Addressing the need for greater tenure security so that the poor can tap ecosystems and invest in their good stewardship is a top priority. It requires reform of the formal tenure regimes that currently make it hard for the poor to exercise property rights over land and resources. Interest in tenure reform has grown significantly in recent years as acceptance of the central role of tenure security in poverty reduction has spread. When well thought-out and appropriately implemented, tenure reform can produce considerable benefits for the poor. The most important is an acknowledgement by the state that traditional tenure arrangements, including communal tenure, are legitimate and legally enforceable.(See Box 4.1 Negotiating Indigenous Tenure Rights In Bolivia.)
Recognition of Traditional Rights
Untitled, customary tenure remains the predominant form of tenure in many rural areas of the developing world. The persistence of untitled occupancy
