that will be effective (have juristic personality so as to be able to hold title) under government law and acceptable under customary law.

3. To set out the title, composition, membership and manner of appointment of members of the Substantive CLC;

4. To set out and describe in writing, after consultation, the powers and responsibilities of a substantive Community Land Council as prescribed by custom.

Dispute Resolution between Communities Sharing Boundaries Apart from reservations expressed by the Governor, demarcation of Community Land Areas in Southern Kordofan, has been slow going due to a number of disagreements encountered between communities. It is often the case that communities initially and in principle agree around shared boundaries leaving only small sections contested. Nevertheless, the changing circumstances on the ground and complicated political situation in the area often result in the suspension of demarcation arrangements and schedules. Instead of continuing with demarcation of customary land areas in Rashad and Dilling Counties, in Southern Kordofan, field teams were focusing on discussions about the causes of community disputes over Community Land Area boundaries posing the primary obstacle in advancing community capacity to manage land. These discussions are addressing issues the program encountered during June and July 2007, when demarcation had to cease. As reported by international and national organizations, overall security situation in Southern Kordofan has been deteriorating for some time. Localized conflicts such as those between farmers and nomads in the Lagawa area, SK, are ongoing with new problems arising from returnees trying to gain access to land and greater influx of refugees from Darfur. Seasonal nomad movements normally result in increased level of tensions and insecurity in the program area. A number of meetings to resolve disputes among adjacent communities were held during November, for example, traditional and administrative leaders from Karko, Shifir, and Mandal communities met on 4 November to discuss the way forward in sorting out their disagreement over common boundaries. A neutral body was formed with seven (7) community leaders appointed who will serve as mediators between the parties in dispute, thus facilitating demarcation of the Karko CLA. The meeting was a follow-up to demarcation activity which started in June this year when boundaries between three communities were successfully demarcated.

Enhancing Local Capacity Trainings provided in October and November in both states resulted in multiple benefits since skills of existing Sudanese contractors have expanded, the program secured larger pool of contractors for the coming period, and the number of civil servants included in the training may ensure future utilization of program methodology by government agencies. The program used Sudanese trainers, some of whom have been with the program for over two years, with extensive experience in community sensitization and demarcation. The training of Kauda-based field contractors held from 24 to 27 October 2007 in Southern Kordofan, on demarcation of community land boundaries and improvement of skills to manage and handle mapping data, involved actual demarcation work with recording waypoints on hand held GPS units. The quality of


work was later assessed by mapping consultants who then trained both trainees and trainers to refine the methodology using the lessons learned from both the CLSP pilot and the current program. Three day community endorsement training was conducted in Kurmuk, Blue Nile, from 26 to 29 November 2007, with sixteen (16) field contractors participating. The training included both theoretical and practical segments. Once again, the practical experience was shared by the four local contractors focusing on community mobilization, Boundary Committee formation, demarcation, community endorsement of Community Land Areas. Training field contractors in community sensitization and endorsement of customary land areas includes awareness raising about Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), the Interim National Constitution (INC), and state constitutions with regards to securing customary land rights. Given the sensitive nature of land issues in Sudan, and the desire to keep public and community expectations within the legislative framework provided in the CPA, INC, and state constitutions, this is of particular importance.


Traditionally, women are not consulted when land ‘business’ is discussed, nevertheless, communities are more prone to making exceptions to the rule, if role of women in agriculture is explained.

Land and Women Results have been achieved following persistent and gradual sensitization of program staff in recognizing importance and value of mobilizing women to take part in the program’s activities and in ongoing discussions in beneficiary communities. The strategy of inclusion of women and their increased participation as stakeholders in all stages of the program was guided with the following principles indicating greater need for women

• representation;

• participation; and

• engagement.

