Report on The Conference on Sustainable Land Governance

One of the major activities of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Strengthening Urban Resilience for Growth with Equity (SURGE) Project is the Conference on Sustainable Land Governance that was held on February 8-9, 2017 at the Diamond Hotel Manila, Philippines. Through the Cities Development Initiative (CDI), USAID partners with the local institutions to bolster the role of secondary and tertiary cities as engines of inclusive, environmentally sustainable, and resilient growth. Land is a key asset that can drive economic development, food security, women’s empowerment, natural resource management, and sustainable urbanization.

The conference gathered 60 international and local speakers, moderators and more than 300 participants from the national and local governments, international experts, development partners and from various stakeholders from the academe, the private sector, non-government organizations and students. The United States Ambassador to the Philippines, the US Agency for International Aid (USAID) Mission Director, the Secretary of the Department of Finance, the Program Director of the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) other officials from USAID, and other key government officials were also present.

The event promoted the sharing of good practices and new sustainable approaches to urban land administration. It facilitated multidisciplinary discussions on practical solutions to challenges in land governance in the Philippines among key partners. It was co-sponsored by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and the World Bank.

Oher conference partners were: Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the National Competitiveness Council of the Philippines (NCCP); the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF), the Land Registration Authority (LRA); the Geodetic Engineers of the Philippines (GEP) and the League of Cities of the Philippines.

The SURGE Project employed the services of a sub-contractor, the Asia Society for Social Improvement and Sustainable Transformation (ASSIST) as the event organizer.

The discussions during the conference focused on 12 interactive streams of topics: (1) land administration and management and the challenges of urbanization; (2) land sector reforms in the Philippines; (3) alternative land dispute resolutions; (4) urban land constrictions; (5) asset management for local government units; (6) policy frameworks for land administration and management; (7) experiences in implementing land sector reforms; (8) technology solutions in land administration; (9) improving access to land records/information; (10) gender and social inclusion in property rights; (11) resilience land management; and (12) managing commercial pressures on land markets.