Valuing Land Tenure Rights: FAO Governance of Tenure Technical Guide No. 11

Abstract

This technical guide covers issues associated with the identification and valuation of tenure rights for different purposes, and provides guidance on how to ensure that valuations are undertaken in a fair, reliable and transparent manner that comply with international norms. Value, whether defined in purely economic terms or more widely to encompass social and environmental value, is an important basis for making decisions about legitimate tenure rights. Valuation, the process of estimating value, forms part of the evolution and improvement of land, fisheries and forests, which can have an overarching influence on the general economic development and growth, wealth and prosperity of a community, society or nation. Although this guide focuses on land, it may also be applied to fisheries, forests and other natural resources. It is directed primarily towards developing countries and countries in transition where there is less awareness of the valuation profession and institutions. The guide is part of a series developed by FAO to elaborate and provide more detailed guidance on thematic areas covered by the “Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security”.