Land Conference 2011
Land Ownership in Trinidad and Tobago: Issues and Challenges
Dates: April 28-29, 2011
Venue: Daaga Hall, UWI, St. Augustine, Trinidad.

 

Background

Land as natural and limited resource form the basis of many economic and social development strategic plans. It is often used as a measure of a country’s wealth both in terms of the country’s land use and the quantity that is usable. Several conflicts arise in relation to land, which create formidable issues ranging from the actual physical character and use of the land to legal and customary rights attached to it. The responses by state governments and citizens vary from one jurisdiction to the next and have a tendency to carry with them a milieu of controversies and further problems. Land in the Caribbean has issues typical of developing island states yet unique due to its history of land settlement, governance and customs brought by its settlers. Small size, coupled with its complex land tenure systems, soil types, topography and climatic variation, restricts the area available for human settlement, agriculture, forestry, mining / quarrying, tourism and infrastructure, and creates intense competition among land use options. A recurring policy conflict about land management therefore arises, when policies, which are based on land as an economic resource, collide with policies based on land as a form of social empowerment.

 

Aim and Objectives

The aim of this conference is to critically examine the impact of land tenure on Caribbean development. This conference would seek to address such issues relating to land in the Caribbean by highlighting the nature and form of the relevant problems and proposing approaches to dealing with these issues. The objectives of this conference are as follows:

  1. To facilitate a forum where stakeholders can dialogue on the impacts of land tenure on development goals.
  2. To explore potential actions that will ensure that challenges are addressed.
  3. To share best practices when dealing with tenure issues.

Target Audience

Land Development professionals, land surveyors, senior government officials, politicians, academia and others.