For the first time since the program has been launched, participation of and involvement of women has considerably increased in both contractual arrangements and in community activities. Although the issue requires sensitivity and tact, it is encouraging that women responded to these calls and little antagonism has been spotted on the part of community and its representatives. The attention given to encouraging greater numbers of women to take part in community meetings and has already started to yield tangible results. Over 500 women participated in community endorsement meetings and in Community Land Council formation meetings in the reporting period, and women representation has been secured on both of the interim CLCs formed in this quarter.


IR 2: CUSTOMARY LAND TENURE INTEGRATED INTO STATES’ LAND ADMINISTRATION SCLTP developed a strong partnership with the Program Director of the USAID funded USDA PASA Technical Assistance to Blue Nile and South Kordofan State Land Commissions Program during the reporting period. The two programs worked together towards facilitating the formation of interim consultation groups in both states to prepare policy advice to government about land legislation and constituting State Land Commission (SLC). In May 2007, both programs approached the then State Governments to have Technical Work Groups established in both transitional states. As USAID/PASA program ceased operating recently and the SCLTP is currently the only program in both states focusing on land issues. The program continues to try and engage in dialogue with state governments. Although the idea was initially well received, little progress has been made in the past two months because of bitter political stalemates over the formation of new governments required under the rotation of power provisions of the CPA. In Southern Kordofan, for a draft decree establishing at state level Technical Land Policy Committee was signed by the incoming (SPLM) Deputy Governor and then passed on to the new (NCP) Governor. Follow-up meetings with the Minister and Director General of the Ministry of Rural Development and Water Resources were held in November to find out the outcome of the submission to the Governor which is still pending his approval. The Governor’s endorsement of the proposal for the formation of a Technical Working Group is uncertain. The program continues to attempt to identify bipartisan partners in government. Greet and meet sessions which have been held with officials are aimed at encouraging senior politicians and officials to agree to undertake training provided by the program on customary land tenure issues and opportunities available to government for addressing them through the framework of the CPA. SCLTP strongest allies in Southern Kordofan are currently with the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Rural Development and Water Resources, the Ministry of Local Government, the State Assembly, and the Governor’s Office. The Ministry of Local Government and Civil Service is interested in having closer ties with the program through secondment and/or direct participation of their staff on various components of the SCLTP to develop their skills in customary land tenure. The direct experience of state officials exposed to the program’s field work and participate in trainings, some of whom are already involved in community mobilization, land survey, dispute settlement and local administration, is valuable trust and consensus build which lead to the formation of groups or bodies representing community land interests.


4.0 SCLTP DATA SUMMARY SCLTP monitors activity accomplishments via weekly and monthly data collection through its state and locality/county based teams in the two states. Once the data is received from the field it is examined and aggregated to measure program progress and technical performance. Information below includes data indicating progress made on the USAID element indicators as well as the program specific, customized performance indicators against the PMP annualized targets. Target Breakdown of OP Indicator 1:

A. Analyses of legal arrangements for establishing Technical Working Groups;

B. Analyses of decrees and or laws establishing State Land Commissions;

C. Analysis of the legal instruments required to facilitate Community Land Council’ presenting land

claims (1 for each state).

In Southern Kordofan, the state government was prorogued for all of the first quarter of FY 08. A new Council of Ministers was appointed by decree on 27 December 2007 after a seven month delay caused by breakdown in cooperation between the parties to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. Nevertheless, the program continued building strong collaborative relations with the caretaker Ministries of Agriculture, Rural Development and Water Resources, and the Ministry of Local Government in the reporting period. The outgoing Minister and Secretary General of Ministry of Rural Development and Water Resources, who were both reappointed in the new government, have been highly supportive of the SCLTP. This cooperation led to ARD Inc to nominate Director General, Isa Osman Sherif, to attend the USAID funded ‘Short Course on Natural Resources and Property Rights: Lessons Learnt’, a one week training course that took place in Kigali, Rwanda. The Director General will be one of the key members of a Technical Land Policy Committee (called Technical Working Group in the TO SOW) proposed by the Minister of Rural Development, which will be established right after the approval from Southern Kordofan Governor to establish this body. The SCLTP will offer to provide secretarial services to this committee. A prerequisite for securing the proactive support of state governments to develop laws recognizing customary land rights and accepting the principles of customary land tenure is to train senior government officials to reach a common understanding about land issues in both states.

