With the Land Act coming into force in February 2021, 1.3 million families in Nepal can look to improving their lives through secure tenure. They are the landless, land-poor, and other vulnerable groups who hold nearly 10 million parcels of land without formal registration and face continuous threats of eviction. Habitat for Humanity Nepal is committed to the government’s National Land Policy, adopted in March 2019, that includes securing tenure and land ownership, protecting land rights and ensuring equitable access to land for all, including women and vulnerable groups.
Since 2019, we have partnered with Nepal’s government to help 1,235 vulnerable indigenous families strengthen their land tenure security. Under a government concessional scheme, Habitat has enabled 167 women to register joint land ownership with their husbands. Nationwide under 20% of women own legal rights to property. Strengthening women’s land rights not only contributes to gender equality, it also improves food security and reduces poverty for the whole family.
Land access and ownership is strongly connected with more sustainable land use, reduced conflict, and social stability. In FY 2021, we partnered with 585 families to build new homes on secure land, providing an asset that can be leveraged for home-based businesses and laying the foundation for greater financial stability.