Towards more equitable land governance in Vanuatu: Ensuring fair land dealings.

Abstract

The regionally unique Constitution of the Republic of Vanuatu provides that ―all land in Vanuatu belongs to custom owners and their descendants‖ and that the ―rules of custom shall form the basis of ownership and use of land.‖1Implementing this principle, however,after decades of land alienation by foreign ersusing alien laws has proven to be challenging. Concerns over actual and perceived problems of land alienation through leasing in Vanuatu triggered a National Land Summit in 2006,2followed by an Interim Transitional Implementation Strategy and a National Land Review, all of which set the stage for a legislative and administrative reform agenda and served as a guide to short-and long-term assistance to the land sector.