Land Debate

The equitable distribution of land has been at the centre of national political debate since European settlement in the 1800s.Political instability in 1987, 2000 and 2006 has been linked in varying degrees to land use, royalties, cane leases, forests and mineral resources.Current CCF research in this area will analyse land ownership, distribution of royalties, distribution of arable land and include analysis of changing trends in vaka vanua or verbal agreements between tenants and landowning units.This analysis focuses on the Navua-Sigatoka-Lautoka area and the findings will allow a  platform for discussion on how landowners and tenants can best utilise land.It will also show how agricultural and residential lots have been distributed.

The main focus of the research is:

1.     Equality of land and rental distribution

2.     Population dynamics and the movement

3.     Customary arrangements for land-use by people outside landowning units.

It is anticipated that a report on the findings of this research will be published by December 2012.