Ramallah, November 6th. The World Bank, acting as administrator for the Global Partnership for Results-Based Approaches (GPRBA), signed a Grant Agreement on November 6th for US$4.6 million with the Palestinian National Authority to improve access to registered land and property-related services.

The project funding from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), also benefits from co-financing from the World Bank for US$5 million, as well as US$3 million from the Palestinian Partnership for Infrastructure Development Multi-Donor Trust Fund (PID MDTF) administered by the World Bank.  

The grant will support the Palestinian Authority in its plan to complete systematic land registration (SLR) across the West Bank territories through a results-based payments approach. This is the first World Bank and GBRBA project that will apply results-based approaches in the delivery of land registration services. The project is expected to register 350,000 properties and to have a major focus on increasing the participation of women and vulnerable groups in the process.

Gender outreach and inclusion have been mainstreamed in the design of the project to support the ongoing efforts of the Palestinian Authority to ensure the rights of women and vulnerable groups are protected in the SLR process. In addition to improving tenure security, land rights will also provide women with increased access to finance and improved economic opportunities.

Access to land and real estate in the Palestinian territories is one of several impediments to economic growth, as limited land registration and ambiguous property rights present major challenges to business and housing development. Registered real estate is the most important source of collateral and the primary instrument used by banks to secure mortgages and loans, especially to micro-Enterprises and small and medium enterprises.

“Securing land registration has economic benefits at the national, community, and family levels,” said Kanthan Shankar, World Bank Country Director for West Bank and Gaza.  “Only 38 percent of land in the West Bank is registered, with a significant portion of unregistered properties in the urban centers. The project aims to push for greater registration across the Palestinian territories, an asset to tap for economic resources. It matters deeply for social inclusion, particularly disadvantage groups and women and will offer secured tenure and opportunities to improve living standards.”

The project will be implemented by both the Palestinian Land Authority and the Land and Water Settlement Commission through a performance-based scheme. Disbursements will be linked to specific results where the government will be reimbursed for eligible expenditures based on agreed periodic targets for verified properties registered.

Press Release in Arabic: ضمان حقوق الحيازة في 350 ألف عقار بالضفة الغربية

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Related: 

US$12.6 Million to improve land registration and modernize services for Palestinians (July 22, 2019)

Gaza and West Bank - Real Estate Registration Project

World Bank Support to Secure Property Rights in West Bank (April 26, 2012) 

WASHINGTON, November 23, 2020 — The Global Partnership for Results-Based Approaches (GPRBA) and the Partnership for Infrastructure Development Multi-Donor Trust Fund (PID-MDTF) for the West Bank and Gaza, and the Palestinian National Authority signed a grant agreement providing $3.25 million in additional financing to support the ongoing Gaza Solid Waste Management Project (GSWMP).  

The GSWMP, which aims to increase the capacity of solid waste management practices and infrastructure in Gaza, was initiated in 2014 through a partnership between the World Bank, the French Development Agency, the European Union and other development partners. The original $29.5 million in funding from these organizations will be supplemented by GPRBA’s commitment, but the goals and strategy of the initial project will remain the same.  

A World Bank-administered trust fund, GPRBA supports development projects by linking funding to actual results achieved. In Gaza, GPRBA’s additional funds will use a results-based financing approach, building on the success of the existing project and providing a subsidy for operating the newly built waste management infrastructure. The subsidy is designed to incentivize the recipient service provider—the Joint Services Council for Khan Younis, Rafah and Middle area (JSC-KRM)—to improve its solid waste collection and treatment procedures. It will also incentivize them to improve cost recovery through improved fee collection from users. 

In addition to bridging finance shortfalls, these additional funds will be used to equip medical waste producers with training and resources to properly dispose of hazardous waste, and to establish operational standards for landfills to address environmental issues. These standards could later be applied across the Palestinian Territories, multiplying the project’s impact and providing the residents of Gaza with a needed but often neglected municipal service for a healthier and more sustainable community. 