Target Breakdown of OP Indicator 2: A. 3 Draft Southern Kordofan Land Laws

B. 2 Draft regulations supporting customary tenure implementing new Land Laws (1 for each state)

There were positive preliminary signals from officials in Southern Kordofan, suggesting some interest in working with the program to commence discussions within government about amending state level laws on land. These encouraging signs will be followed up with the new government in the coming quarter.


Target Breakdown of OP Indicator 3: A. 25 communities requesting information

B. 25 CLAs demarcated

C. 25 CLAs endorsed

D. 10 CLCs operational

E. 35 communities land administration improving

Field operations reaching out to communities in Kurmuk County in BN, and Rashad and Dilling Counties in SK have seen progress. The SCLTP has established a robust management and operational systems allowing for a more proactive planning and implementation. This progress has already yielded significant results in community activities in December 2008, when positive circumstances on the ground enabled full scale field engagement, in BN particularly. During the three months period, the SCLTP program directly interacted with over 31 communities. The program completed a series of activities in eight communities advancing their potentials towards establishment of community representative bodies to manage CLAs, two of these communities have reached the phase in which the program can start advancing capacity of the Community Land Council’s membership to pursue community interests on the county and state levels. Community capacity to manage Community Land Area has been directly strengthened and increased in the following communities:

BLUE NILE STATE Type of Activity Community Land Area (CLA)

Sub-IR 1.3: CLA endorsed

1. Al Zariba 2. Jerdan 3. Abu Nazir 4. Mansur 5. Mofu 6. Keli 7. Tournasi Kurmuk County

Sub-IR 1.4: CLC formed and operational 1. Kurmuk 2. Al Zariba

TOTAL: 8 The program in Southern Kordofan has been focusing on sensitization, mediation and dispute resolution among communities where tangible progress has often been stalled by the reluctance of communities to reach agreements on their boundaries. This work has provided the program with valuable information to enable us to rethink and slightly change the approach we are going to be using for demarcation in Southern Kordofan. A part of the change in strategy, that took place in this quarter, was mobilizing communities to proactively seek support from Government in advancing their customary land rights. This change is expected to result in renewed discussions with government officials that will hopefully lead to the Governor dropping his past opposition to the SCLTP being engaged in demarcation.


Table 1: Report against Performance Monitoring Plan targets

PMP Indicator FY08 Targets Achieved during 1st

Quarter Blue Nile Southern.

Kordofan

IR 1: Communities constructively engaged in elaborating their customary land tenures Sub-IR 1.1 Community awareness of program sponsored opportunities for strengthening customary land tenure increased # people participating in sensitization meetings Total 3,750 496 0 139 # of community requests for program assistance Total 25 3 0 3 % increase in perception of improved land tenure security

Total 25 0 0 0 Sub-IR 1.2 Demarcation of Community Land Areas expanded # of people on Community Boundary Committees Total 125 10 0 10 # CLAs demarcated Total 25 0 0 0 km2 area/km boundaries

Total 2,000 0 0 0 Sub-IR 1.3 Community Land Area boundaries endorsed by communities # CLAs endorsed Total 25 7 7 0 km2 area/km circumference Total 2,000 1,982 km² 1,982 km² 0 # people participating in endorsement meetings Women n/a 453 453 0 Men n/a 850 850 0 Youth n/a 1,193 1,193 0 Leaders n/a 91 91 0 Total 3,700 2,587 2,587 0 Sub-IR 1.4 Community Land Councils functional # of CLCs operational Total 10 2 2 0

