Vanuatu embraces landmark reforms

Land is life is a common catchphrase throughout the Pacific. Given the vital importance of land to the subsistence livelihoods of Pacific populations, undertaking land reform requires a long, consultative process, careful piloting programs and thoughtful evaluation. Recent land reforms in Vanuatu may provide key lessons for other countries in the region. In February 2015, the Department of Lands and Customary Land Management Office staff erected a large billboard in Emau village on Efate Island to mark the beginning of a nakamal process to identify the custom owners of land for a quarry. Nakamals are local chief-based customary governance structures that exist across the archipelago. The use of the first nakamal process to identify customary land ownership marks a milestone in the roll out of historic land reforms, a process that began almost 10 years ago.