The Gaza Solid Waste Management Project has already yielded positive results for several years. The project funded the construction of new, more sanitary landfill and transfer stations that benefit over 900,000 people, almost 46% of the total population of Gaza. Around 94% (about 677 tons per day) of the municipal waste in the target area is being disposed at the new landfill. The transfer stations are also serving as cost-effective temporary waste storage stations.  

By improving the overall solid waste management infrastructure and management systems, the project will help alleviate the disproportionate impact that uncollected and untreated solid waste could have on the urban poor, contributing to better environmental and public health outcomes. 

Press Release in Arabic - نحو مليون مستفيد من تطوير منشآت إدارة النفايات الصلبة في غزة

Photo: Peter Tkac via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Try to imagine a well-functioning economy without having secure land tenure and property rights established. Would investors and service providers enter such a risky environment? Would banks be wary of offering and lending? Could conventional commerce or business transactions even operate optimally? Not likely, as any commercial system hoping to operate must have trustworthiness as one of its economic pillars, much of which is placed on legally registered land and property administration and the integrity of their institutions.

Still, the absence of legally protected land and property ownership is disconcerting which calls for action. It is estimated that only 30% of the global population has legally registered rights to their land and homes.  Land is encompassed within 8 targets and 12 indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

Securing land tenure is key to urban development, sustainable agriculture, environmental protection, and job-creating investments. It can help women to become economically empowered, support indigenous communities’ rights, foster peace and mitigate fragility. Financing the development of such a plan requires targeting and accountability.

A result- based approach ensures implementation focuses on schemes on what matters, helping the most vulnerable and marginalized communities to help bridge the financing gap they face in seeking access to land tenure.

The Context for Applying Results-Based Financing Solutions

Results-based financing (RBF) has had success in social sectors such as health and education, as well as in improving access to solid waste management, water & sanitation and energy, yet it has had limited application in securing land tenure. RBF’s cross-sectoral experience has shown that it can support the development of well-targeted approaches and could be used to implement programs with systematic and modernization targets, similar to land registration initiatives and property management systems. These RBF approaches can be developed either as a gap-funding mechanism, an incentive-driven framework or hybrid schemes tailored to public-private partnerships (PPPs). 

A recently approved project in the West Bank is piloting RBF to support systematic property registration as well as women by providing equal access to land tenure and property ownership. This is a test case to see if RBF can be added to the development financing toolbox which seeks land tenure security and gender equality, such as the Stand for Her Land Initiative.

RBF-supported property rights provide a foundation for post-conflict reconstruction, support stabilization and mitigate future conflict. For example, people displaced by violence or natural disasters can return and continue their livelihoods when land tenure is secured. This involves strengthening civic engagement, rebuilding trust in governmental institutions, and reducing tensions and grievances between groups over services.

GPRBA has funded over $150m RBF programs in fragile and conflict-affected situations. These cases have also shown that program design and flexibility, along with targeted technical assistance throughout the project cycle are the best predictors of eventual success. RBF is most effective in places showing signs of recovery, and where government institutions are relatively stable and increasing in legitimacy. In helping provide basic services to targeted groups and increasing service provider accountability, RBF interventions help break the cycle of fragility and violence -and contribute to enhancing peaceful stability.

Up-to-date technological solutions are key to land administration operations, but many agencies have neither the resources nor the capacity to apply these systems to optimize their land administration services (LAS). Application of RBF approaches could ensure information technology’s functionality, use and delivery for better service --- and encourage agencies to keep pace with the progress and procurement of technological solutions and updates for fully functioning LAS and its benefits.

The SDG on land ownership sets an ambitious target of 70 percent tenure security by 2030.  Achieving this will require increased funding, continuous work on legal and policy frameworks, and mobilization of technological solutions. Take a closer look at RBF which can increase access to financing land tenure security and LAS modernization, with incentives to public and private service providers targeting specific groups. Institutions, donors and investors can all benefit from the transparency and accountability required by results-based approaches.