IR 2: Customary land tenure integrated into states land administration Sub-IR 2.1 Decision makers sensitized to implementation of CPA provisions regarding customary land tenure # of officials engaged by the program Total 15 2 0 2 # ministries/organizations working with the program Total 15 2 0 2 Sub-IR 2.2 Policies/laws supportive of customary land tenure developed # workshops with participation of government officials /elected representatives Total 6 2 0 2 # trainings Total n/a 0 0 0 # of green papers circulated Total n/a 0 0 0 Sub-IR 2.3 Competency of state level agencies for accommodation of customary land tenure enhanced # of white papers published Total 2 0 0 0 # of laws drafted Total 4 0 0 0


5.0 PROBLEMS, CONSTRAINTS, AND REQUESTS FOR ASSISTANCE Planned activities and greater deployment of Field Teams to carry on advancing the capacity of beneficiary communities to manage traditionally owned lands has been frustrated in the reporting period by a series unforeseeable setbacks. For example, a chance meeting with the new Governor of Southern Kordofan State in early October 2007, just after he assumed office, but before he was able to form a government, resulted in him directing the program to stop demarcation work in his state. He expressed the view, no doubt based on reports from his security people, that ‘demarcation of community lands disrupts stable situation’ and generates conflict between communities and other outside land users. The Governor was however open to collaboration with the program, suggesting the SCLTP should be providing technical support to the relevant government ministries in their effort to develop land policies and laws accommodating customary land tenure. Unfortunately it was to be another three months before there was a government formed in Southern Kordofan with whom the program could engage. As a result, instead of expanding, consolidating, and reaching out to new communities, the program was forced to revise its six month work plan in Southern Kordofan, which as originally designed was focused on demarcation. The State team developed a new strategy based on providing community sensitization and dispute resolution services in order to be seen to comply with official restrictions. Communities who wish to be assisted by the program, as an outcome of the upgraded sensitization they are receiving, are now being encouraged to lobby the Governor directly to allow the program to do so. The pool of qualified contractors in Southern Kordofan, trained in demarcation, was expanded in the reporting period so that once the embargo is lifted we can make up for lost time and reach our production targets. The Chief of Party also met with the Governor in Blue Nile State (BN), in October 2007, gaining his permission for all the SCLTP staff to move freely inside the State. A number of community endorsement meetings were planned in the Kurmuk County to take previously sensitized communities and demarcated Community Land Areas one step forward by obtaining community verification of identified customary land. However, during the national political crisis caused by the recall of SPLM Ministers and advisors from Khartoum, which resulted in protracted absence of the Governor from the State, the branch office of the Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) unilaterally overruled the permission granted by the Governor. Unlike in Southern Kordofan, this set was temporary but it did force modifications of initial plans, and the postponement of CLA boundary endorsement meetings in Kurmuk Locality to November. Applications on behalf of key personal for temporary work permits were rejected by the Labor Office in October. The appeals process has been drawn out by the political crisis, because the designated Minister of labor was SPLM and withdrawn from Khartoum with his colleagues for three months. Foreign staff are using one month visas, which are being extended for another month and then using another one month grace period before they have to leave Sudan and reapply for an new entry visa and start the whole cycle over again. This is causing significant downtime, as is delays in obtaining new entry visas. Efforts to have the decision of the Labor Office overturned are continuing.


6.0 PLANNED ACTIVITIES IN UPCOMING QUARTER During the next quarter, the program will be focusing its activities on increasing its impact in the following areas:

1. Forming Community Land Councils in Blue Nile - Communities that have endorsed the Community Land Area boundaries will be encouraged to form Interim Community Land Councils with a mandate to advance community land claims.

2. Demarcating Community Land Areas in Southern Kordofan – The program will be forming

Interim Community Land Councils to lobby the government, currently opposing progress of demarcation, to have their customary land rights demarcated and recognised.

3. Engaging with State Governments - Trainings will be provided for key technical staff to raise the

program’s profile, win some trust and demonstrate program’s technical competency.



