Land Use and Tenure : A Key to Sustainable Peace in Darfur
Although the consultation on which this paper is based took place in September 2004 - prior to the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) - the continued elusiveness of peace in Darfur makes its content just as relevant and important today.
When considering the issue of land use and tenure in Darfur, participants were quick to emphasise that the humanitarian crisis in the region must be resolved and conditions of security restored before meaningful progress can be made on addressing some of the root causes of the conflict.
Nevertheless, the question of access to land has been a significant factor in the development of the current conflict, and it requires concerted attention after any successful peace agreement is forged in the future. Indeed, participants agreed that it is not too soon to explore practical and administrative ways of dealing with the pressure on land, in order to prepare for sustainable peace in Darfur in the future.