7.0 LESSONS LEARNED 1. The innovation, adopted by the program on FY07, of using sub contractors for its Component 1

activities is having mixed success. In Blue Nile, the new system has resulted in higher productivity. In Southern Kordofan, however, its introduction has yet to yield significant results, suggesting that more effort put into explaining and embedding the new system in that state, will also improve productivity there.

2. Some communities with whom the proceeding pilot project had worked regressed during the

reporting period into adversarial relationships with their neighbors with each making overlaying land claims. Mobilization of traditional leaders and elected Boundary Committee members by program staff from this early period in the project failed to establish strong cooperative relationships, which further diminished the expected impact of sensitization meetings. Clearly all the traditional leaders, Boundary Committees, and Boma/Payam administrators, need consistent support from the program to move forward with this project.

3. Disputation between neighbors about community land’ boundary segments can become

something of a regional contagion and can tie up scarce program’ resources for long periods. Therefore, we need to ensure solid representation from adjacent communities (including from politically important IDP) at sensitization consultations (FCT 1) so that sketch maps produced reflect as much as possible a solid consensus and Boundary Committees members include credible authorities.

4. Recording customary land tenures in a participatory and transparent way, with all interested

parties engaged, eschewing a top down interventionist methodology, has revealed how sensitive to presentation acceptance of this program is.

5. SCLTP has been looking into opportunities of cooperating closely with other partners, such as

SOS-Sahel involved in the demarcation of livestock routes in Southern Kordofan. There are significant potential political benefits of demonstrating, through collaboration with those working with other right holders, the program’s commitment to the principle that demarcation of CLA boundaries potentially strengthens rather than threatens the security of both primary and secondary property rights.

6. The policy analysis, articulation and advocacy objectives of the program are dependent on

effective governance in both states. In the absence of formally constituted State Governments the program has concentrated on building up it credibility as a policy player by deepening its field work experience and successfully trialing previously untested elements of it customary land tenure methodology. It remains to be seen if that translates into more influence at policy level.

7. The constitutional framework and the national process for implementing the land reforms

supported by the program are both under elaborated and receive no public support from any major political party in Sudan. Much national level policy work remains to be done by others to generate the consensus required to resolve the outstanding land ownership issues. First there has to be a visible, vocal constituency for change. A Public Information and Education Strategy will be developed in the next quarter to address this need.

APPENDIX A: SHORT-TERM TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE SCHEDULE

Q1/M1 Q1/M2 Q1/M3 Short Term Technical Advisors 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

LOE days

PMP (Ian Deshmukh) 22GIS (Nick Thomas) 25Total work days commissioned 47

Q1/M1 Q1/M2 Q1/M3 Local Technical Advisors 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

LOE days

GIS (Yasin Abdalla Eltayeb) 28Tax (Ali Mirghani Mohamed) 13(GPS) Siddig Ali 9Total work days commissioned 50

A Performance Management Plan was submitted to and approved by USAID in October 2007, the design process was participatory, with consultant traveling to the State field offices. Two experts, one international and one national, in Geographic Information and Global Positioning Systems developed spatial data recording, retrieval and management system for the program which could be inherited and sustained by government partners and Community Land Councils. A new Boundary Presentation Tool (BPT) has been developed and later trialed during endorsement meetings in two communities in Blue Nile. Advisors traveled to state and county field offices to instruct State Field Program Coordinators and County Administration Officers in data processing, conversion of GPS data into polygons, data storage, naming protocol, and BPT. They have overseen, trained and evaluated the training provided by local technical assistance contractor for the new field contractors in drawing a descriptive sketch maps, operating GPS units of agreed boundaries, and provide guidelines on how to record GPS information in boundary books. Local tax advisor reviewed the program’s bookkeeping and its compliance with Sudanese company and tax laws.


Note: Usually Mission address is listed below. This is the generic USAID address.

U.S. Agency for International Development 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20523 Tel: (202) 712-0000 Fax: (202) 216-3524

www.usaid.gov

sudan - u.s. agency for international development

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